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• Islamic and Customary Laws
• Estate Legalese (Terms)
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WHEN DOES A WILL NOT HELP ?

There are situations in which having a will won't necessarily change anything.

As a will only controls the assets in your name that are part of your estate, there are few types of assets which are not part of your estate and you cannot will those assets away, such as your EPF monies, retirement benefits and life insurance.

If you have made a nomination under Employees Provident Fund Act 1951 for your EPF monies, your nominees shall be entitled to your EPF monies regardless of what you state in your will.

Under Section 166 of the Insurance Act 1996, if you have a life insurance policies and have made a nomination, a trust will be created and a will does not bind the insurance. Your insurance sum no longer forms part of your estate.

Your company shares are considered a separate legal entity and the shares do not pass under a will. You have to mentioned it in the Memorandum and Articles of Association of your company for any restriction in the transfer of shares.

Your properties held under joint ownership where the mandate gives the right of survivorship also cannot be dealt within a will.

Other properties which cannot be will away include native properties such as weapons, old jars and other ancestral properties known as "Harta Pusaka" in the Malay term. A native can still draw up a will provided it is not contrary to the native law.

By including instructions on the place and the way you wish to be buried or make gifts of your organs for medical use are poor reasons to have a will. Normally, nobody looks at the will until after the funeral and burial, so it is quite likely that instructions for the disposition of your body will be found too late to do anything about them.

CAN I CHANGE MY WILL ?

You may change your will at any time and from time to time during your lifetime.

However, you should never attempt to change your will by deleting words or adding words in or by attaching anything to it. If you do, your will becomes ineffective or invalid unless the changes are properly made.

Under the Wills Act 1959, no obliteration, interlineation or other alteration made in a will, after its execution, is valid or has any effect except so far as the words or effect of the will before the alteration are not apparent, unless the alteration or a memorandum referring to the alteration and written on the will, is executed in the manner in which a will is required to be executed.

Always rewrite or draw up a new will if you wish to change it. The new will, automatically supersede the previous will.

It is advisable to review your will if:

• you or anyone mentioned in the will change name.
• your executor becomes unfit or unsuitable to act or dies.
• there are changes which you consider will affect the will.

You should review your will regularly.