Do you need a Will?

It has been seen from experience that majority of the time, a person does not mind giving away his legacy, but the question remains in terms of what and who to give? In the pursuit of thinking about these key questions, people often procrastinate on drafting a Will. It is not easy to choose between your loved ones when it comes to the distribution of your assets, and therefore, we encourage parties to have a discussion amongst their loved ones in order to preserve the love amongst these loved ones after one departs this whole world for abode. Alternatively, some prefer to equally devide their assets to their loved ones.

The important thing is not how you devide but rather whether you make an effort to get a Will drafted while you are alive. A Will needs to be properly drafted by a Solicitor in order to ensure that there are no loopholes, as you are not coming back down to fix the Will if there is any ambiguity. Furthermore, a Solicitor would ensure in his professional capacity that a Will is drafted voluntarily without any undue influence, pressure, or emotional turmoil.

Upon working with some NGOs, I noted with regret that the elderly are nowadays transferring their assets to their children's names, whereby later they end up in an elderly home with a great deal of dismay. A properly advised person would rather make a Will or hold back some beneficial interest in an immediate transfer during their lifetime. Hong Kong has an ageing population, and it is time to educate our population on their rights and obligations.

Moreover, in terms of common questions faced by me, are there multiple WIlls in different jurisdictions? While other jurisdictions may allow multiple Wills for assets in multiple jurisdictions in segments, Hong Kong's jurisdiction encourages "ONE LAST WILL" which means a person's last Will, which is properly drafted and executed, will be considered the ultimate will and anything not covered in this Will will be covered by 'catch-all' clause, if any in the Will, or by general Probate Rules .

If one is not able to make more than one Will then how does he/she ensure that the Will that one makes will be recognised in another country? A Hong Kong Will is generally accepted worldwide as it adheres to basic rules of a Will expected in other jurisdictions, but it is advisable that after getting your Will drafted and executed through a Solicitor; you should approach consultar services of the Consulate of that particular country where your assets are located.

Therefore, in a nutshell, get a Will drafted and executed before it is too late. You can always change your Will any number of times. It is a myth that you only make a Will in your old age; a huge trend of young people making their Will is on the rise for simple reasons, which we have learned the hard way from Covid-19 that nothing is certain.

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