What to consider on planning your estate

If you have decided to write a Will, planning your estate should be taken into consideration thoroughly.

Think of --

• What do you have? (movable : cash, unit trust, stock/shares, insurance, EPF etc..even your expensive jewellery, antiques, artwork..; immovable : house, shop, land etc..) And, not necessary in West Malaysia but also East Malaysia.
• What do you owe? (bank loan, house loan, car loan, tax, credit card, overdraft etc..)
• Who to give? (not only to your children or husband, maybe your siblings, parents, good friend, charity etc..)
• How to give? (periodically, in a lump sum etc..)
• Who do you trust? (to be your Guardian of your children, to be the Trustee to hold the Trust and an Executor to run all matters related to your last wishes in the Will)
  

Appointing Executor is an important decision in your Will because this person will be responsible and full authority for the administration of the deceased's estate. Therefore this person must be reliable, honest and just, also to have the time and competence to complete the process.

If you have minor children (children below 21 years old), do appoint Guardian(s). The surviving spouse is duly act as the role of a Guardian and the appointed Guardian is the substitute when both parents are not around anymore.

As for the beneficiaries, they will be someone you love in your immediate family or extended family. You can also benefit any charitable and other non-profit organization. It is highly advisable to name substitute beneficiaries should there be an event when the sole beneficiary predeceased the testator.

If you have written a Will before, you have to re-write in these circumstances :-

• Marry or Re-marry
• Change of Executor/Guardian/Beneficiaries
• Change of Assets (Start of a new business or partnership, new properties purchased or inherited etc..)
• Addition of new family member (New-born or adoption)

we are all mortal and we can't deny it...

As we are all mortal and death often comes like a thief when we least expected, we owe it to our loved ones to make a Will during our lifetime. After reading my earlier blogs, we know that it is important to write a Will because by not making a Will, all our assets will not be distributed according to our wishes after our death.

When a person dies without making a Will, he is said to have died "Intestate", his property is called his " Estate" and his children, his "Issues". The law that deals with the distribution of the property of an Intestate is the Distribution Act 1958, which applies to non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia only. An Intestate's estate will be distributed among the surviving family members according to the Distribution Act. The same law applies to the male or female deceased persons. The procedures for an Intestate to apply the Letter of Administration will be different from those who has a valid Will.

About Writing a Will

Q : How to define a valid Will?
A : The testator must be of sound minded when signing the Will and above 18 years old (West Malaysia & Sarawak whereas 21 in Sabah); the Will in written/typed format, the testator sign in front of 2 witnesses & the 2 witnesses sign in front of the testator at the SAME time.

Q : Who can not be the witness?
A : The beneficiaries or their spouse. Otherwise, they will loose their right to inherit the assets.

Q : What is the name of the person to carry the duties to administer the assets? What are the duties?
A : Executor; the duties included

• To locate the Will
• To make funeral arrangement
• Apply for Grant of Probate (GP)
• Calling in assets of deceased
• To pay debts
• To prepare Statement of Accounts
• To distribute assets according to the Will
• To carry out wishes mentioned in the will

Q : Can a Beneficiary be the Executor?
A : Yes, and he can still inherit the assets.

Q : Who can be an Executor?
A : Someone you trust i.e. your spouse or one of your children or a Trust Corporation.

Q : What is the pro & con when appointing individual as an Executor?
A : It is understandable that you would appoint the one you trust and you have confidence in this perosn but it is not easy being an Executor, it is because this person needs to have enough knowledge in Estate Administration, legal or accounting related issues, and also the time & effort. Should this person lacks knowledge & time or may not be competent, the duration of a Probate granted will be prolonged. What if this person couldnt survive you? What if this person becomes greedy after obtaining the Grant of Probate since all assets are transferred under this person's name?

Q : How about appointing a Trust Corporation?
A : It is advisable to appoint a Trustee Company to be your Executor because there is continuity in administering your assets. It has the expertise & competency in handling your estate. A Trustee Company will be fair to distribute according to the instruction in the Will.

Q : Can my Will in Chinese? is it still valid?
A : A Chinese Will is still valid.

