LKC's Blog on the Truth about your Will & Estate Planning:

Have you nominated your Beneficiaries for your EPF Money?

2009-11-15T00:44:00.000-08:00

LKC's comments ( on the Star news report as below: )

Nominating your beneficiaries for your EPF money is only the first layer of estate planning.

However, to avoid being caught by the situation of Double Tragedies where both parents perish leaving behind young children while all your accounts are frozen, you are advised to specify in your WILL where you want the money to go to. Usually is to the children - so you better have a Testamentary Trust in your WILL. Empower your appointed Trustee in your Will to hold on trust until your children are old enough to stand on their own two feet
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For Muslims, there is even more ground for Integrated Estate Planning because the situations are made more unique due to the Faraid distribution. It can be complicated depending on who are left behind but just a simple illustration - when a Muslim male dies, his widow will get 1/8 ( one eighth ); his father 1/6; mother 1/6; the balance to son(s) & daughter(s) in the proportion of 2:1.

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MANY people said " NO NEED to mention EPF & Insurance in the Will because there is nomination already ". Recently I mentioned this to my CFP friend & her college principal friend & they nodded their heads. There were surprised When i pointed out that is not correct from integrated estate planning point of view.

I am annoyed whenever people tell me that their will-writers ( from lawyer's office; will writing companies; those who do cross-selling like insurance agents; UT agents and bank staffs )told them that. They didn't give you the total picture.

FACT: All your areas in estate planning are inter-related and your competent estate planner must take all the followings into considerations:

1. Your Will and your EPF;
2. Your EPF and your testamentary trust;
3. Your Will and your life insurance nominations;
4. Your Will and your testamentary trust;
5. Your Will and your living trust;
6. Your Will and your business shareholdings;
7. Your life insurance and your testamentary trust;
8. Your life insurance and your living trust;
9. Your life insurance and your business shareholdings;
10. Your living trust and your business shareholdings.

Sound confusing? Don't worry.

Let me give you an analogy: your body - there are inter-relationships between your various organs in your body - your heart, your lung; your kidney; your liver; your endocrine system; your immunity system, etc. etc.

Some people call this the "holistic" approach. Psychologists say that even our emotion can affect our physical health. The reverse is also true - our physical heath also affects our mental well-being!

In the same way, you must adopt the holistic or integrated approach in your estate planning because all the areas are inter-related.

( Source:http://www.lkcestateplanning.com/?i=additional_page&id=16 )

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For your Integrated Estate Planning, please contact: www.lkcestateplanning.com
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Campaign to get EPF members to nominate beneficiaries
Published: Sunday November 15, 2009 MYT 4:12:00 PM
source:http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/15/nation/20091115161537&sec=nation

KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is launching a campaign to remind members to nominate beneficiaries for their savings.

Its general manager for public relations, Nik Affendi Jaafar, said the campaign was necessary considering that only 23 percent of the 12.4 million EPF members had nominated their beneficiaries.

"As your nomination determines who will receive your EPF savings, it can offer some financial protection to your family should death suddenly occur.

"Nomination will not only ensure speedy payment to your family, but will also help to spare your loved ones unnecessary suffering," he said in a statement here Sunday.

He said it was also vital for members to review their nomination of EPF beneficiaries from time to time to ensure that it was up to date.

"This is especially important if you experience any major life changes, such as marriage, divorce or birth of your children," he added.

According to Nik Affendi, without a nomination, members' next-of-kin would be required to produce documents, such as Letter of Administration, Letter of Probate or Distribution Order, from the relevant authorities to substantiate their claims.

The process of obtaining these documents would be time consuming and sometimes costly, as a fee was often imposed by the issuing authorities, he added.

Nik Affendi said that to nominate, members would need to only fill the KWSP 4 form and submit the completed form to any EPF branches, adding that the form could be obtained at any EPF branches or downloaded from the EPF website at www.kwsp.gov.my.

In the case of Muslim members, the beneficiary named would act as an administrator (wasi) who would be responsible for distributing the savings in accordance with Faraid Law, he added.

