Article: Wills and Testamentary Dispositions

What is a testamentary will?

A will is a legal document by a person declaring his intention on what should happen to his assets and personal matters after he passes on.

Proper drafting of a will is important. There are various legal rules and considerations pertaining to wills which should be noted. Once the testator has passed on, there is generally little that can be done to rectify errors or injustices arising out of a dead person’s will. Unclear and ambiguous wording in a will may potentially result in problems implementing the will or even its invalidity. It may also give rise to unnecessary litigation by the (potential) beneficiaries of the will.

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December 8, 2015December 14, 2015

Case Update: Y.E.S. F&B Group Pte Ltd v Soup Restaurant Singapore [2015] – contractual interpretation

Y.E.S. F&B Group Pte Ltd v Soup Restaurant Singapore Pte Ltd (formerly known as Soup Restaurant (Causeway Point) Pte Ltd) [2015] SGCA 55

Significance: principles of contractual interpretation. Court of Appeal allowed appeal on holdings of contractual interpretation based on evidential context.

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December 8, 2015January 15, 2016

Article: Trust Nomination of Insurance Policy Moneys

What is a trust nomination of insurance policy moneys?

Under section 49L of the Insurance Act (Cap. 142) (“IA“), a policy owner of a relevant policy who is at least 18 years old may

(a) nominate as the beneficiary or beneficiaries under the relevant policy his spouse, his children, his spouse and children or any of them;

(b) express in the nomination his intention to create a trust of the policy moneys in favour of the nominee or nominees; and

(c) make the nomination, and indicates each nominee’s portion of the policy moneys, in such manner as may be prescribed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore;

and the nomination shall create a trust of the policy moneys in favour of the nominee or nominees. Such a nomination must provide for the disposition of all policy moneys under the relevant policy.

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December 8, 2015September 7, 2020

Article: Lasting Power of Attorney and Mental Capacity

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

Under section 11 of the Mental Capacity Act (Cap. 177A), a lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a power of attorney under which the donor confers on the donee(s) authority to make decisions about all or any of the following:

(a) the donor’s personal welfare or specified matters concerning the donor’s personal welfare;
(b) the donor’s property and affairs or specified matters concerning donor’s property and affairs,

when the donor no longer has capacity to make such decisions.

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December 8, 2015January 15, 2016

Article: Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney (“POA“) is a legal document that allows a person (the “Donor”) to legally authorise another person (the “Donee” or “Attorney”) to act on the Donor’s behalf either generally or with regard to a specific matter. The Donee’s acts will bind the Donor legally as though the Donor did those acts himself.

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December 6, 2015January 15, 2016

Case Update: Lee Siew Boon Winston v PP [2015] – criminal reference

Lee Siew Boon Winston v PP [2015] SGCA 67

Significance: conditions for leave to grant criminal reference to Court of Appeal.

In Singapore’s system of criminal justice, there is only one tier of appeal. Apart from the single tier of appeal, there is the criminal reference procedure, where one or more questions of law of public interest can be brought to the Court of Appeal, but only with leave: [4].

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