Have I Sorted My Will, Nominations And LPA?

Your Eight Legacy Steps

Tick what you already have. Open a step to see why it matters and how to do it.

1. 1. A Valid Will

   A will says who receives what you own, and who sorts out your estate.

   I have a valid will
   If It Is Missing, And How To Do It

   If it is missing: The law decides who inherits. For non-Muslims, that is the Intestate Succession Act. For example, a spouse and children share the estate half and half. Your family must also apply to court before they can deal with your estate.

   How to do it:

   1. List what you own and who should receive it. Choose an executor, the person who carries out your will.
   2. Write the will. You must be 21 or older. A lawyer can help, especially if your family or assets are complex.
   3. Sign it in front of two witnesses who are there at the same time. A witness, or their spouse, should not receive anything under the will.
   4. Keep it safe and tell your executor where it is. You can also record where it is kept in the Wills Registry, run by the Singapore Academy of Law (a fee applies).

   Official: Wills Act 1838 (opens in new tab) · Intestate Succession Act 1967 (opens in new tab) · Guardianship of Infants Act 1934, section 7 (opens in new tab) · Family Justice Courts: Letters Of Administration (opens in new tab) · MinLaw: Wills Registry Run By The Singapore Academy Of Law (opens in new tab). Checked 30 September 2026.

2. 2. A CPF Nomination

   Your CPF savings do not follow your will. A nomination says who receives them.

   I have made a CPF nomination
   If It Is Missing, And How To Do It

   If it is missing: CPF passes your savings to the Public Trustee’s Office. It shares them out under intestacy law, or faraid for Muslims. It can take up to six months to trace your family, and a fee is taken from the money.

   A CPF nomination covers your CPF account balances. It does not cover a home bought with CPF, or investments made under the CPF Investment Scheme.

   How to do it:

   1. Log in to the CPF website with Singpass and choose to make a nomination. It is free.
   2. Pick the people who should receive your CPF savings and each person’s share.
   3. Name two witnesses. Each confirms online with Singpass within seven days, and cannot see who your nominees are.
   4. Check your confirmation. Make a new nomination after you marry, because marriage cancels an existing nomination.

   Official: CPF Board: Making A CPF Nomination (opens in new tab) · Public Trustee’s Office: CPF Money Without A Nomination (opens in new tab). Checked 30 September 2026.

3. 3. A Lasting Power Of Attorney (LPA)

   An LPA lets people you trust make decisions for you if you lose mental capacity.

   I have a registered LPA
   If It Is Missing, And How To Do It

   If it is missing: Your family may have to apply to court to be made your deputy before they can act for you. That takes longer and costs more.

   How to do it:

   1. Choose one or more people you trust (your donees) to act for you. You must be 21 or older.
   2. Fill in LPA Form 1 online with Singpass on the Office of the Public Guardian website. Form 1 is free for Singapore Citizens. Form 2 gives custom powers and must be drafted by a lawyer.
   3. Sign it in front of a certificate issuer: an accredited doctor, a practising lawyer or a registered psychiatrist. They charge their own fee.
   4. Submit it to the Office of the Public Guardian and wait for it to be registered.

   Official: Office of the Public Guardian: What Is An LPA (opens in new tab) · OPG: Find A Certificate Issuer (opens in new tab). Checked 30 September 2026.

   Helping a parent who may already have lost mental capacity? An LPA can only be made while a person still has mental capacity, so it may be too late to make one. Instead, a family member can apply to the Family Justice Courts to be appointed their deputy, with a doctor’s report on their capacity dated within the last 6 months. A deputy then reports each year to the Office of the Public Guardian. Ask the doctor first, and get legal advice if the family does not agree.

   Official: MoneySense: Lasting Power Of Attorney (opens in new tab) · Family Justice Courts: Before Applying To Be A Deputy (opens in new tab). Checked 10 October 2026.

4. 4. Your Care Wishes (Advance Care Planning)

   It tells your family and doctors what care you want if you cannot speak for yourself.

