Should you DIY or pay someone to draft your will in Singapore?

It’s a misconception in Singapore that it’s necessary to hire a lawyer to draft a will. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anybody can draft a will for you. In fact, if necessary, you can even write your own will, and it can be a perfectly valid will after you pass on.

While drafting wills does tend to lie within the domain of most estate-planning lawyers, many wills-drafting companies have also sprung up to service these needs. These companies usually don’t have any lawyers or even anyone legally trained but they survive by keeping themselves up to date on the existing law and marketing themselves heavily.

However, just because you can write your own will without having to spend a single cent doesn’t necessarily mean you should DIY. While it’s not impossible for the determined layman to pick up, there are a number of statutes and laws to get your head around if you want to make sure your will is drafted correctly.

You might want to take a look at this will-drafting guide if you’d like to draft your own will.

At the very least, you should be conversant with the Wills Act (Chapter 352) before embarking on writing your own will.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Drafting your own Will

Advantages

  1. There’ll be zero costs as you’ll be drafting the will yourself. All you need is a pen (or more likely, a word processor).
  2. There’s the added benefit of learning and picking up a new skillset.
  3. Anytime you need to update your will, you won’t have to make an appointment with a lawyer or will-drafting company. You can just do it yourself.

Disadvantages

  1. Exclusions will not be caught. It’s relatively easy to miss out on certain beneficiaries in a will. Someone who drafts your will, be it a lawyer or someone from a will-drafting company, will usually review your list of beneficiaries and ask you in-depth questions to make sure your will is an accurate representation of how you want your assets to be distributed in the event you pass on.
  2. There’s a higher propensity for error. It’s more difficult for someone without legal training and experience in wills and probate law to be able to perfectly draft a will. There are numerous grey areas in the law that a layman might completely miss out on or misinterpret.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Paying someone to Draft your Will

Advantages

  1. It’s relatively affordable to hire someone to draft a will for you nowadays. Simple wills tend to start from around $180. Complex wills can be more expensive but if you have a lot of assets in different countries, you probably won’t want to be drafting your own will as well.
  2. Hiring someone to draft your will ensures peace of mind, particularly if you’ve hired a lawyer to write your will. There’ll be less chance that a beneficiary will contest probate in the event of your passing and you’ll feel more assured that there won’t be errors in the will.
  3. Most estate-planning lawyers in Singapore can advise you on the whole estate-planning process, as opposed to merely the drafting of the will. Your lawyer can also assist you with getting a Lasting Power of Attorney and help your executors with extracting the Grant of Probate upon your passing.

Disadvantages

  1. You’ll have to incur costs to get peace of mind. While the price of having a will drafted is relatively cheap, you do still have to pay for it.

Conclusion:

There’s no real right or wrong answer here. If you’re willing to spend the time and effort to learn the relevant laws and statutes surrounding wills, it can be a fruitful exercise to write your own will.

However, if you’re not willing (or unable) to spend the time to pick up will-drafting, it’s probably in your best interest to go to a professional will drafter, preferably a lawyer. The last thing anyone needs is a will riddled with errors. A DIY will that’s poorly drafted can save you money in the short term but create a mess for your heirs when you’re gone.

Author Profile:

Shen is a writer for Singapore Probate, a website where Singaporeans can learn more about estate-planning matters in Singapore.

Read More...

5 Reasons to Create a Will in Singapore

While there has been an increase in the number of younger people making wills in Singapore [1], there still seems to be a lingering taboo over the creation of something Singaporeans perceive to be morbid.

Unfortunately, as the saying goes, nothing is sure in life except death and taxes, and we all need to realize this fact and plan ahead for the future.

Generally, it tends to be a good idea for anyone to create a will. However, it’s even more important in certain situations, such as when you’re married with children, a single parent or blessed with multiple valuable assets.

So without further ado, here are 5 reasons why you should create your Singapore will.

1) To determine who receives your assets.

Generally, if you’re a Non-muslim in Singapore, and wish to distribute your estate in accordance with your wishes, you will have to create a will. If you don’t do so, your estate will be distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act, and this may unfortunately go against your true wishes.

2) To make things easier for your family.

Creating a will helps establish who will take care of the relevant arrangements after you pass on and prevents unnecessary delay and grief during a painful period of time. When you create a will, a person you choose called the executor will apply for the grant of probate and handle the necessary arrangements, which helps minimize any confusion over which member of your family will have to settle your estate after you pass on.

3) To arrange for funeral arrangements and costs.

You may have preferences as to where you wish your funeral to be held, the type of casket and picture you wish to be used, whether you wish to be buried in Choa Chu Kang or cremated, and how you wish for these expenses to be covered. Providing for this in your will can help save your family additional stress from trying to figure out what your preferences would be.

4) Prices are not high.

Many Singaporeans put off having a will written because they’re put off by high prices. However, prices for the drafting of wills in Singapore have fallen throughout the years. Competition between wills-drafting providers and lawyers have made it such that you can have a will drafted for a fraction of the price as you would have paid just a few short years ago.

5) To provide for charitable causes.

Altruism is another reason to draft a will in Singapore. You may be passionate about certain causes and wish to set aside a portion of your wealth for charitable organizations you wish to support. This is a fantastic way to give back to the community and to ensure a portion of your funds is used for a good cause.

Author Profile:

Shen is a writer for Singapore Probate, a website where Singaporeans can learn more about estate-planning matters in Singapore.

[1] http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/increase-in-number-of/2184796.html

Read More...