Part of the Own Your Legacy: Getting Your Wills, LPAs, and Directives Sorted series
Every instrument covered so far in this series, the Advance Medical Directive, Advance Care Planning, and the Lasting Power of Attorney, deals with a person who is still alive but unable to make decisions for themselves.
A will is different in kind, not just in degree. It only takes effect on death, and it answers a question none of those other documents touch: who inherits what.
What a Will Does
A will is a legal document made under the Wills Act 1838 that lets a person, called the testator, decide who receives their assets after they die. It typically:
- appoints one or more executors to carry out its terms;
- names beneficiaries and what they receive;
- includes a revocation clause cancelling any earlier will;, and
- a residuary clause dealing with anything not specifically mentioned, including gifts that fail because a named beneficiary has already died.
An executor must be at least 21 years old, mentally sound, and not an undischarged bankrupt. A beneficiary can also serve as executor, and many people appoint a spouse or adult child to fill both roles. It is good practice to name an alternate executor as well, in case the first choice is unable or unwilling to act when the time comes.
Execution Requirements
A will must be signed by the testator in the presence of two witnesses, who must then also sign in the testator’s presence. The witnesses cannot be beneficiaries under the will, or married to a beneficiary.
This is one of the most common drafting errors: if a beneficiary or their spouse acts as a witness, that beneficiary’s gift under the will can be forfeited entirely, even though the rest of the will remains valid. Using witnesses with no financial interest in the estate avoids this problem altogether.
Verbal wills have no legal effect in Singapore, except in extremely narrow circumstances. For virtually everyone else, a will must be in writing and properly executed to have any effect.
What Automatically Revokes a Will
Marriage automatically revokes any existing will, unless the will was made in specific contemplation of that marriage. This surprises many people.
A will drafted before marriage, without a clause addressing the upcoming marriage, becomes void the moment the marriage takes place, potentially leaving someone with no valid will at all until a new one is made.
Divorce, notably, does not automatically revoke a will under Singapore law, which means a former spouse named as a beneficiary can remain entitled unless the will is updated.
This is one of several reasons wills should be reviewed after any major life event, not just written once and filed away.
Dying Without a Will
If a person dies without a valid will, their estate is distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act, which sets out fixed shares for surviving spouses, children, parents, and other relatives depending on the family structure.
These fixed rules apply regardless of what the deceased might have actually wanted, and they can produce outcomes that surprise or disappoint family members, particularly in blended families or where a testator wished to benefit someone outside the statutory categories, such as a close friend or a charity.
Administering an intestate estate also requires the next of kin to apply to court for a Grant of Letters of Administration, appointing an administrator in place of the executor a will would otherwise have named, a process that tends to be slower and more contentious than administering a properly drafted will.
CPF Is Not Covered by a Will
A will does not govern CPF savings. To direct how CPF funds are distributed, a separate CPF nomination must be made through the CPF Board.
Without one, CPF savings are transferred to the Public Trustee’s Office and distributed under the Intestate Succession Act regardless of what the will says, with an administrative fee deducted from amounts above a set threshold.
Muslim Wills
Muslims domiciled in Singapore at the time of death may make a will under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, which must be consistent with Islamic inheritance rules, known as Faraid. This runs alongside, rather than instead of, the general framework described above, and requires its own specific drafting approach.
A Will Is Part of a Larger Plan
A will works alongside, not instead of, the Advance Medical Directive, Advance Care Planning, and Lasting Power of Attorney covered earlier in this series. Together they cover both halves of the planning problem: incapacity while alive, and distribution after death. The final article in this series brings all four instruments together into a single practical checklist.
If you would like help drafting or reviewing a will, including making sure it works correctly alongside your LPA and CPF nomination, we can help you avoid the mistakes that most often invalidate one.
