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“Love Is Thicker Than Water but Money Is Thicker Than Love”

ipoh | March 10, 2010 | 0 Comments

BY PETER LEE

The recent legal battle over the validity of 2 competing Wills of Nina Wang, one of Asia’s richest women concluded with a Court ruling in favour of the 2002 Will over the one in 2006. The 2006 Will held by her lover makes him the sole heir of her entire estate estimated to be RM44.8 billion. The 2002 Will left Wang’s fortune to a Charitable Foundation which was set up by her and her late husband. The court ruled that the signature of the 2006 Will was highly skilled simulation.

Presuming that one has such wealth, one could take some preventive measures to minimize some of the potential problems. To ensure that the Will is valid, one option is to appoint a minimum of 2 trustworthy individuals to be joint Executors. One can have a maximum of 4 Executors.

The other option is to choose an established and reputable Trust company like ROCKWILLS TRUSTEE BERHAD that have the expertise, knowledge, security, continuity and accountability to execute your wishes.

Having chosen your Executor, it is always important to clearly state the distribution of the assets to the beneficiaries in the Will. This enables your executor to carry out your instructions easily without any problems. To prevent doubts arising from a case such as Nina Wang’s estate, it is important to engage professionals who are experts in Estate Planning to prepare your Will.

When a Will is completed, the execution involves 3 parties. One is the Testator (the owner of the Will). The other 2 parties are the witnesses who are not beneficiaries or their spouse. The witnesses are to be present when the Testator signs his Will and the Testator must witness the signing of the 2 witnesses. When the Testator signs his Will witnessed by 2 witnesses, the Testator must be of sound mind to know the contents of the Will and distribution, and not under duress so that he is making this Will voluntarily.

When this exercise is completed, it is important to keep your Will with a reputable company providing Will custody services. This will prevent the Will being lost, damaged or tampered with. Taking the above preventive steps will solve problems that occurred in Nina Wang’s Will and it will ensure that your instructions are carried out.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very “HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR” and looking forward to “Making Your Wishes Come True”.

Peter Lee is an Associate Estate Planning Practitioner (Wills & Trust) with RockWills International Group. He is also an Islamic Estate Planner providing Wills & Trust services for Muslims. He is based in Ipoh and can be reached at: 012-5078825/05-2554853 or excelsec@streamyx.com.