Having a Will will enable you to distribute your assets according to your wishes, appoint a suitable person to administer your estate and appoint guardians for your young children, as well as set out funeral arrangements.

The Will must be in writing, the Testator must be at least 21 years of age, the Testator must sign at the foot of the Will, the Will must be witnessed by 2 or more witnesses and they must also sign the Will in the presence of the Testator. In addition, the 2 main witnesses cannot be beneficiaries of the Will or spouses of the testator. You should also take note that if you are getting married, any Will executed prior to your marriage will be void.

You should decide on appointing a trusted person as your Trustee (i.e. the person who will hold the assets/properties after the death of the Testator) as well as an Executor (i.e. the person appointed to administer the assets/property of the Testator). Further, you would also need to decide on your Beneficiaries (i.e. persons inheriting the estate/assets in the Will), along with the mode of distribution of your estate/assets/properties (i.e. how much each Beneficiary is to receive).

Please take note that not all of your assets can be distributed. You may include any assets you have in your Will except for:

• Your CPF monies;
• Monies in your joint bank account;
• Property held in joint tenancy / held in trust; and
• Insurance monies where irrevocable nominations have been made

No estate tax is payable in Singapore, unless the date of death is before 15 February 2008.

You should keep it somewhere where your Executor is able to have access readily to retrieve it.

Your Executors will apply for a Grant of Probate. The Grant of Probate will give your executors the power to administer your estate in accordance with your Will.

Not having a Will may result in your estate not being distributed according to your intentions or that you would not be able to decide who would be your children's guardian. Having a Will prepared in advance means having a peace of mind that your loved ones will be cared for and your estate distributed in accordance with your wishes. If a non-Muslim dies without leaving a Will, a Letter of Administration has to be applied for, from the Courts in order to appoint a person as the administrator to manage the estate of the deceased and his assets would be distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act, which sets out the Rules of Distribution. This means that you will not have a choice of the person who would be distributing and administering your estate. Making a Will is planning for the future. Because of the onerous requirements of a Will, engaging a professional adviser such as a lawyer to draft your Will is advisable.