Borneo Post with the expert help of Rockwills Trustee Bhd, the leading specialist in estate planning having pioneered wills and trust 25 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 1: Hi I am Mr Sii, I have written my own will and recently I have heard that I should keep my Will properly so that my family can find it when I pass on. I thought keeping it in my safe deposit box was a good idea, until my friend told me that somehow the family will be unable to get it out. Is my friend right?
Rockwills Answer: Hi Mr Sii, we must say you have a good friend there who might have saved your family from tedious legal and court procedures in the future. He is right that a Will should not be kept in a safe deposit box.
The reason is very simple: when you have passed away, no one would have access to your safe deposit box, just like your bank account. While you are alive, your safe deposit box is only accessible by you. Only when your executor has obtained a Grant of Probate would he have the right to access your assets to administer your estate.
However, the original will is required in order to apply for the grant of probate. If you have kept your will in your safe deposit box, it will be locked out from your family members and for that reason, your family will have no choice but to go through lengthy legal procedures in order to apply for probate to inherit your assets.
More importantly, the wishes written in your will may not be carried out. No words could emphasise enough the importance of proper safe keeping of your will. It should be a place that is able to prevent your will from being destroyed from natural calamities, preserves the confidentiality of its content, and at the same time accessible by your family only when you pass away. Estate planning service providers such as Rockwills provides holistic services from planning to safekeeping of our client’s will. Our will custody centre not only provides protection against fire and floods, but also security and trackability so we can ensure the family members of our clients can find their Will when it is needed.
Question 2: I am in my mid-40s now, my wife and I have 4 children, my eldest son is currently 10 years old. My bakery business is what feeds my family all these years but with the recent pandemic, I am quite worried what is going to happen if I pass away. Is there anything I can do to sustain my business so that it can provide for my family at least until my children can take care of themselves and their mother?
Rockwills Answer: We have been approached by many clients who face similar concerns as you. Although a trust can be set up for the ownership of your company business, managing the business to keep it running would be challenge of practicality especially when the business is very dependent on the owner. In your case, we believe your bakery business is very much dependent on your skills in bread making. Without you at the helm, it may not be practical to keep the business running. Therefore, for the meantime, we suggest you look for alternative funding rather than relying on your business to provide for your family until your children is able to take care of themselves. We suggest that you could look at taking up an insurance policy, that can provide for sum assured that is enough for your family needs, which you fund by paying annual premium. If this is done, we can help you set up a trust with it. The trust could help you to lay down instructions on usage of the funds such as under what conditions should it be used to provide for living, medical and educational expenses until your children has attained a certain age. In the meantime, it is good to start involving your children to help you. See it is as part of training to get them ready to take over in the future. When they have reached adulthood, then you can start looking as business succession planning.
Do seek advice from a professional estate planner for a safe and certain future of your family.
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 and business development assistant general manager Sam Chan ([email protected]).