The campaign, to be held from Nov 16 to Dec 21, involves running of advertisements through the radio and in newspapers to remind EPF members to nominate and update their EPF nomination. - Bernama

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Muslims’ Integrated Estate Planning:

2009-11-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

Responding to my Muslim lady fb friend's post in Facebook:

..nxt destination - EPF, updating beneficiaries...percentage bagian anak2 sama rata... Tats normal for wives, utamakan anak2 dulu. Hehehe
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LKC:

Please take note that for Muslim, the nominated person in EPF is ONLY an Executor, and the money is subject to Faraid distribution..

Muslims life insurance & personal accident insurance proceeds are to be distributed according to Faraid ( Section 166 of Insurance Act 1996 ); EPF same situation. Nominee = executor. Money forms part of the Estate & subject to estate creditors before distribution. therefore there is ground for Muslim to do Integrated Estate Planning & protect the future of your loved ones..

Why in EPF form no Executor appointment column?

It is deemed that the beneficiary is the executor & hold the money & do the job like an executor ( or pass the epf money to the executor appointed in your Will ) - pay debt first & then distribute Faraid beneficiaries. if children below age 18, executor of yo will will have to hold on trust until child is age 18. there need to do planning. can ... Read more & discuss further using email, more efficient. ( leekheechuan@lkcestateplanning.com ). for info on who inherit how much under Faraid,

please check out: http://maths.usm.my/faraid/eng/default.html

Report from The Star: Some RM 3 Billion unclaimed as depositors failed to name Beneficiaries before dying

2009-11-10T18:16:00.001-08:00

RM3b unclaimed from A-G Dept

Monday November 9, 2009

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/9/nation/5072768&sec=nation

KOTA BARU: Some RM3bil remain unclaimed from the Accountant-General’s Department because the depositors failed to name their beneficiaries before dying.

Deputy Finance Minister Senator Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said some of the deceased depositors’ next-of-kin or their children did not even know about the money that was left behind.

“Some of the money were left in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) or in the banks,” he told reporters after attending a briefing by state departments and agencies under the Finance Ministry yesterday. — Bernama

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Comments from LKC:

1. Better name your EPF Beneficiary. In worst case scenario planning,If common disasters ( both parents perish together ) happens, then instructions must be spell out in your WILL on how your EPF money can be used for the education & daily financial needs of your young children.

2. You cannot nominate any beneficiary in your Bank accounts ( unless it is a trust account ). But you can "nominate" your beneficiaries in your WILL !

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For further query, please click on:
www.lkcestateplanning.com

2009-09-09T08:25:00.001-07:00

I was Interviewed by the latest Sept 2009 Personal Money Magazine

1. Page 8 - Estate Planning Lessons from Michael Jackson's Will, AND

2. Page 87 - A Word From The Wise Column - Providing for Young Children..

To download & read my above articles, please click on: http://www.lkcestateplanning.com/?i=credentials ( scrow down to download Attachement 1 & 2 )

.. enjoy your reading....

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New Book: Rockwills Christian Guide to Wills, Living Trusts and Estate Planning

2009-09-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

This article was published in The Borneo Post on 8th September 2009

In June 2009, Rockwills International Pte Ltd published a timely and user friendly step-by-step guide on estate planning for Christians.

The book is the result of the collaborative effort by two renown law and estate planning experts and authors, Rockwills International Pte Ltd’s CEO, Lee Chiwi and Mark L James, MBA, JD, JJM, an estate planning attorney in US.

Objective of The Book

In the preface, the authors stated their noble objective of the book:
“ we want to help you avoid the trauma and hard feelings that we have seen many families suffer because of the failure to plan and more particularly, the failure to draw upon the wisdom and power of God. “

This Rockwills Christian Guide to Wills, Living Trusts and Estate Planning is the Singapore and Malaysian edition of the originally titled “ The Christian Guide to Wills , Living Trusts and Estate Planning” by Mark L James and Professor Lynne Marie Kohn which was published in the US in 2007.

