Importance of Estate Planning in Singapore

“My siblings are already fighting over my properties even though I’m still alive,” my uncle joked, acknowledging the numerous businesses and properties he owns. He stressed the importance of securing a competent lawyer to ensure his assets are distributed fairly.

You see, he plans to use his resources to establish a foundation dedicated to supporting vulnerable communities, particularly children who have been abandoned by their parents. This charitable endeavor holds a special place in his heart. He wants to ensure that his legacy will continue to help those in need even after he’s gone.

If he does not craft a Will in time, his estate will be divided according to Singapore’s intestacy laws. Having a Will will enable him to distribute his estate according to his wishes, after his death. It will allow him to give his money to the people he feels needs it most. Can you imagine how this vital document can change the lives of those around him?

Let us begin to understand what a Will is.

WHAT IS A WILL?

A Will is a legal declaration of how your assets will be distributed after your death. It prevents disagreements and provides clarity over your inheritance, which can be distributed to your loved ones or other charitable institutions after you pass away.

Apart from distribution of financial assets, a Will allows you to appoint your executors and your children’s guardians. You can approach a lawyer to help you draft a Will or use an online writing service. Feel free to change your Will anytime you see fit.

WHAT IS INSIDE A WILL?

Your Will should clearly state who is going to:
a. inherit your estate (i.e., include your beneficiary or beneficiaries),
b. take care of your children who are under 21,
c. carry out your wishes (i.e., your executor), and
d. dispose your assets if your beneficiaries pass away before you.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ESTATE PLANNING?

1. As mentioned above, estate planning helps ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes after your death.
2. It specifies who will manage your affairs after you pass away to ensure that your matters are taken care of in a timely manner. Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows someone to make decisions on your behalf in the event that you are unable to do so yourself.
3. It can help minimize taxes and legal fees.
4. Estate planning aids in ensuring that your business is smoothly transitioned to your heirs or successors.

CAN YOU PUT YOUR CPF IN THE WILL?

Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings are not covered under a Will and cannot be distributed via a Will.

You are strongly encouraged to make a CPF nomination so that your intended beneficiaries or charities can have quick access to the funds once unforeseen events happen. Moreover, completing your CPF nomination can help lessen administrative delays and avoid paying a fee to the Public Trustee’s Office for administering un-nominated CPF funds.

Not having a CPF nomination can result to your savings being distributed according to Singapore’s intestacy laws (or Islamic inheritance law).

WHAT IF I HAVE NO WILL?

If you die without creating a Will in Singapore, your assets will be distributed according to Singapore’s intestacy laws or Islamic inheritance law. The Intestate Succession Act (ISA) will take effect. Distribution following the law may not be in accordance with your wishes or may not fit your family’s current financial situation.

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Having a Will enables you to distribute your assets on your own terms. Whether you want to provide for your elderly parents or your children, updating your estate plan regularly can ensure that it remains relevant and effective in light of changes in your personal circumstances and the law.

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

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What is Generational Wealth?

Generational wealth pertains to assets passed by one generation of a family member to another. Assets can include stocks, bonds, and other investments such as real estate and family businesses.

Other terms for generational wealth include family wealth, legacy wealth, multigenerational wealth, and intergenerational wealth. Many people may associate generational wealth with financial wealth such as cash, bonds, real estate, and family businesses. However, generational wealth can include valuable possessions, heirlooms, educational legacy, traditions, and connections.

Generational wealth transfers after death by passing it down in the form of an inheritance. A generation does not always have to die off in order to enrich its heirs. Families can transfer much of their wealth in other ways such as gifts, educational expenses, and medical expenses.

For instance, your grandparent died. The Last Will and Testament specifies that the S$2 million fortune be divided evenly to five grandchildren. The funds and assets passed to these grandchildren would then be considered generational wealth.

BUILDING GENERATIONAL WEALTH

Creating generational wealth to hand down to future generations starts with establishing a solid financial footing. You can build your generational wealth by investing. Buying stocks, bonds, and other investments can help your money grow through the power of compound interest.

