Have you thought about your estate plan?

Divide a blank piece of A4-sized paper into
four quadrants as shown in Figure 1. It’s
already fi lled in with an example of Adam
and his family.

Quadrant A – Specify your main beneficiaries
Here are the people Adam (aged 45)
wishes to benefi t – Betty his wife (40), their
two children (10 and 12), and his parents.

Quadrant B – List down your assets
Your assets can be divided into (a)
immovables that “do not move” such as
land and condos, and (b) movables that
can move such as bank accounts and
insurance policies.

Most of what Adam owns is situated
in Singapore although he has a UK
bank account and apartment.

Adam estimates his net worth at death
(NWAD) is $3.2 million.

Quadrant C – Specify immediate gifts
Adam plans to give $200,000 to his parents
and the remainder to be shared equally
among his wife and two children. Should
his children receive their gifts immediately
upon his passing? I think that would be
a bad idea. His children could become
millionaires at a very young age and lose
the desire to study and work thereafter.

Quadrant D – Specify delayed gifts
After speaking with an estate planner,
Adam decides to delay the gifts to his
children by entrusting $2 million to a
trustee. A trustee is a person or institution
that would hold the money for his children
for over a period of time.

Adam instructs the trustee release
money to his children only for
maintenance, education and medical
expenses up to say $10,000 a month. Then
when his children each reach 30, the
remaining money can be given to them.

Keon Chee LLB MBA
Director,
Rockwills Trustee Ltd