The original book developed out of a series of continuing education lectures Mark gave in the mid-1990’s to financial planners. Mark also teach the subject matter in Reagent University’s School of Law.

The Distinguished Authors

Lee Chiwi is also the author of “Drafting Trusts and Will Trusts in Singapore ( in co-authorship with James Kessler QC ) and the Rockwills Guide to Succession and Trusts in Wealth Management, now in 2nd edition. Chiwi believes that God has led him into his co-authorship with Mark with the purpose of serving the local Christian community in providing a timely resource for Christian estate planning.
The Rockwills edition has been researched exhaustively, and the contents have been honed into a handy reference guide.

The purpose of the book is to present the world of estate planning in the most practical and understandable terms possible to people believe in Jesus Crist and Lord and Savior.

Other books written for Christians have done well to explain why estate planning. This book, however, is designed to go further and clearly share the details on how to plan your estate.

Additionally, it allows you to read the specific chapters that pertain to your individual needs. Each chapter addresses particular estate planning strategies related to your stage in life or your needs. Ultimately, of course, you will need assistance from experienced estate planning professionals to work out the options and strategies for your own situation.

Christian Estate Planning is Unique

The book starts with the chapter to explain why Christian Estate Planning is unique. They explain how stewardship and an eternal perspective impacts estate planning.

Engaging Qualified Estate Planning Advisors

Then it continues with discussion on the importance of engaging qualified and experienced estate planning advisors who can see the big picture; one who can provide needed insight regarding the correct investment, their allocation or distribution of the estate. Specialist estate planners well versed in charitable estate planning can help maximize your charitable giving.

Holistic Approach to Estate Planning

The authors emphasize the importance of adopting the holistic approach to estate planning, meaning looking at the big picture – addressing both your estate planning concerns and goals.
This also includes looking at how various parts of the estate plan relate to each other - your Will instructions; private trust deed instructions; and ensuring nonprobate assets have the beneficiary designations you intend in order to align in practical terms with your Will.
And to understand the various types of ownership and what each means in terms of inheritance.

Incompleteness of Piecemeal approach to Estate Planning

The book also cautions the incompleteness of piecemeal approach to estate planning, giving the analogy of having someone explain to you the particular moves of the chess pieces without ever explaining the various strategies in a chess game.

Control and Timing Mechanism in your Estate Plan

The book also explain the concept of “control and timing mechanism “ into your estate plan. It will answer such questions as:

• How to control who receives your assets after death
• How to control when my children, grandchildren or other heirs will receive their inheritance

• How to protect your heirs inheritance from others
• How to give gifts to special people and charities

Explaining Living Trust

A very useful chapter in this book is chapter 5 which explains how to use living trust.

It explains very clearly the eight primary estate planning challenges that can be solved by living trusts as well as weighing the pros and cons of living trust.

Other Useful Topics

Other useful topics discussed in the book include:
• Mental incapacity and disability issues during lifetime
• Trust for family members with disabilities
• Include your retirement plan in your estate plan
• Making gifts to children but maintain control over the gifted assets
• Charitable estate planning

Conclusion

To conclude, another sentence from the authors sum it up well:

“ We have been involved in fixing what goes wrong due to the failure to plan, and it is our sincere desire that this book will help you plan your estate to avoid future problems, accomplish your eternal objectives and advance the Kingdom of God. “

For more information on estate planning, please visit: www.lkcestateplanning.com
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2009-09-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

The Rockwills Christian Guide to Wills, Living Trusts and Estate Planning is the Singapore and Malaysian edition of the book originally titled The Christian Guide to Wills, Living Trusts and Estate Planning by Mark L. James and Lynne Marie Kohm that was published in the U.S. in 2007. The Rockwills edition is the result of collaborative efforts to reach out to the Christian community in Singapore and Malaysia, customized to factor in local laws and requirements.

