6 Reasons To Make A Will
Most Asians do not like to approach the subject of death. It is considered a taboo subject. Hence, the thought of writing a Will is far from the minds of most Asians as it deals with the things after death. However, based on the cases I’ve come across in my legal practice, I’ve seen many families (next-of-kin) of those who died without a Will but leaving assets going through a stressful period of trying to administer the Estate of the deceased. It is usually through such an experience that the surviving members deem it important that they write their own Will for the benefit of those whom they are living behind. There are many good reasons why one should consider writing a Will. I have 6 good reasons for you as follows.
A Will only takes effect upon the death of the Testator (the person who makes the Will). This allows the Testator to change his Will as many times as he wishes during his lifetime. He may change his mind about how he wants his assets to be dealt with and distributed and the flexibility of changing Wills allows this to be done. Read more
Nominate Your EPF Beneficiaries If You Have Not Done So
It has just been reported today that “beginning June 1 next year, any claim on a deceased spouse’s Employers Provident Fund savings will only be paid once the claimant reaches the age of 55. According to EPF chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Zainol, this would apply to cases where a person obtained a court order stating that the claimant would get the contributor’s savings.” It is also reported that this ruling only applies to non-muslims in the country as EPF is not deemed as matrimonial property according to the prevailing Fatwa in the country.
My reading of the brief piece of news above alerted me to the possibility that this ruling only applies when the EPF contributor does not nominate any beneficiaries to his EPF account. Where nomination has been made, the nominees / beneficiaries do not need a court order to withdraw the EPF funds. It is only when there are no nominations that the EPF funds then become part of the assets of the deceased which would then be liable to be distributed together with the rest of the deceased’s assets. A Letters of Administration would need to be obtained from the Court. Read more