Wills are not something that is often discussed enough within many of the family members because it usually involves talking about death, which is a taboo topic to bring up in the first place. As a result, many families choose to delay because it just doesn’t seem too necessary to bring up at this point in time.
But as we learnt from many of the past cases, death can at times comes in an untimely manner and least expected hence it is important to look at them objectively rather than avoiding it totally like a plaque.
Since death is something that will come to us naturally some day or another, we should plan for it, the earlier the better, especially once we start having a family of our own.
Conversations With My Wife
Being a financial writer, I am naturally drawn to anything that is related to financial planning and this includes the likes of having sufficient insurance coverage for the family members as well as estate planning.
Ever since we started having children of our own, we’ve began planning for the longer term. At the very top of our agenda it includes the immediate needs for the costs of their education, sufficient hospitalization coverage for their health needs as well as a list of all our assets and estates so we know ahead of the plans what to do in the case of an emergency. This especially comes in handy given one of the important lessons I learnt particularly from my Dad’s situation.
As a parent, if you do not have a will, the welfare of your child may be quite uncertain and confusing based on the distribution act. Based on the accordance of the Intestate Succession Act, the distribution of the assets will be based on 50% to one of the surviving spouse, and the other 50% to the children in equal portions.
If your children is under the age of 21, then it is advisable to appoint a guardian to act on the children’s behalf until they turn 21 under the Guardianship of Infants Act. The assets will continue to be held in the trust.
Having a will directing on some of these instructions just makes things easier to follow both for the guardians and the child.
If you do not have a will, then the process before the distribution takes place, which is called the probate, will take generally between 6 to 9 months.
What to include in a Will?
Here are the lists of what to include in your will:
1.) A list of all your assets.
2.) A list of all your liabilities.
3.) The beneficiaries (who to give the assets to) and guardians (if the beneficiaries are under the legal age) and how much each will receive.
4.) The executors (to carry out your will).
5.) A revocation clause to revoke any and all previous wills.
6.) A residuary clause that distributes any remainder of your estate according to your wishes.
7.) Funeral instructions.
Is CPF covered under your will?
You must make a
CPF nomination if you want your CPF savings to be distributed according to your wishes upon your passing.
Otherwise, your CPF savings will be transferred to the Public Trustee’s Office and distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act.
Why Willcraft?
Willcraft is an online drafting platform that allows you to make a quick, convenient and hassle-free will down only in a few minutes.
Unlike some law firms which charge based on number of hours or clauses, Willcraft’s pricing packages come in 3 tiered, depending on the comprehensiveness and complexity of your will needs.
The most essential package is the one with $49 package, which includes 1-to-1 executor to beneficiary.
If you have a bigger families, for example with children, then it is advisable to you take the basic package which costs slightly higher at $99. This includes 1-to-2 executor to beneficiaries and it includes a couple more detailed situations such as how to specifically handle your funeral instructions and procedures.
The Premium package is for more complex situations where you have more than 1 executor and up to unlimited beneficiaries to cater your will situation to.
Once you have submitted your will instructions online, you will have the option as to whether you’d like to engage a lawyer to witness your will instructions that you have effected in the contents.
Willcraft has two lawyer firm partners that they are working closely together with that you can choose or you can simply choose to do away with the witness if you are comfortable with what it offers.
In Singapore, you do not strictly require a lawyer to write a will. However, it is best to engage a wills lawyer if your requirements are complex so they may be able to explain certain aspects of your will content to make it clearer.
I felt that it is a lot more convenient to draft a will online than engaging an external lawyer as my case was more direct and straightforward and I had clear instructions on what to input in the arrangements.
In my case, all I need is a 20 minutes attention on my laptop where I drafted the information of my beneficiaries, executors and witnesses and then it was done and dusted. This beats having to engaging a lawyer where they might charge more for the number of hours that you engage them.
At the end of the draft, you will be brought to a page where you will have to pay for the services that you engage and then your will is submitted.
Overall, I enjoyed the simplicity and direction of what willcraft has to offer and the platform is simple to navigate and use.
If you find yourself wanting to do this end of your financial planning, you can try engaging Willcraft to see how it works for you. The best part is you are able to navigate and try the service until the last part before they bill you, so you can try to see if this works out to your taste.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Willcraft and you should seek all legal advice from a professional before making a decision.
Wills are interesting. You wouldn't want money to go nowhere after a person doesn't exist anymore. Thanks for the interesting read about financial planning.
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Hope you have deposited your will in the wills registry. Do note if no one can find your will, it's as good as not making one. As I'm single, I deposited mine in the registry.
Alternatively, if you don't wish to pay to deposit, the law firm may keep it for you. However, I don't want to rely just on that, in case the firm goes under, or they have bad archival habits.
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