How to Plan Your Estate for an Eternity of Benefits

A Comprehensive Guide to Estate and Charitable Planning and How to Incorporate the Christian Worldview

There are three aspects of the Christian worldview that distinguish Christian estate
planning from secular estate planning. Our objective is to help you understand why
Christian estate planning is unique and to help you accomplish all God has for you in that process. This book discusses these three features and how they make Christian estate planning unique along with a comprehensive overview of the estate and charitable planning process.

1. God Owns All of Our Worldly Possessions Regardless of How We Acquired Them!
2. We’re Leaving Our Worldly Possessions Behind When We’re Gone
3. Christian are Givers

Overview of Chapters

Step 1: Understand Why Christian Estate Planning Is Unique: An Introduction
Step 2: Find an Estate Planning Professional
Step 3: Understand the Estate Planning Fundamentals
Step 4: Control the Distribution of Your Assets After Death
Step 5: Consider Using a Living Trust
Step 6: Mental Incapacity and Disability Issues During Lifetime
Step 7: Include Your Retirement Plan in Your Estate Plan
Step 8: Dealing with Taxes, Liabilities, Lifetime Gifts and Insurance Planning
Step 9: Change the World with Charitable Estate Planning

About the Authors:

Chiwi Lee, Barrister-at-law, TEP.
Mr Lee Chiwi, Chief Executive Officer, Rockwills Singapore

Mr Lee was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1986, and admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of Singapore in 1988. He has a MBA from the Nanyang Business School and is a member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners). In his private client practice, he has worked closely with may financial and insurance professionals in the areas of estate planning, succession and trusts. From July 2004 to Sep 2005, he headed Lexington Trust Ltd. As its Managing Director before joining British and Malayan Trustees Limited (BMT) as Chief Executive Officer in Oct 2005 until Dec 2007. He now heads the Rockwills Group of Companies in Singapore. He is the author of several books on trusts and wealth succession planning. He has also from time to time contributed articles in various Financial Journals on such topics. He has also regularly been invited to speak at seminars and conferences on matters concerning trusts and wealth management topics.

Attorney Mark L. James, M.B.A., J.D., LL.M. (Tax)
Estate Planning Attorney with the law firm of Hartman, Underhill, & Brubaker, LLP in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Professional Affiliations: Christian Legal Society, Christian Stewardship Association, The Orchard Foundation of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, National Association of Estate Planners and Councils, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

Education: Regent University School of Law, J.D.; Michigan State University, M.B.A., College of William and Mary, LL.M. (Tax); Grove City College , B.A.

Contact me if you like to grab a copy of this new book.

Michael Jackson named Diana Ross as succesor guardian of his minor children

2009-07-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson named the singer Diana Ross, as the guardian of his children should his mother not be able to care for them, according to report by Telegraph

In his five-page will, which has been registered in Los Angeles County Superior Court, he leaves his £303 million ($500million) estate in a trust for his children.
He states that his 79-year-old mother, Katherine, should be carer for his three children, Prince Michael I, 12; Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, seven.

It said that should his mother be unable to look after their children, then Diana Ross, 65, his mentor, should be their guardian.

The will was made on July 7, 2002.

The documents said Jackson's estate consisted almost entirely of "non-cash, non-liquid assets, including primarily an interest in a catalogue of music royalty rights which is currently being administered by Sony ATV, and the interests of various entities."

To learn more about estate planning, please read articles written & published by Lee Khee Chuan at: www.lkcestateplanning.com

Jacksons Will Leaves Estate to Family Trust

2009-07-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

The Wall Street Journal reported that Michael Jackson's seven-year-old will bequeaths his estate to a family trust, which in turn is to distribute his sizable assets among his three children, his mother and charities, according to people with knowledge of the trust's terms.

The document, signed by Mr. Jackson and dated July 7, 2002, was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday morning. But the terms of the Michael Jackson Family Trust haven't been made public. It isn't clear if or when they will be.

The trust makes a provision for the payment of estate taxes, which could be considerable given that the value of Mr. Jackson's assets may exceed his massive debts by as much as $200 million.

The trust makes no provision for Mr. Jackson's father, Joe.

