- CPF savings follow your CPF nomination, which a will cannot override.
- Marriage cancels an earlier CPF nomination.
- Nominated life insurance is paid to the nominee, outside the estate.
- Joint tenancy passes to the survivor; a tenancy-in-common share passes under the will.
Why the pieces must fit together
Estate planning is usually thought of as writing a will. In Singapore, however, CPF savings, insurance payouts and a jointly owned home are often worth more than everything else a person leaves, and each of them can pass outside the will. If a nomination or a title points one way and the will another, the will does not win.
CPF savings
CPF money is not part of your estate and is not distributed by your will. It goes to the people named in your CPF nomination, in the proportions you set. A nomination can be made online or at a CPF Service Centre and needs two witnesses aged 21 or over. Under the Enhanced Nomination Scheme, nominees can receive the money into their own CPF accounts instead of in cash.
If there is no nomination, the Public Trustee's Office distributes the savings under the intestacy rules, or Muslim law for Muslims, and you lose any say over the shares. Getting married cancels an earlier nomination. Divorce does not, so an old nomination can still name a former spouse.
Life insurance
Where a policy carries a nomination, the insurer pays the nominee directly and the money does not pass through the estate. Without a nomination, the proceeds generally fall into the estate and are dealt with under the will or, if there is none, the intestacy rules. That route can be slower, because the estate usually needs a grant first.
Property and bank accounts held with someone else
Co-owned property is held in one of two ways:
- Joint tenancy: on one owner's death, their interest passes automatically to the surviving owner or owners. It is not part of the estate and cannot be left to anyone else by will.
- Tenancy in common: each owner has a defined share, which need not be equal. On death, that share forms part of the estate and passes under the will or the intestacy rules.
Co-owners can convert from one form of holding to the other if their plans change. A bank account in joint names likewise passes to the surviving holder.
Trusts for younger beneficiaries
A will can set up a trust so that money left to a child under 21, or to a dependant who cannot manage money, is held and used by a trustee for purposes such as education or care, rather than handed over outright.
A short review list
- Check that a CPF nomination exists, and renew it after marriage.
- Check the nomination on every life policy.
- Confirm how each co-owned property is held.
- Make sure the will deals with whatever is left once these are accounted for.
- Revisit everything after marriage, divorce, a birth or a death in the family.
This article is general information on Singapore law and is not legal advice. Rules and agency policies change, and every situation is different. For advice on your own circumstances, speak with us.
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