   I have written down my care wishes
   If It Is Missing, And How To Do It

   If it is missing: Your family may have to guess what you would want during a medical crisis.

   How to do it:

   1. Think about what matters most to you if you become seriously ill.
   2. Choose someone to speak for you, and talk it through with them.
   3. Record your wishes in an Advance Care Plan, online with MOH’s free myACP tool or with a trained facilitator.
   4. You can also make an Advance Medical Directive (AMD). It says you do not want extraordinary life-sustaining treatment if you are terminally ill and cannot communicate. You sign it before a doctor and one other witness, and it counts once registered.

   Official: MOH: Advance Care Planning (opens in new tab) · AIC: Advance Care Planning (opens in new tab) · MOH: Advance Medical Directive (opens in new tab). Checked 30 September 2026.

5. 5. Nominations On Your Insurance

   A nomination pays policy money straight to the people you choose.

   I have made nominations on my policies
   If It Is Missing, And How To Do It

   If it is missing: The money goes into your estate. It may only be paid after the court grants probate or letters of administration.

   How to do it:

   1. List your life and accident policies.
   2. Ask each insurer for its nomination form, or use its app.
   3. Choose a trust nomination or a revocable nomination, and name who gets what share.
   4. Keep a copy of each nomination with your records.

   Official: Insurance Act 1966, Part 3C (opens in new tab) · MoneySense: Deciding How To Transfer Your Estate (opens in new tab) · MUIS: Fatwa On Revocable Insurance Nominations (opens in new tab). Checked 30 September 2026.

6. 6. How Your Home And Joint Accounts Pass On

   How you own property decides whether your share goes to the co-owner or follows your will.

   I know how my home and joint accounts pass on
   If It Is Missing, And How To Do It

   If it is missing: Your family may be surprised. A joint tenant’s share goes to the other owner, even if a will says otherwise.

   How to do it:

   1. Check whether you own your home as joint tenants or as tenants-in-common. Your title deed or HDB records show this.
   2. Joint tenants: your share passes to the other owner when you die, whatever your will says. Tenants-in-common: your share follows your will, or intestacy law.
   3. For a joint bank account, the other holder usually keeps access. Ask your bank how it handles the account when one holder dies.
   4. Speak to a lawyer before you change how you own a property.

   Official: HDB: Keeping Your Flat After A Life Event (opens in new tab) · MAS: Reply On Joint Accounts When A Holder Dies (7 Jan 2025) (opens in new tab) · MoneySense: Understanding Estate Planning (opens in new tab). Checked 30 September 2026.

7. 7. A List Of Your Accounts And Documents

   Your family can only claim what they know about.

   My family knows where to find my accounts and papers
   If It Is Missing, And How To Do It

   If it is missing: Bank accounts, policies and investments may be missed. Finding them can take months.

   How to do it:

   1. List your bank accounts, CPF, SRS, insurance, investments, property, loans and important online accounts.
   2. Note where your will, LPA and policy papers are kept. MyLegacy@LifeSG has official guides on what your family will need.
   3. Never write passwords on the list. Say who to contact instead, such as your executor or lawyer.
   4. Keep it somewhere safe and tell one person you trust where it is.

   Official: MyLegacy@LifeSG (opens in new tab) · MoneySense: Understanding Estate Planning (opens in new tab). Checked 30 September 2026.

8. 8. A Regular Review

   Marriage, divorce, a new child or a new home can make old plans wrong.

   I have reviewed these in the past year or since my last big life change
   If It Is Missing, And How To Do It

   If it is missing: An old will or nomination can leave money to the wrong person. Marriage cancels an earlier will and an existing CPF nomination.

   How to do it:

   1. Set a yearly reminder. MoneySense suggests reviewing your estate plan at least once a year.
   2. Review sooner after marriage, divorce, a birth, a death in the family or buying property.
   3. Update your will, CPF nomination and insurance nominations if anything has changed.

   Official: MoneySense: Understanding Estate Planning (opens in new tab) · Wills Act 1838 (opens in new tab) · CPF Board: Making A CPF Nomination (opens in new tab). Checked 30 September 2026.