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Aug-Sep15
FINANCIAL PLANNING
WHERE THERE’S
Many people put off making a will, sometimes
until it’s too late. But for expats it’s an especially
important aspect of financial planning. We asked
ÅSA CANDUSSI WILKINS, director of
Phoenix
Wills
and a Hong Kong-based expat of 12 years
herself, all the important questions on the topic.
A WILL
What is a will?
The instrument by which money, real
estate and personal property are
distributed after your death. A will also
allows you to appoint legal guardians
of your minor children if both parents
pass away.
Today’s wills are sophisticated
documents but the principles haven’t
changed since medieval times; a will
must still be signed and witnessed in
accordance with legal requirements.
What happens if a person dies
without a will (intestate)?
When you’re a long way from home and
have a few roots down in foreign soil,
any problems arising from not having a
will are compounded. Letters that have
been signed but not witnessed count
for nothing. Verbal instructions are only
valid if they are given by a soldier on
the battlefield.
In the absence of a will that fulfils legal
requirements, the Rules of Intestacy
are brought to bear, both in your home
country andwherever youown real estate.
These are imposed by the government
and vary from country to country, and
indeed from state to state in places like
Australia, the USA and Canada. In most
countries, a limited amount (in Hong
Kong, currently HK$500,000) is allowed
to pass between spouses. Anything over
that is divided between the spouse and
children (or parents/siblings if there are
no children) and put into trust. In other
words, the capital is not available.
Should Hong Kong expats have
wills in their home countries and
here, or do wills apply across any
country a person is in?
As a general rule of thumb, an expat
should have a will for his country of
origin and residence. Furthermore he
should have a separate will for each
jurisdiction in which he holds significant
assets, and certainly where he owns
real estate or land. That’s not to say
that one will wouldn’t do the job, but it
can greatly extend the probate process.
An example is the gentleman who left
behind properties in seven countries
but only one will – the process took 23
years, cost a fortune and by the time
the assets were finally released, most
of the beneficiaries had passed away
themselves.
Do all the assets in a person’s
estate get distributed through
their will?
Any asset that is jointly owned with
someone else will automatically pass
directly to the surviving joint owner.
Is it possible to exclude a spouse
or child from a will?
In Common Law countries it’s possible,
but it must be done in a way that
prevents the excluded person from
making a claim to the estate – a claim