Legacy Planning: What you need to know as an owner

The nature of life is cyclical and unpredictable. All forms of life would, eventually, have to come to an end. The good thing for us, is that the things we leave behind - our assets, our wealth, and our legacy - can be passed to our family and down to future generations.

As an owner, how are you going to ensure that the property in your name will be handed down - safely and securely - in the manner that you wish, to your children and family?

In Singapore, a majority of its citizens own a HDB flat. Of course most of us would have the desire to leave our house - the HDB unit in our name - to our children as a means of security for them after we go. However, have you ever considered the plausible situation that your child may already own a HDB unit of their own by that time?

According to Singapore law, your child will not be able to own another HDB unit if they already have one of their own. So in that case, what happens to the HDB unit that you have spent your hard earned money to purchase and own? Well, your child would have to sell it in order to comply with the law.

Let us look at a different scenario.

Carla owns a beautiful condominium unit and she has raised her children in that house until they grew up. As adults, she watched them move out of their family home and buy their own private condominiums to start their own families. As Carla reaches old age, she prepares to leave her beautiful condominium that has been the family home for years, to her children.

However, what Carla did not realise at the time was that since her children owned private properties as well, receiving the family home would result in them needing to pay Additional Buyer Stamp Duty (ABSD) for owning more than one private property! Depending on the value of Carla’s condominium, the ABSD may add up to quite a hefty sum and Carla’s children may not have the liquidity to fork out that amount!

This is why you, as a property owner, need to know about legacy planning.

Legacy planning prepares you to bequeath financial assets and wealth, including property, to ease the people who will still be around once you leave. This does not only include your children and spouse, but also your parents and future generations in your family line. By gaining better insights and knowledge on who you are securing and understanding whose best interests you have at heart, you will be able to have confidence in leaving your property behind.

Here at WonderHomes, we dedicate ourselves to providing you with the best property insights and advisory services for our clients. With our experience of being in the real estate industry for many years, get a comprehensive understanding of your property portfolio and financial situation with us today! Drop by our website at https://www.wonderhomesg.com/ and give us a call today!