Does everybody have a Will?

As a matter of fact, yes we do. Even we have not visited any lawyer nor wrote anything before. The Will is actually a default Will decided by the government.

Let's talk about what happen the morning "After" death. If there's a Will in place, the person will die testate. If there's no will then the person dies intestate.

If the person dies testate (with a Will), the "appointed" representative (executor) will go to the court and go through the Probate Process and distribute the estate according to the Will.

If the person dies intestate (without a Will), the "agreed" representative will have to go to the court and go through the Administration Process and the distribution will based on the Intestate Succession Act.

Look and sounds the same? Well, not quite. In fact, there's a big difference. Let's see what's the inconvenience if the person dies intestate (without a Will):

1) "Agreed" Representative
Family members will need to agree on who will be the representative which can cause inconvenience and delays. Upon agreement the representative will be need to apply in the court to be the Administrator.

2) Bond & Sureties
Depending on the court, the Administrator might need to provide a bond and sureties (which each sureties asset worth's is same or more than the deceased) especially when there's minor involves.

3) Intestate Succession Act
The distribution can be found here at point no. 6:
https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/pto/en/deceased-cpf-estate-monies/information-for-next-of-kin-estate-monies.html
Generally, if the deceased dies leaving Spouse:
- with no children & parents : 100% Spouse
- with children & no parents : 50% Spouse; 50% Children
- with children & parents : 50% Spouse; 50% Children

It's correct. Parents will not get anything, if the deceased dies leaving spouse with children.

Example, husband and child met with an accident and passed away. The husband estate will go to the child and wife; with no estate for the husband's parents. And when the wife passed away, her estate (including her husband's $2 million) will go to her parents.

Without a Will, you cannot determine how your estate is distributed when you passed on and it can end up with the person you dislike.

So will you make a Will?