Introduction Having a will is important towards family legacy planning. While this is true, many individuals, particularly those who have opted with DIY wills without any guidance or advice from a legal professional, end up leaving a trail of unintended outcomes that deviate from their original intentions. This month’s Family Legacy Planning newsletter will explore […]

Introduction After the Singapore Budget 2022 was announced, an increment in wealth taxes across the board can be observed. In this newsletter, we seek to explore how property tax is calculated, changes in owner’s occupier’s tax rate and when does owner’s occupier’s tax rate apply. Annual Value – The Basis of Property Tax Property tax […]

As a leading financial hub in Asia, Singapore benefits from government policies that position the country as a city open to trade while attracting foreign direct investment inflows and that welcomes overseas businesses to set up shop on its shores. This has cemented Singapore’s position as one of Asia’s top financial hubs, with many multinational […]

Introduction Real Estate: An asset class that all of us strive to own and pass down as heirlooms to the future generation. It is a common-known fact, however, that real estate, especially in land-scarce Singapore, is an extremely capital-intensive investment which may often require individuals to come together and pool their resources in order to […]

Introduction  Local Courts had recently decided on whether an Option to Purchase (“OTP”) was validly exercised. The said OTP was signed by the Vendor and then sent via Whatsapp to the Purchasers as a PDF file. When the original hardcopy did not reach the Purchasers, they had instead printed out the PDF file and executed […]

Singapore As The Next Destination For Family Empires  With the establishment of a successful business empire, ultra-high net worth families often rightly focus on attaining stability as their next priority. The heads of these families want to ensure that their hard-earned wealth is preserved for their future generations’ continued advancement and prosperity. For the well-advised, […]

Introduction People are becoming increasingly aware of the need for legacy planning, yet nowadays, it is still not uncommon to find people who die without a will. Procrastination and a misconception that it is costly to draw up a will are perhaps some of the reasons that explain this situation. Inevitably, there are some out […]

Introduction Landed property owners in Singapore might have unknowingly built their property beyond their own rightful boundaries which have infringed their neighbour’s property rights known as encroachment. But what exactly is encroachment? Encroachment occurs when you have structures sitting on your neighbour’s land, or protruding into their air space or onto adjoining State Land. Encroachment […]

Wealthy families seeking to move to Singapore have a clear path forward to permanent residency (“PR”) through the Global Investor Programme. The programme was launched in 2004 by the Singapore Economic Development Board (“EDB”) to draw successful entrepreneurs and families to the city-state. It enables applicants to obtain PR status, with the rights to live […]

Introduction The recent modification in the stamp duty rules following the announcement made by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on 8 May 2022 caused a significant stir in the real estate sector. Since the update, we have received countless enquiries from individuals who are seeking clarification on the new rules. In this article, we aim […]

Introduction On 18 April 2022, Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) unveiled new rulings which came into effect setting minimum requirements for capital or asset-under-management (“AUM”), local business expenditure, local investments and the hiring of investment professionals (“IP”) for the establishment of Single Family Offices (“SFO”) in Singapore. Many believe that the new tax exemption measures […]

Introduction Legacy planning has always been one area that people have overlooked or paid insufficient attention to. Thankfully, people nowadays are beginning to increasingly understand the importance of legacy planning – ensuring that their intentions are given effect, that the whole probate process is smooth and the administration does not encounter any untoward hiccups, and […]

  Singapore has become a favoured destination for high-net-worth families to set up Single Family Offices (SFO). Statistics show that as of 2020, there were more than 400 hundred family offices set up in Singapore. Unsurprisingly, this area has garnered attention and MAS has issued new regulations that kicked in on 18 April 2022. By […]

Introduction Traditionally, estate planning is done for one’s physical and financial assets. Some examples of physical assets include real estate, expensive jewellery, and valuable artworks, whereas some examples of financial assets include money in bank accounts, equity, and insurance policies, However, digital assets are often overlooked by most people when they do their estate planning. […]

Introduction It is well-known that property prices in Singapore have been soaring for the past 2 decades. The HDB market is no exception. Unsurprisingly, many people have come to see property (including HDB flats) as not just homes, but investments. This has spurred the government to enact a host of laws and regulations designed to […]