A foreigner with Singapore assets

“An unprecedented 128,000 millionaires are expected to relocate worldwide this year, eclipsing the previous record of 120,000 set in 2023,”

according to Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners in The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024 dated 18 June 2024.

“…and Singapore takes 3rd prize again this year with net inflows of 3,500”.

India is set to experience a significant net loss of 4,300 millionaires - of this Singapore is surely expected to be the beneficiary of many.

On 3 July 2024, the High Commission of India, Singapore - on its Bilateral Relations says about its India-Singapore Relations Diaspora and Indian Community

“…among the 1.6 million foreigners residing in Singapore, about 21 % or around 3.5 lakhs are Indian expatriates holding Indian passports, mostly serving in financial services, IT, students, construction and marine sectors. Singapore has the highest concentration of IIT and IIM alumni in any other city outside India.”

HSBC Global Indian Pulse – Singapore report indicates that

“Singapore-based global Indians are less likely to live in India in the future compared to global Indians overall (51% vs 61%). In fact, a majority (62%) are planning to retire in Singapore, rising to 92% for those aged over 50 years old.”

Proudly and well-deservedly, Singapore has taken its place as a stable and secure country to live and invest in. This sees an increasing number of foreigners, especially Indians, picking up and placing assets within its shores.

The same HSBC report found that in terms of asset classes, global Indians rated property (56%) and stock and shares (94%) as the most important areas to invest in in Singapore.

The distribution of these, upon the passing of the owner, will be in accordance with Singapore laws.

“Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”- Richard Cushing

In one’s bag of tools that one can choose to fulfil one’s estate planning goals, lies the simplest … the one that no one should miss out …. the Will.

Why make a Will?

• To choose – your Heirs

You decide completely who will inherit. There is complete testamentary freedom in choosing your beneficiaries.

Without a Will, the private international laws in Singapore apply. This means that there could well be more than one set of laws determining who will inherit your Singapore assets.

• For your immovable assets (ie. real estate), the distribution will be according to the law where the asset is situated; ie. Singapore. The intestacy laws of Singapore in the Intestacy Act will apply. The list of heirs who are entitled to your real estate and their shares may not match your wishes.
• For your movable assets (like shares in a Singapore incorporated company, monies and investments in a Singapore bank account, etc), the distribution could be according to the laws of your domicile at the time of your passing. This may not necessarily be the laws in the country of your birth, nationality, where you obtained permanent residency status or that you work in.

[As an aside, even if you do have a Singapore Will, the law of your ???? domicile can affect the distribution of your movable assets.

Nexgen Estate Planning Solutions advises on India’s position inferred on the application of the Hindu Succession Act (“HSA 1956”) [the HSA applies to Hindus, Sikhs and Jains]:-

For a Hindu domiciled in India with movables outside India, succession will be governed by HSA 1956 or by the local law of the foreign country in which the movable property is situated.

For a Hindu domiciled outside India with movables outside India, succession will not be governed by HSA 1956 but by the law of the country where the property is situated.]

You may ask:

What is “domicile”?

It is the country you are most connected to at any point of time. To reiterate, it need not be the country of your birth, nationality, where you obtained permanent residency status or that you work in. In determining your domicile, the relevant considerations include where your family and friends reside, where you spend most casual time, where you have deep roots in the community, etc.

• To choose – your Executors

Executors are the ones who will take your Will to a lawyer and then attend to the proper and timely distribution of your assets to your beneficiaries once probate is granted. This is when your executors are legally recognized by the Courts to handle the distribution of your estate. Without a Will, the Singapore Courts may grant probate to a person who is not your choice.

Your executor need not be from Singapore. During the COVID pandemic, my late client’s 2 executors, who were both Indian Nationals and residing in Kolkata and Bangalore, managed to obtain probate for a Singapore Will seamlessly.

• For speed

Without a Will the process of obtaining Letters of Administration in a Singapore Court takes longer. Your assets could deteriorate during that time.

• To choose – Guardians

A Will can be the document where you can appoint guardians for your children should you pass away while they are still under 21 years of age.

“A Man can do all things if he but wills them.” -Leon Battista Alberti