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Thursday 13 November 2014

What happen when there is no Will?



This post is a follow up from the previous post. Hope it can help people.


BEFORE I start, i must said we cannot blame anyone for this situation.

It is almost not correct to ask a person to prepare a will when they are old, they might take the request as a wrong understanding and a possibility of their ascend as looking forward to.

One must educate their love ones by sharing facts around them. Let them decide whether to prepare a will as a form of respect.
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What happen when there are no will?

This will be more complicated then one can think and it will be a long long drag if one choose to handle it alone.

For starters one can read this:

Apply for Death Extract (with or without will)

http://www.ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=147&secid=143

You must note that a death certificate can only be applied for, what a third party pass to you be it doctor or investigator, is the Certificate of Cause of Death.

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Once you received the death certificate. One can move on with the following concurrently (if any):

1. Contact a Lawyer to help with procedure (if one choose to)

Grant of Letters of Administration $2,000/= range

Grant of Probate $1,500/= range

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2. If one choose not to engage a lawyer and there is no Will, the person to administer his estate is known as an administrator.

To be recognized legally as the executor/administrator, one should:

Apply to the High Court or Subordinate Courts to obtain a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration. You can also consult a lawyer from any private law firm or Legal Aid Bureau to apply for the Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration.

File the Schedule of Assets with the Courts.
The executor will extract the Grant of Probate and distribute the assets according to the deceased's Will. If the deceased did not make a Will, the administrator will extract the Grant of Letters of Administration and distribute the assets according to the Intestate Succession Act.

Supreme Court Stamp fees for Probate/Letters of Administration

Originating Summons and supporting affidavit : S$1,000.00

Administration Oath :

a. S$20.00 (where the value of the estate is up to S$1 million)

b. S$50.00 (where the value of the estate is more than S$1 million)

c. Certificate of Result of Caveat Search : Free

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Point 3 and below legal administrator must have these proper documents:

i. Death Certificate of deceased
ii. Marriage Certificate or Certificate of Making the Decree Nisi Absolute (i.e. Divorce Certificate), where applicable
iii. Birth certificate(s) of the deceased person’s child(ren)
iv. Singapore identity card or other identification documents
v. Nominees' bank passbooks or bank statements
vi. Nominees' statement of account with the Central Depository Pte Ltd (CDP) if the
Special Discounted Shares due to the nominee is to be transferred to his or her individual CDP account.

Source: http://www.nea.gov.sg/passesaway/notice.htm#Ins

Do note that There is no estate duty payable for deaths on and after 15 Feb 2008.
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3. The legal administrator should Notify the Banks (The account will be frozen) Provided no one go draw out the money before notifying.

4. The legal administrator/Beneficiaries should Notify the Insurance Companies for claims, usually with the help of Financial Planner

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5. The legal administrator/nominated beneficiaries should Notify the Central Provident Fund (CPF)

Take Note:

If a nomination is made under the CPF Act, your nominee shall be entitled to the funds in your CPF account regardless of what is stated in your Will.

If one have not made a nomination, the funds will be distributed under the law in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act.

If one get married after making a nomination, the nomination made before marriage is automatically cancelled. Therefore, one ought to make a new nomination after marrying

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6. The legal administrator must issue a notice to The Central Depository Pte Ltd with the below form (weblink)http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=Id%3A%2257e1ce26-231b-4d58-918e-52288238360f%22%20Status%3Ainforce;rec=0#Sc-.

To read more on Companies (Central Depository System) Regulations:

http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=CompId%3A90beb880-4177-40b2-b42d-c7a58656713d%20ValidTime%3A20140726000000%20TransactionTime%3A20140726000000;rec=0#pr12-he-.

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Lastly, one should know how one estate is distributed without a will.

http://singaporelegaladvice.com/in-the-absence-of-a-will-how-is-the-deceased-estate-distributed/

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This post might not have covered all that are needed to know but it act as a starter.

I sincerely hope this post can help anyone in anyway.

It is still recommend to get a lawyer to have a peace of mind.

Live a proper life everyone. Life is not just about trading and investing.

Another Good Deed Done!

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