Writing a Will in Singapore: What the Law Actually Requires

Surveys have repeatedly found that fewer than half of Singapore residents have made a Will. Here's what the law actually requires to make one valid, where people commonly go wrong, and what happens if you never get around to it.

A Will in Singapore is governed by the Wills Act 1838. The requirements are more straightforward than most people assume — but the formalities matter enormously. Get a technical detail wrong, and a Will that perfectly reflects someone's wishes can be challenged or thrown out entirely.

The legal requirements

• 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 at the foot of the document.
• Two witnesses must be present at the same time to watch the testator sign, and must then sign it themselves.
• Witnesses cannot be beneficiaries under the Will — or married to one — or their gift may be invalidated.

Two quirks that catch people out

Marriage automatically revokes an existing Will, unless it was specifically made "in contemplation of" that marriage. Divorce, by contrast, does not revoke a Will — meaning an ex-spouse can remain a named beneficiary indefinitely unless you actively update the document. I see both of these catch people off guard regularly, particularly the second one.

What happens without a valid Will

Dying without a valid Will is called dying "intestate." Your estate is then distributed according to a fixed formula under the Intestate Succession Act 1967, administered through the Family Justice Courts. The Act sets a strict order of priority — broadly, spouse and children first, then parents, then siblings, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles — with no regard for personal circumstances, estrangement, or what you might actually have wanted.

For Muslims domiciled in Singapore, the Intestate Succession Act does not apply; distribution instead follows Muslim inheritance law (Faraid) through the Syariah Court.

Practically, intestacy also means your family cannot access or distribute your assets until a next-of-kin applies to the Family Justice Courts for a Grant of Letters of Administration — a process that takes considerably longer, and can involve friction between family members, than administering a clear, valid Will.

Registering your Will

Once your Will is signed, depositing a record of its existence and location with the Singapore Academy of Law's Wills Registry is optional but strongly recommended — it doesn't store the Will itself, just a searchable note of where it's kept, which makes it far easier for your family to locate when the time comes.