Borneo Post with the expert help of Rockwills Trustee Bhd, the leading specialist in estate planning having pioneered wills and trust 24 years ago, is publishing a regular Q&A column on estate planning. It will feature questions which readers have in mind but don’t know who to ask.
Question: What happens if both witnesses to the Will have died or cannot be located when the Will is submitted to the court for probate?
Rockwills Answer: Generally, where both witnesses are present, it is usual for affidavits from both witnesses to be submitted. However where one or both of them cannot be found, an affidavit can be executed by the executor stating it as such.
However, if there was a third party at the signing of the will who witnessed the signing of the will by the parties, and affidavit from that third party would suffice to state that the testator signed his will in the presence of the witnesses and the witnesses signed the will in the presence of the testator and that the testator appeared to have done so freely and was aware that he was signing his will.
Question: How do I divide my assets to my husband and our children? Do we divide equally or can we allocate certain items/assets to different children? What is considered equal? Can we also pass on certain items to non-blood related members through our will?
Rockwills Answer: Generally, so long as you are writing your Will, you can decide how and to whom you want to distribute your assets, whether the beneficiary is blood related to you or not.
Depending on the nature of the assets, you can have them shared between your husband and children or you can decide certain assets to be given to particular beneficiaries.
Although there is some leeway in the method of distributing your assets by writing a Will, you should also take into consideration the complications which may happen.
For example, arguments may arise if you are giving a house to be shared by your children who are not on good terms, but the same may not be a problem if it is your savings in your bank accounts as such can easily be divided.
You may also want to consider the beneficiaries’ feelings from their point of view with regards to your distribution manner so that your decision can sustain the harmonious relationship among them.
In addition to that, if your children are still minors, you may want to consider appointing a trustee in your will with specific instructions on how their entitlements are to be used for them.
Such instructions should last until they have attained the age when they can manage their own finances.
A Will is a legal instrument for you to put down your intention on how you want your assets to be distributed after you have passed away.
Until such time, you can always review and re-write your Will to suit the current situation
or the needs of your beneficiaries.
We suggest that you discuss with an experienced Estate Planner who can help to assess you and your family’s need and give you possible options to choose from.
This Q&A Column in published as a joint public service and educational initiative with Rockwills Trustee Bhd. Please email your questions related to Estate Planning to [email protected] or Rockwills’ Training & Business Development Senior Manager Sam Chan ([email protected]).