Q : How about a Will being tape recorded?
A : No, it is not valid.

Q : Can I distribute all my assets to my children in equal shares?
A : Not all, i.e. car. You can sell it and distribute the proceeds equally though. You can however distribute a house to all your children. But the problem is all of them must consent when selling the house.

Q : Is it necessary to have my beneficiaries around when I sign my Will?
A : Not necessary

Money left behind... Sigh!

From the Star newspaper dated 9 Nov 2009 ( more than a year ago).. there were RM3bil remain unclaimed from the Accountant-General's Department because the depositors failed to name their beneficiaries before dying. It could be the deceased depositors' next-of-kin or their children didnt even know didnt even know about the money that was left behind. The money could be left in the EPF or the banks, or they are not awared of the procedures to claim. Most of all, the deceased didnt write a Will before dying.

It is not that easy for the next-of-kin or children to inherit the deceased assets if there is no Will written. They have to go through a tough time before they could claim the deceased's assets. And it has to go according to the Distribution Act 1958. What is Distribution Act 1958?

The Distribution Act 1958(As Amended in 1997) is applicable to all Malaysian and Foreigners with Malaysian domicile who die intestate in Malaysia. The Act apply to foreigners whether they are working here as an expatriate or living in Malaysia on the MM2H programme(My Malaysia Second Home Programme). Please view the image attached.

When is the BEST time to write your Will?

From my experience, it is common to have people asking me.. "When is the best time to write a Will?". The answer I give to them is always... "Now". Why?? No matter how young or how old a person is, it is essential for them to have a Will in order to protect their hard-earned assets and loved ones.

There are few interesting facts :

• the oldest testator that Rockwills has was 101 years old in 2004
• the youngest was 18 years old in 2009
• more than 80% of testators are from the age group between 31-60 years old
• Rockwills has 53.54% of male testators & 46.46% of female testators
• Majority of the female wrote their Wills before 30
• Majority of the male wrote their Wills after 30

And, writing a Will is :

• not for the rich only but also for the poor
• not for the elderly but also for those above 18 years old
• vital as a Wealth Distribution

So, write a Will now to preserve your hard-earned assets and protect your beloved ones.

"CHOY!! 大吉利是，我还没死!"

"你立遗嘱了吗？" 若你用关心的语气询问对方时，可能他们会回你，"CHOY!! 大吉利是，我还没死!" 那，难道。。立遗嘱是为那些临死的人而设的吗？你是否知道立遗嘱的好处？没立遗嘱又有什么不好？

你须要遗嘱保护你爱的家人，因为在没有遗嘱下，他们须经过繁杂的法律程序。当一个人过世后，他所有的资产将被冻结；他的家人须要找一至两位遗产管理人与担保人（相等于死 者资产的总值）以便取得被冻结了的资产。他们也 须要花更多时间与金钱（二至五年或更长）。遗产 更会依照遗产分配法令来分配，他也无法选择孩子的监护人，信托人及遗产受益人！

天有不测之风云，人有旦夕之祸福。任何事情都可能发生，请不要等到没有资格立遗嘱才焦急。尽早作出妥善的安排，可以免除百日之忧。

有立遗嘱是对家人关爱与责任的表现。

What if you do not have a will? ..........

Without a will, your assets could be more troublesome than beneficial to your family at a time when they are most vulnerable. They could become involved in a long drawn process with the law or a complex legal battle. You can make distribution of estates quicker and less painful for your family. There could be long delays in the transfer and there could be potential loss to the value of the estate due to taxes, cost of administrations and legal disputes. To this end, the objective of estate planning is to ensure that the transfer of our estate is done in the most efficient and cost effective way.

Without a will, the law will decide who your beneficiaries should be. You should never assume that your assets would go to the person you want to benefit. Leave nothing to chance. Make a will and the law will protect your wishes. Death is an emotional and difficult time for family members. By leaving a will, you are able to eliminate the hassle involved in sorting out your estate. Clear instructions will prevent disputes among family members fighting over the assets that we leave behind.