The will states that Mr. Jackson deliberately made no provision for his ex-wife, Debbie Rowe.

source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124645346588379701.html

To learn more about estate planning, please read articles written & published by Lee Khee Chuan at: www.lkcestateplanning.com

INTEGRATED Estate Planning is more that just Will Planning:

2009-03-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

This cases as reported in the newspaper is a good case to illustrate my point:

In a newspaper report dated 1 March 2006 in a Chinese national daily, there was a case where the deceased mother and his wife were involved in a tussle over his estate.
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This young man, aged 26 was involved in a serious road accident in Kuala Lumpur on 30 September 2004 and was in coma for nine months before he died. He left behind his elderly parents and a brother who suffers from autistic illness. Before his death, he had already registered his marriage with a girl but they had not organized a traditional Chinese tea ceremony to celebrate their marriage.
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In the press conference, the deceased’s mother claimed that her daughter-in-law had already made withdrawal from SOCSO amounting to RM 9,672 and kept the money to herself.

When the deceased mother inquired about her son’s contributions in EPF, she was told by the officer that her daughter-in-law had made application for withdrawal and RM 5,000 had been paid out so far. Legal action was in progress trying to prevent her daughter-in-law from getting hold of the balance of RM 33,000.

The distraught mother told reporters that her son was the main bread winner in the family. He was a skilled technician with good income and contributed generously every month for the living expenses of his aging parents and disabled brother. His father, age 63 was only working part time as a daily paid laborer. Now that her son was gone, the family needs the deceased’s SOCSO payout and EPF money to finance the living expenses of the family.
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When the deceased was in coma in the hospital, the family had to sell the car for RM 24,000 to pay for the hefty hospital expenses.

The deceased mother said her relationship with her daughter-in-law was normal before his son’s mishap. But after her son was involved in the road accident and was in coma, it was she and her husband who took care of him and attended to all his need. She claimed that her daughter-in-law only made a few phone calls and paid a few visits. After that her daughter-in-law refused to meet her and only communicated through her father.
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Through her father, the daughter-in-law spelt out the condition attached if she were to hand the SOCSO and EPF money back to the deceased’s family. She wanted the terrace house in Serdang Jaya which the deceased has half share in the house, joint name with his mother.

Lesson learned

There are many things we can learn from such “kisah benar”. The reflections from these unfortunate cases can help everyone in doing a better job in their estate planning.

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Will Planning

Will planning is more than just writing a Will. The lesson learned from the above case, who should get the SOCSO and EPF monies are also questions to ask in Will planning.

Nomination in EPF / Insurance policies

Is it better to distribute the EPF money through nomination or is it better to distribute through the provisions in the Will?

If one owns life and personal accident insurance policies, then the same questions must be asked as well.

Joint ownership of house / immovable assets

Then the next issue is who should get the half undivided share of the terrace house?

The practical issues must also be addressed. If the half share of the house is willed to the wife and is now jointly owned with the mother, will this solve the problem or will this create more unnecessary problems?

Providing for the surviving widow

Providing adequately for the surviving wife is the responsibility of a husband, especially if the wife is a home maker and may not have income of her own.

Providing for minor children

If there are minor children, then it is even more important to make adequate provisions to insure their future.

Providing for aging parents

For the “sandwich generation” who not only have own nucleus family to take care, but also the aging parents who may be left behind, then care must be exercised in the estate planning to make sure that the welfare of the seniors are not neglected.

Providing for handicapped beneficiaries

The welfare of such beneficiaries should not be neglected as they would not be able to fend for themselves if they are not provided for.

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Conclusion

In my integrated estate planning model, the 3Ps objectives are providing for different classes of beneficiaries in the most appropriate manner; preserving the estate so that the maximum can be perpetuated and distributed in the most efficient manner.

In this case study, the priority is actually providing adequately for the different classes of beneficiaries and in the most appropriate manner so that there are no unnecessary disputes between them.

To learn more about estate planning, please read articles written & published by Lee Khee Chuan at: www.lkcestateplanning.com