Making Gifts in a Will in Singapore

They should not. If a beneficiary witnesses your Will, their gift may be lost. Under section 10 of Singapore's Wills Act 1838, a gift to someone who witnesses the signing, or to their spouse, generally becomes void. The Will and the witness's signature, however, can still be valid.

Use two independent witnesses who are not beneficiaries and whose spouses are not beneficiaries.

A cash gift leaves a set amount of money to someone. A specific gift names a particular item or asset, such as jewellery, a car or a particular investment. A residuary gift gives someone all or part of what remains of your estate after debts, expenses and any cash or specific gifts provided for in your Will have been dealt with.

Singapore's Wills Act 1838 provides the legal framework for making a Will and sets out rules relating to how assets are distributed under a Will.

However, not all assets necessarily pass through your Will. For example, you may have nominated beneficiaries for certain life insurance policies or investment products, or you may own property jointly with another person as joint tenants. These assets may pass directly to the relevant beneficiary or surviving joint owner instead of under your Will.

If a beneficiary dies before you, their gift may fail and usually becomes part of what's left over in your estate under section 20 of Singapore's Wills Act 1838. The outcome depends on your Will and your relationship to that person. You should name a substitute beneficiary to make your wishes clearer. If a beneficiary dies before you, review your Will rather than assuming who will inherit.

Your gift will not necessarily go automatically to a similar charity. What happens depends on the charity's legal identity, the wording of your Will and the purpose of your gift. The Singapore High Court considered these issues in DFS v NUHS Fund Ltd [2023] SGHC 336.

To help address this situation, NobleWills' Wills include a clause dealing with charitable gifts where the named charity no longer exists or is no longer able to receive the gift. The clause is intended to allow the gift to pass to another charity with similar or substantially similar purposes, where appropriate.

We still recommend keeping your Will up to date and checking that the charity details remain current. If a charity has changed its name, merged, restructured or ceased to exist, you should review your Will to make sure your charitable wishes continue to be reflected.

A gift of a specific item may not take effect as you intended if the item has been sold, disposed of or otherwise changed before your death. What happens will depend on the wording of your Will, the nature of the change and what you still own when you die. Sections 18 to 20 of Singapore's Wills Act 1838 contain rules on later dealings with property, how a Will is construed at death and certain gifts that fail.

If you sell or replace an item specifically named in your Will, we recommend reviewing your Will.

Separate rules may apply to gifts made on death from Muslim estates.