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Guides / Property and legacy

Estate planning in Singapore: why a will covers less than you think

Updated 1 October 2026

Ask most people in their 50s about estate planning and they'll say they need to write a will, or that they already have one.

A will matters. But in Singapore it leaves out one of the largest things most people own, and it does nothing at all while you're still alive. A fuller plan has four parts, and the will is only one of them.

Before we go through them, one thing that doesn't apply here. Singapore has no estate duty for deaths on or after 15 February 2008. If you've read articles about estate tax thresholds, they were almost certainly written for another country.

This post explains what each document does. It isn't legal advice. For a will or anything unusual about your family or assets, speak to a lawyer.

1. Your CPF nomination

This is the one people miss. Under the CPF Act, your CPF savings don't form part of your estate. Your will can't give them to anyone, however clearly it's worded.

What decides where your CPF goes is a CPF nomination, which covers your Ordinary, Special, MediSave and Retirement Account savings as well as any CPF LIFE premium balance left when you pass on.

Without a nomination, CPF hands your savings to the Public Trustee's Office. It distributes them under intestacy law, or under a Muslim Inheritance Certificate if that applies. You don't get to decide who receives what. The Public Trustee deducts an administrative fee first. And CPF says it can take up to six months just to work out which family members can claim.

A nomination is free. You can make one online. You need two witnesses, and neither can be someone you're nominating.

Two rules catch people out:

  • Getting married cancels any CPF nomination you made before the marriage. You need to make a new one.
  • Divorce doesn't cancel it. If your nomination still names a former spouse, it stands until you change it.

Log in to CPF and check yours. It takes a few minutes.

2. Your will

A will deals with what is part of your estate. That usually means bank accounts, investments held in your own name, and property you own on your own. It also lets you name an executor to handle things.

Under the Wills Act, a will is valid only if:

  • You're at least 21 when you make it
  • It's in writing and signed at the end
  • You sign it, or acknowledge your signature, in front of two or more witnesses who are present at the same time
  • The witnesses sign it in front of you

Two details are worth knowing. If a witness, or a witness's husband or wife, is also a beneficiary, the gift to them is void. And marriage cancels a will, unless the will says it was made with that marriage in mind.

Some things may pass outside a will altogether. Jointly owned property and insurance policies with nominated beneficiaries are common examples. How they pass depends on how they're held, which is another reason to have a lawyer look at your whole picture.

3. Your LPA

A will only works after you die. If a stroke or dementia leaves you unable to make decisions while you're alive, it does nothing.

A Lasting Power of Attorney, or LPA, lets you choose, while you still can, who decides for you if you lose mental capacity. You can give them power over your personal welfare, your property and affairs, or both. You must be at least 21 to make one.

Without one, your family may have to apply to court for a deputyship order before they can act for you. That can mean delay at a time when bills still need paying.

Most people use Form 1, the standard version. The Ministry of Social and Family Development says Form 1 applications are free for Singapore Citizens. You'll still pay a certificate issuer, such as an accredited doctor or a lawyer, to witness and certify it. Form 2 is for custom powers and has to be drafted by a lawyer.

4. Your wishes for care

The last piece isn't about money. An Advance Care Plan records the kind of care and treatment you'd want if you became seriously ill and couldn't say so yourself. It saves your family from guessing at the hardest moment.

Where your policies fit

Insurance is often a large part of what people leave behind. Look at each policy and check whom it pays out to. Some will have nominated beneficiaries and some won't. Check that the names still make sense today.

Your family will need one list of every policy you hold, with the insurer, what it pays and who it pays.

A simple order to do this in

  1. Check or make your CPF nomination this week.
  2. Make an LPA while you're well.
  3. See a lawyer about a will.
  4. Put your policies on one list, with who each one pays.

The last step is something we can help with. At a free retirement review, a Financial Consultant can go through your policies with you and put them on one page.

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