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Estate Planning is a crucial financial planning aspect. However, it remains one of the most misunderstood planning areas, with individuals not giving it enough importance.
Estate planning in Singapore ensures that the people you love receive what you wish to give them effectively. It ensures that your loved ones are well taken care of after your passing away.
Several myths revolving around estate planning makes individuals judge its significance. This article will help bust common estate planning myths that will help you realise its importance and need.
1. I’m Too Young for Estate Planning
A Common myth related to estate planning is that you have to be old to create an estate plan. That’s not true. One can never comprehend when they might be needing an estate plan, and by then, it might be too late.
Irrespective of your age, you can create an estate plan as life can be unpredictable. You want your family members to be secure even after you are long gone.
2. Estate Planning is Just for the Wealthy
It is a myth that estate planning is limited to the wealthy. Estate planning needs to be engaged in by everyone irrespective of age, marital status, or estate size especially if you have a spouse, minor children, or other dependents.
An estate plan is essential for the protection of their future income needs and interests. If you own property and assets, have a bank account, investments, and loved ones dependent upon you to provide for their care and income, you have an estate and need a valuable estate plan.
3. Estate Planning is Only About Distributing My Assets After I’m Gone
You do not want to leave an estate behind merely. You want to leave behind a legacy that lasts across generations! Legacy and incapacity planning are two key planning areas that encompass more than just managing your estates during or after your lifetime.
It is a broad spectrum that includes significant charitable planning goals, gifting strategies and monetary aspects, along with passing down the values, experiences, hard work and memories that define your life and are meaningful to you and your family.
Incapacity planning helps you prepare for unexpected events at each stage of your life. It involves naming a guardian to your minor children, the person who will be managing your affairs when you’re unable to do so yourself, the type of care you will be receiving and who will oversee your maintenance.
4. A Will Can Oversee the Distribution of All of My Assets
Remember that a will is not enough for overseeing all of your assets. It is a legal document that instructs the distribution of your property after your death.
It allows you to name an executor who acts as your representative and oversees the distribution of your property and assets among your survivors. Certain assets may not be a part of your will. It includes properties, investments, estates, etc.
Creating trust is equally important as it offers several tax benefits and protection of valuable assets that might be given to minor beneficiaries when they are of legal age. Drafting only a will does not offer justice to all your assets.
There are several types of trust that you can choose from and create one that fully protects your assets.
5. You Need A Lawyer
Several individuals feel that hiring a lawyer for estate planning is expensive and unneeded. That’s true in certain situations. Lawyers can be costly at times, so you can always approach an estate planning agency comprising professional estate planners.
These estate planners will sit down with you, understand your estates and go through your estate in the event of your passing away. They offer a holistic estate planning approach that takes care of all your estates. Estate planners are affordable and get the job done perfectly.
6. If I pass away without a will, the state will get my assets
It is a known fact that when a person passes away without a will in Singapore. They are said to have died “intestate”.
If you pass away without a will in Singapore, the Intestate Succession Act determines how the deceased’s estate is distributed amongst his survivors. Section 7 of the Intestate Succession Act outlines the distribution of assets among survivors.
The family members of the deceased inherit all assets in the proportions as prescribed in the Intestate Act. It is why creating a will is highly crucial. It allows the individual to have an opinion on who should manage their assets and receive their assets after their passing away.
7. The Process Is Very Long
Estate planning is not a very long process. It is an easy process that involves communicating your wishes, desires and estate plan to the estate planner. The estate planner advises you on strategic asset distribution among your family members. The whole process can be completed within a few sessions.
Estate Planning Singapore
Lighthouse Legacy believes in building legacies and not only estate plans.
Our estate planners offer a holistic approach that involves passing down your assets and your ideas, experience, hard work, relationships that helps your future generations to achieve more success and wealth in life.
