Write a Will

Hi Mr Tan,

Do you advice people to write a will? What happens if there is no will? Will the assets be distributed unfairly?

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My reply:

Here is my view as a non-lawyer.

You should write a will if you have fairly large estate, say more than $1 million, and you have specific ideas about how the assets are to be distributed on your death.

If there is no will, the legal position is that the estate will be distributed according to the intestate law. In most cases, the surviving spouse will get 50 percent and the remainder will be distributed equally among the children.

In practice, the family members will decide how best to distribute the assets among themselves. They may wish to give a larger share to a poorer member of the family. This can be decided by agreement among the members.

If there is a dispute, and the matter is brought to court, the distribution will be made according to the intestate law.

It is usually better to have a will. If you change your mind later, you can write a new will. The cost of a standard will is quite modest.