Q Is it common that when there is only a sole beneficiary of a will, the executor is also the beneficiary?
In rare cases like disasters when entire families are wiped out, who will inherit their assets if no will was written? Is it the husband’s blood relations or the wife’s?
In general, what details are needed in a will? All bank account numbers, insurance policy numbers? Can you provide a sample will?
A Yes, it is common for a named beneficiary (sole or otherwise) to be also named as an executor.
However, it may not always be possible - such as when the sole beneficiary is a minor (below the age of 21) or is of unsound mind, or lives overseas.
The disaster scenario that you have painted is possible as families often go on holiday together. Still, it is rare.
In these cases, an older member of the family does not necessarily die before the younger ones.
But for the purpose of discussion, let us assume that the husband is older than the wife, and they have two young children. Suppose they all die in a terrible accident and that the husband dies first.
In the absence of a will, the Intestate Succession Act will kick in. For details of this Act, you can visit the Ministry of Law website www.minlaw.gov.sg/ipto/ and click on ‘Distribution of the Estate of Deceased Persons Administered By The Public Trustee’.
The law will distribute assets in the following manner:
Half of the husband’s estate will go to his wife and the other half to his two children.
As the wife is assumed to be the next to have died, her estate (which now includes her share of her deceased husband’s) will be shared equally between her two children.
Now the full inheritance of the older child will pass on to the younger child, who will in turn have the whole share to be shared equally among:
(a) surviving grandparents (paternal and maternal), or in whose absence;
(b) surviving uncles and aunts (paternal and maternal).
In writing a will, there is no need to state any specific asset unless you intend to make a specific gift or bequest to a specific person and/or organisation.
In such a case, you need to specify details of the asset(s) in question, as well as details of the beneficiary(ies).
While it is true that you can draft a will yourself, you need to be mindful of the requirements for a will to be valid, such as having two witnesses.
I would recommend that you consult a lawyer to have your will done.
As for will samples, you may find some on the Web.
Bernard Lim
Fellow of the Society of Will Writers and Estate Planning Practitioners (UK)
Q My former husband died two years ago and willed some of his assets to his children who are both under 21 and in my custody. A copy of the Grant of Probate was sent to us only at the end of last year.
Unfortunately, the probate process is delayed by the two executors and trustees appointed by my former husband.
One of them is not fluent in English and the other one is advanced in age. A lawyer has been hired for advice and assistance.
When I checked with the HDB and insurance company, I was told that the executors have to personally submit and sign some documents together with the beneficiaries at their offices.
For share investments, where can I obtain relevant information?
As a guardian, how can I expedite and facilitate the probate so that funds are released for my children’s education?
A Based on the brief facts, it is difficult to comment on whether the executors and trustees were in any default.
Ordinarily, for non-complicated estates, the probate process takes three to 12 months from the time of the filing of the petition.
Probate is granted only after the clearance and payment of estate duty.
Sometimes the process takes longer because of the time taken to determine all of the assets of the deceased at the date of his death and the valuation of those assets.
When the deceased does not keep good records or a file of his assets, the job of the executors will certainly be more tedious and it could contribute to delay.
The will of the deceased specifies the parties who are appointed as executors and trustees, and they are the ones who are entrusted with the duty of carrying out the matters stated in the will from the moment of death.
In law, the deceased’s estate vests in his executors upon death.
They are empowered to deal with the assets of the deceased, and that is why the HDB and the insurance company recognises the executors’ authority to deal with them on documentation and procedures for release and transfer of the deceased’s assets.
For life insurance, under the Insurance Act, the insurer could make payment of up to $150,000 to the beneficiaries without production of probate.
For information on the share investments of the deceased, you can contact the Central Depository. But the authority to seek and obtain such information is with the executors or the lawyers instructed by the executors.
Beneficiaries or their guardian, where minors are concerned, do not have such authority.
The deceased may have wanted certain assets to be held in trust for a number of years until his beneficiaries reach financial maturity.
Thus, where certain assets are given for specific purposes such as for maintenance or for the children’s education or for investment in immovable property, chances are that the terms of the will would also have given the deceased’s executors the discretion to decide the time and the amounts to be invested or distributed for those very purposes.
It is a call by the deceased for good judgment on the part of his executors and trustees when they exercise their responsibilities, and if they act reasonably, it will be difficult to challenge their actions.
Sometimes where lay persons are concerned, the deceased would not know whether such persons whom he thought could be entrusted with such responsibilities in fact end up not being interested, tardy or incompetent in carrying them out.
The primary duty of an executor is to collect and get the assets of the deceased’s estate and then to administer them according to the testator’s will.
Other duties include the payment of the deceased’s debts and liabilities, filing of the estate duty returns and, at some point, to discharge the duties as trustee in the management and distribution of the deceased’s estate.
The office of trustee is also an onerous one as it imposes upon the trustee a fiduciary relationship with the beneficiaries.
This requires the utmost diligence, good faith and loyalty in the trustee’s discharge of his duties.
If there are any grounds to allege that the existing executors and trustees have mismanaged or defaulted in the manner of the distribution of the deceased’s estate, the guardian could initiate legal action on behalf of the minors.
If they, in their capacity as trustees, acted without care and this causes loss or detriment to the estate, they are also liable to account for their actions.
There may therefore be merits for the appointment of professional executors and trustees over a lay person, at least where a testator’s estate is complex or where the testator cannot find anyone suitable to discharge the responsibilities.
Lee ChiwiChief executiveBritish and Malayan Trustees
Advice provided in this column is not meant as a substitute for comprehensive professional advice.
Source : Sunday Times - 19 Feb 2006
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