How do you know you need a Will? This question comes to everybody's mind.  As long as you would like to maintain peace among your surviving loved ones, you need a Will. A Will is a legal document, specifying how you would like to distribute your assets to your beneficiaries.

“But I don't have assets!” a lot of people would ask. A car or a dog that you love, is already considered an asset! If you do not specify your wishes, “someone else will say for you”!

Upon demise, money will be a big issue.

The saying goes “Wealth is relative, the more wealth you have, the more relatives you'll discover!” Distribution of wealth after the demise of a loved one will bring out the true colours of the relatives! So how do you prevent this? By writing a properly structured Will.

If a Will is not properly structured, it may bring even more problems. The best person to assist you to plan a properly structured Will is the Financial Planner. A lawyer can check for the legal technicalities but they cannot do what the Financial Planner does. The Financial Planner looks beyond the technicalities and dwells into the complications that may arise due to structure of ownership, relationships, habits, preferences, etc. See this blog entry HERE.

What is Estate Planning (EP)?  Is it planning your real estate? No, estate includes everything you own, all of your assets, whether real property or personal property, and liabilities as well. The Estate Duty in Singapore was recently abolished on 15 Feb 08, hence all of your assets are not incurring any "death taxes". Still, estate duty might still be imposed by foreign jurisdictions. For example, a Singaporean who owns assets in the United States is still liable for the death tax by the United State government. However, we need to look beyond the estate duty and focus our attention on "who is going to get what". The departed loved one may have special collections like old currencies that may not mean anything to the young ones. However, these old currencies may be worth thousands of dollars! Moreover, the young ones may not even recognize that these old notes are currencies! And usually debts do not die with the depart, and the creditors may come after the estate for payments. Hence, all these factors will need some attention.

Estate Planning and Will are specialized matters, thus not all advisers are qualified to advice on these. Having been in the financial industry since 1985, I believe I am able to assist you in estate planning and its related matters.  If what I say is relevant to you, please feel free to arrange for a no obligation appointment. I can be contacted on the “Contact Me” link on the left menu. Depending on the complexity of the case, your case may be handled jointly by Wilfred Ling and myself. Thank you.

Joan Lim (BBA, CLU)
Financial Planner
Promiseland Independent Pte Ltd