What Will You Leave Behind?

For your family’s sake, it’s time to start thinking about how you want your assets to be divvied up after you’re gone.

- Sasha Gonzales

Edwin* did not have a will when he passed away suddenly at the age of 42, so according to Singapore’s intestacy law – which determines how your assets are distributed if you pass away without a will – his wife, Daphne*, received 50 percent of his assets, and the couple’s two children received 25 percent each. Edwin’s elderly parents, who had looked after their son’s children but were not very well off, did not get a cent.

It’s a scary picture: Edwin certainly had not wanted his parents to be left with nothing, but that’s exactly what happened because he did not have a will.

No will? You’re not the only one

The majority of working Singapore adults don’t have a will – 87 percent, to be exact, according to a 2011 survey conducted by established will-writing company Simply Wills.

“Most people don’t think that anything will happen to them,” says Loh Mei Kuen, director, Advisory, at Providend Ltd. “They don’t think that they will pass away suddenly because that’s something that only happens to other people. Some Singaporeans also have this perception that writing a will is complicated or time consuming, or they think that they have nothing to leave behind.”

“Whatever your reason for not having written your will yet, it’s just irresponsible, in my opinion,” adds Keon Chee, director of Legasy Planners. “If you pass away without a will, can you imagine the mess your family will have to deal with? They’ll be wondering what your wishes were, what assets you owned, and whether they will have any assets to live on now that you’re gone. It would be an immensely stressful scenario and the legal battles that ensued would be costly.”