A Willⁱ is a written document that states who you want your assets and money ("the estate") to go to when you passed away. As it is a very important document the law specifies what will be recognised as a Willi. It is a temporary document and can be changed at any time by a subsequent Will or a Codicilⁱ during your lifetime.

It does not distribute your assets immediately upon the making of the Will, but takes effect after your demise.

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To ensure that your wishes of how your Assets are distributed are carried out, it is advisable to make a Willⁱ.

Otherwise, you leave it to chance and have your assets being distributed in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act or in accordance with law of the country in which you were domiciled (refer to "Domicileⁱ") at the time of your demise.

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If you are 21 years and of sound mind, you should make a Willⁱ to distribute your Assets as soon as possible. Although most people die from old age, some unfortunate incidents such as plane crash, terrorism, war or natural disaster may prematurely terminate our respective lives.

Some do not wish to think about death. Surprisingly enough, making a Willⁱ does not bring your death forward. If you make your Will now, you will have less worry about how your Assets will be distributed.

Some think they have nothing to leave to their love ones - if you own your own home, monies in bank accounts, cars, jewelleries, etc, you should consider making a Will. It all adds up to some value.

If you are 21 years old and of sound mind, you can make you own Willⁱ and change it at any time during your lifetime.

However, if your home-made Will is ineffective or invalid, your Beneficiariesⁱ may suffer unnecessary expense and distress.

It is therefore in your interest to consult a Lawyer to draft your Will

You should state the person(s) or organisation(s) to whom you wish to give away your property and assets. For example, you may give away your house, car, shares, insurance policies, bank accounts, cash and jewellery to family members, friends or to charities.

Unless you are making specific gift to certain person, you need not state or list out your assets in your Willⁱ.

However, it is good practice to have an Inventory List of your Assets and Liabilities attached to your Last Will, so that your Executor will know what your Assets comprised of. You should also update your Inventory List from time to time to reflect changes to your asset list.

This is a question of preference, and usually, a person may be influenced by the apparent lower costs offered by non-legal firms in offering Willⁱ drafting services.

In fact, the costs of a Will drafted by professional law firms are usually not more than a couple of hundreds of dollars (for relatively straightforward Will), and the law firm will usually have 1 or 2 lawyers witnessing the Testator's signature to the Will. Such solicitor's witnesses may be useful in the event of issues relating to the Testator's signature to the Will or where there are disputes surrounding the Will.

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In the event of simultaneous death, the older is deemed to have died first. The following examples may illustrate the various scenario (not exhaustive) and effects.

Example 1: Where you and your spouse have made identical Wills and give the whole of the Estate to the other
 

If you are the older spouse, it is deemed that you died first, and therefore your estate will go to your spouse’s estate under your Will and will be distributed under your spouse's Will.

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Unmarried daughters, child with some mental or physical disability and incapable of maintaining himself/herself and an infant son can apply to Court for reasonable provision for their maintenance under the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act even if they have been excluded under a Willⁱ.

Wills need not be registered in Singapore with any authority to be valid. However, you may lodge a Form 5 with the Wills Registry, Public Trustee in Singapore, which merely contains brief particulars of your Will such as date of Will, but not the contents. Your original Will or copy thereof cannot be deposited at the Wills Registry. For more information on Wills Registry, please visit this Link.
 

It is unfortunate that we are unable to take instructions from Muslims who intend to make a Willⁱ as we do not practise Syariah Laws. Please consult one who does practise Syariah Laws.

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