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Moreover, you must have an emergency fund that will prepare you for short-term goals such as down payments on a home. Eliminating high-interest debt such as credit cards can be a helpful strategy to build your savings too. Lastly, opening lucrative family business can provide opportunities for you to create a financially successful life. Pass these down to the future generation!

“When money realizes that it is in good hands, it wants to stay and multiply in those hands.”
― Idowu Koyenikan, Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability

Sources: 1 & 2

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Camella goes the extra mile to build quality homes for Filipinos

For many Filipinos, finding their own home has always topped their priorities in life. Many seek for safe havens where they can live comfortably without breaking the bank. These days, however, a comfortable life costs too much that not every hardworking Filipino can afford. This is why Camella has built quality and secure communities all over the country to provide a decent life for hardworking individuals and their families.

The deep sense of a Filipino neighborhood culture sums up the down-to-earth nature of Camella communities. Borne out of its vision of building every Filipino’s dream wherever they choose to live, Camella has constructed over 500,000 homes in key cities and provinces nationwide for 45 years. This vision has resulted in ideal homes finely built and designed, self-contained and secure properties, and a network of systems, facilities and organizations that make for a stronger foundation of every home.

Camella offers a wide range of payment options that allow homebuyers to purchase their dream homes. Customized financing schemes also help them realize their first home investment in a safe and beautiful community.

Camella provides convenient locations where families can have access to schools, medical centers, places of worship, marketplaces, shopping malls, transportation hubs, and places of work. There are Camella communities with schools, churches and commercial centers right within the property —allowing them to be nearly self-contained.

Camella features amenities for families to spend quality time together : swimming pools, basketball courts, playgrounds, landscaped parks, and tree-lined avenues that often revolve around a Clubhouse. To make it a safer place to live in, the communities are well-secured with guarded gates, roving guards and perimeter walls.

Landscaped communities

            Camella boasts of green surroundings by collaborating with a team of horticulturists — to create living communities that grow into habitats ideal for families. The group designs the landscaping and open spaces that allow residents to come home to an oasis of lush greenery.

Good business practice

            Camella has tied up with top companies that help guarantee its communities are well taken care of. To ensure the group’s competence in project management and safety-conscience building practices, Camella works hand-in-hand with MGS Corporation, which provides construction expertise to customers throughout the country.

Camella likewise works with Global Land Property Management, Inc., a group with extensive experience in managing subdivisions and condominiums. They ensure that  necessary preventive and corrective maintenance programs are implemented.

Quality systems and processes

            Camella has instituted a number of systems designed to streamline operations and communications within the company and for its residents. Camella uses the German-devised software SAP (Systems, Applications and Products), which serves as an end-to-end application system addressing the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system requirements of key departments including Sales, Administrative, Production, Customer Care, Technical Services, Purchasing, Accounting, and Finance.

Know more about Camella. Visit www.camella.com.ph and follow “@CamellaOfficial” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin.

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5 Luminous Lessons Harry Potter Taught Us About Money

The magical story of a young wizard named Harry Potter has captured the hearts of fans of all ages and with a good reason. In fact, I am wearing my Hufflepuff shirt while I am writing this.

Despite being in a fictional world, the Harry Potter characters’ financial problems cannot be solved with a wave of a wand. They also have to struggle with the challenges of saving, spending, and growing money throughout the series. Here are just some of the personal finance lessons that you can learn form the wizarding world of Harry Potter:

GET THE A DEPENDABLE AUTO-INSURANCE

In the “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” book, Ron and Harry crashed a car into a tree. It caused an irreparable damage to a car that they do not own. This scenario taught us the importance of having a car insurance.

In Singapore, it is mandatory to have your car insured. Examine your options and look for an auto-insurance that suits your needs and your budget. Some of the plans that you may consider are the FWD, Aviva, and NTUC Income auto-insurance plans. FWD has three auto-insurance plans from Classic to Prestige. Its annual premiums start from S$731.38. Aviva offers three auto-insurance plans too from Lite to Prestige. Its annual premiums start from S$883.12. Lastly, NTUC Income has Drivo Classic and Premium plans. Its annual premiums start from S$$970.35. Annual premiums are usually based on the driver’s profile and the car itself.

