There are three realistic ways to get a will written in Singapore: do it yourself from a template, use a will-writing service offered by a bank, insurer or specialist provider, or instruct a lawyer. All three can produce a legally valid will, because validity depends on the Wills Act 1838 rather than on who typed the document. What differs is how much thought goes into the drafting and how much protection you have if something is wrong.
The right answer depends almost entirely on how complicated your estate and your family are. A single person with a bank account and a CPF nomination is in a different position from someone mid-divorce with a flat, a business and children from two relationships.
What makes a will valid in Singapore
Before comparing routes, know the bar every will has to clear. Under the Wills Act:
- The testator, the person making the will, must be at least 21 years old.
- The will must be in writing.
- It must be signed by the testator, and that signature must be made or acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses who are both present at the same time.
- Those witnesses then sign in the presence of the testator.
The testator also needs mental capacity: they must understand that they are making a will, know broadly what they own, and appreciate who has a claim on their generosity.
The witness trap
A beneficiary must not witness the will. Neither must the spouse of a beneficiary. The will itself survives, but the gift to that person fails, and the property falls back into the residue or into intestacy. This single rule quietly wrecks more homemade wills than any other, usually because the testator asked the two people standing nearest, who happened to be the children inheriting.
Use two witnesses who take nothing under the will and are not married to anyone who does. Neighbours, colleagues and friends are all fine.
Route one: DIY from a template
A downloaded or store-bought template, filled in and properly witnessed, is a valid will. For genuinely simple situations it can be adequate: one beneficiary, no property, no minor children, no family friction.
The problems are drafting problems, not legal-technicality problems. Common failures include:
- No residuary clause: the will lists specific gifts but never says who gets “everything else”, so the remainder passes under the intestacy rules.
- Assets described too precisely: naming a specific bank account that is later closed, so the gift lapses.
- No substitute beneficiary: if the named person dies first, nothing says where the gift goes.
- Trying to give away things the will cannot touch, such as CPF savings or a jointly held property.
- Ambiguous wording that reads clearly to the writer and two different ways to everyone else.
Nobody finds out about any of this until you are dead and cannot clarify. The cost of fixing an ambiguous will, through negotiation between beneficiaries or an application to court, dwarfs the cost of having drafted it properly.
Route two: bank, insurer and packaged services
Banks, insurers and financial-planning firms often offer will-writing as part of a wealth or protection package, sometimes bundled at little or no extra charge for existing customers. These services are usually template-driven with a consultant walking you through the choices, which is a genuine step up from filling in a form alone.
Two things to keep in view. First, the service is frequently tied to a product relationship (an investment account, a policy, a planning package), so the will is part of a commercial offer rather than independent advice. That is not sinister, but you should know what you are being sold alongside it. Second, the drafting is usually standardised, so it handles a straightforward estate well and a complicated one less well.
Ask directly: who drafts and reviews the document, is a lawyer involved, what happens if I want a clause the template does not contain, and what does it cost to update later. Our guide to free and low-cost will writing options goes through the categories of subsidised and no-fee schemes in more detail.
Route three: a lawyer
A solicitor drafts to your circumstances rather than to a template, advises on the consequences of what you are asking for, and carries professional responsibility for the work. Many firms offer a simple will at a fixed fee, with complexity priced upwards from there.
Go this route if any of the following apply:
- You own property, especially with someone else or overseas.
- You are separated, divorcing, or remarried with children from more than one relationship.
- You want to leave assets to minor children and need a trust structure with someone managing the money.
- You have a business interest, shares in a private company, or significant investments.
- Someone in the family is likely to challenge the will.
- You want to deliberately leave out a person who would otherwise expect to inherit.
To find a solicitor, use the Law Society of Singapore’s directory of practising members, or the Ministry of Law’s information on legal services. Neither this site nor any general article can recommend a particular firm.
Comparing the three routes
| DIY template | Packaged service | Lawyer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legally valid if witnessed correctly | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cost | Lowest | Low to moderate, often bundled | Highest, usually fixed for simple wills |
| Tailored drafting | None | Limited | Full |
| Advice on consequences | None | Varies | Yes |
| Handles trusts, blended families, overseas assets | No | Rarely | Yes |
| Recourse if badly drafted | None | Depends on provider | Professional accountability |
Marriage revokes a will. Divorce does not.
This is the single most important thing for anyone reading this in the middle of a separation. Under the Wills Act, marriage revokes any earlier will. So if you married after making a will, that will is gone unless it was expressly made in contemplation of that marriage. Remarry after a divorce and your carefully updated will is wiped out on the wedding day.
Divorce, by contrast, does not revoke a will in Singapore. If your will leaves everything to your spouse and appoints them executor, and you divorce and never change it, that document is still standing when you die. Your former spouse can still take under it.
So a will belongs on the same checklist as changing your CPF nomination, updating insurance nominations and sorting out what happens to the flat. Make the new will once you know what you are actually left with, usually after ancillary matters are settled, but do not let it drift for years.
What to sort out before you draft
Whichever route you pick, arrive with the decisions already made. You will need to name an executor to administer the estate, decide who takes what, name substitutes in case a beneficiary dies first, and, if you have children under 21, say who you would want as their guardian. Bring a list of what you own and roughly what it is worth, including anything held jointly.
A will is only one part of the picture. Our estate planning checklist covers the documents that sit alongside it, and the wider guide to wills and probate explains what happens after death, when your executor applies for a grant of probate to deal with the estate.
Store the signed original somewhere your executor can actually reach it, and tell them where it is. A perfectly drafted will nobody can find does no work at all.
