REQUIREMENTS OF A WILL
WHO CAN MAKE A WILL
The wills act provides that persons who are at least 21 years old can make a will. The exception to this are soldiers and mariners who are under the age of 21.
VALIDITY OF A WILL
A will is valid if it has the following: –
Signature on the Will
A will must be in writing and signed at the foot of the will. The position of the signature is important because any disposition or direction underneath the signature will have no effect. Additionally, it must be apparent that the testator intended to give effect by his signature to the writing on the will.
Witnesses
The testator must sign the will in the presence of 2 witnesses. No special form of attestation is required by law. Nevertheless, the procedures of obtaining letters of probate will be more straightforward where the will contains a proper attestation clause that is duly completed.
These two witnesses must not be beneficiaries or spouses of the beneficiaries of the will. Otherwise, the will may fail for the attesting witness who is also a beneficiary.
The incompetency of the witness does not affect the validity of the will. If any person at the time of the execution thereof or at any time afterwards, be incompetent to be admitted a witness to prove the execution thereof, the will shall not on that account be invalid.
Revocation of a will
A will is not revoked until a new valid will is executed if there is some writing declaring an intention to revoke it, or by burning, tearing or destroying the will.
RULES RELATING TO SPECIFIC PROPERTY
CPF Monies
CPF Monies cannot be disposed of by will. CPF members who wish to specify who will receive their CPF monies and how much each nominee should receive upon their death can make a CPF nomination. There may be more than one CPF nominee. Nominating a beneficiary of the CPF monies in a will is invalid in the absence of a nomination under the CPF Rules.
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Trust Insurance Policies
Depending on the terms of your policy, you may lose all rights to the ownership of the policy. This means that the proceeds from the policy now belong to the beneficiaries. Policy owner cannot then unilaterally change the nominations later on, and all rights over the policy will be subjected to the terms and conditions of the trust created. However, there are also revocable nominations, where the policyholder retains full rights & ownership over the policy and can revoke or change the nomination at any time without the consent of the beneficiary.
Joint Tenancies/bank accounts
In joint tenancies, each of the two joint tenants has a concurrent interest in the whole, and on the death of a joint tenant, the sole interest in the whole remains to the survivor. A joint tenancy cannot be severed via a will; proper forms and procedures must be undertaken with the SLA. A joint tenancy gives rise to a presumption of survivorship. Absent other evidence, if the testator does not survive the other joint tenant, the property will not belong to his estate to be distributed.
This is similar to the position for joint bank accounts.
Mortgage of Property
If a person dies with a mortgage on his property, the devisee to whom the property is devised shall not be entitled to have the mortgage debt discharged out of the estate of the person, unless expressly specified in the will.
Overseas Assets
A Singapore grant of probate only applies to Singapore assets. To release assets overseas, you will need to apply for a foreign grant of probate.
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