SORT OUT YOUR WILL

After living in an uncomfortable cupboard under the stairs for eleven years, the book’s main protagonist Harry Potter found out that he was a wizard and that his parents left him a considerable amount of money. His family’s wealth was beyond what he can imagine! Although his parents died at a very young age, when he was just a baby, it was clear that they a robust financial plan in place. They left all their wealth to Harry. This helped him secure his school supplies and daily needs throughout the years.

Unforeseen events can strike at any moment. It is important to save up for your retirement as soon as possible. Moreover, you must create a will that ensures the list of beneficiaries on all of your savings and investment accounts.

SEE THE POWER OF COMPOUND INTEREST

Harry not only benefits from his parents’ wealth, but also reap the rewards of compound interest. His money was untouched for eleven years. When he opened his vault for the first time at the Gringotts Wizarding Bank, he discovered the amount of gold and money that was in his vault. Despite having this wealth, he did not lead a lavish lifestyle.

Like Harry, you may benefit from compound interest by leaving your money untouched for years in a bank or by investing your money for the long haul.

APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE

As I said above, he did not lead a lavish lifestyle. Harry was humble. In fact, he wore the same glasses for seven years. He appreciates what he has and exemplifies this trait the most in the first book. When Hagrid gifts him Hedwig the owl, he was amazed and accepted it wholeheartedly. He was also very grateful when he was gifted the Nimbus 2000 by Professor McGonagall.

In our world, it is easy to be caught by all the sale items and designer brands. However, you must remember to strike a balance between your needs and wants. Appreciate what you have and live within a realistic budget that you set.

SECURE YOUR MONEY IN A SAFE PLACE

Harry’s immense fortune was stored in the Gringotts Wizarding Bank, located in the heart of London. The bank is operated and guarded by goblins. These goblins serve as the gatekeepers to the underground vaults. It is often described as the safest place in the Wizarding World.

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While you cannot keep your wealth within the protection of magical spells and goblins, you can secure your money in other ways. Firstly, you may set up an auto-deposit scheme to send a portion of each paycheck to your savings account. Secondly, you may store your emergency fund in a place where you will not be tempted to spend it frivolously. For instance, you may set up a different account exclusively for that. Lastly, secure your online banking apps through Two-Factor Authentication.

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

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What Happens To Your Finances When You Die In Singapore?

Technically speaking, all the monetary value that the deceased left behind belongs to his or her estate. This estate includes bank accounts, investments, and properties. The only exceptions are the assets held in the trust and the individual’s CPF money.

All the assets will be frozen once a person passes away. The professional assigned to go through the departed’s Will is known as an executor. An executor is usually a family lawyer or a trusted relative. He or she applies to be granted probate, which is a court order empowering the executor to settle all the remaining assets.

Say that the deceased did not make a legitimate Will and has an estate of about S$50,000. The surviving family members may go to the Public Trustee for them to divide the assets according to the Intestate Succession Act.

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This is why it is recommended to write your own Will while you are still alive. In fact, a straightforward online tool that can help you with that is called the WillMaker. It costs about S$89.

WILL YOU BE LIABLE FOR THE DECEASED’S DEBTS?

After the funeral costs are sorted out, the executor will liquefy the estate to pay off the deceased’s outstanding debts. Outstanding debts encompass the unpaid taxes, mortgages, credit card bills, utility bills, and so on. When the court is satisfied with all the debt payments, the remaining assets can be distributed to the beneficiaries according to the Will.

You are fortunate to know that the surviving family members are not legally responsible for the debts left behind by the deceased in Singapore. A surviving family member will only be held liable for the debts, if they have a joint loan account with the deceased.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Now, let us move on to the HDB flat left behind. HDB homeowners have a signed a mandatory insurance known as the Home Protection Scheme (HPS). This insurance protects families from losing their HDB flats in the event of death, total permanent disability, and terminal illness. HPS insures members up to age 65 or until the housing loans are paid.

Sources: 1 & 2

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