Estate Planning

Wealth Distribution or more commonly known as Estate Planning involves, not only will making but also planning for the succession or transfer of your assets involving other tools like the use of gifts, trusts, marriage settlements. There are appropriate trusts and holding structures to ensure the preservation and protection of assets within your family.

Will writing is not a subject that most people want to talk about as it involves the unpleasant topic of death. It is a myth to think that estate planning is meant only for the rich and wealthy.

A will is an important and essential tool for estate planning. It states who the beneficiaries are, the allocation of assets to the beneficiaries as well as the executor of the will. When a person dies without leaving a will, it is termed 'intestacy' and the Singapore government takes over the distribution of the assets according to the Intestate Succession Act. These are prescribed rules for distributing the estate and these rules may sometimes not be in line with the intentions and plans of the deceased. You could have a will made out so that your assets can be distributed according to your wishes unless you are satisfied with the Interstate distribution rule (see below).

Following the death of the deceased, the executor or administrator of the deceased will need to apply for a grant of probate (where there is a will) or letters of administration (intestacy) that will authorize them to deal with the estate. Having a will can expedite the distribution process which could otherwise take years.

There are different types of trusts and they serve different purposes. You can set up a trust to take effect in your lifetime (living trust) or upon your passing as part of your will.

Trusts could be set up to:

Preserve wealth within your family
Protect and provide for infants, handicapped persons and persons of unsound mind
Make adequate provisions for your family in case of unforeseen circumstance
Make a gift with conditions based on your wishes or beneficiary's situation
Protect your assets from creditors (debts of beneficiary or executor/administrator)
Mitigate estate duty

Estate Planning Tools:

Wills
Various Trust Structures

SINGAPORE RULES ON DISTRIBUTION OF A DECEASED PERSON'S ESTATE UNDER THE INTESTATE SUCCESSION ACT (CAP. 146)

Phone
Email

+65 9873 1075
karen@karen-tang.com

7 Maxwell Road #05-02A
Singapore 069111