Seeking opinions on inherited monies
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hi again... just seeking a general opinion from you guys. please be as frank as possible ;-)
if you have read my last post, my father in law passed away just recently and did not leave any will behind. my mother in law passed away a year earlier and in accordance to Singapre's intestate succession act, the assets, HDB flat and CPF monies would have to be spilt among the remaining children... my wife and my sister-in-law, just the 2 of them 50-50. should be quite clear, no dispute at all... Estimated amount about $100K each...
my wife and i are currently staying with my parents and just received the keys to our new flat this year at Punggol after waiting for 3 years. so of course renovations have to be done before we move in. we discussed and decided to use the inherited money to pay for the renovations, some outstanding credit card loans and invest some of it either in shares or whatever comes along.
now the issue;
1) currently, my wife is applying to the court for the letter of administration as there is no will and HDB requires it to either sell it off or even rent it out. initially, the 2 sisters agreed that my wife will be the sole representative and all is in the midst of proceedings since last June... however, last night she asked us to retract the initial application and include her in the new application as joint administrator. her justification is that in the event my wife passed on and i inherit the "administrator" rights, i quote her, "if he wants to sell off the house, there's nothing i can do about it."
this is a little puzzling... i understand that in the eyes of the law, my wife and sister-in-law are the beneficiaries of the HDB flat... so no matter what happens if the flat is sold, they must receive their portion of the sale proceeds... am i wrong to say that? also, can "Letter of Administration" be passed on to the spouse so easily in the event of death?
2) she also suggested that whatever money that we will inherit be put into joint account between the 2 sisters and she will oversee the money. she will show us the bank book every month to verify no money has been spent or transacted. we can take out money from that account for the renovations BUT, i stress again BUT we have to pay it back to the account in instalments at no interest charged. she said it will be like a saving for my son in the future.
Please share your frank opinions. Thanks!
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The first thing first.
Sort out the administratorship. Let the sisters settle themselves. Guys hands off. Settle the probate and distribution of the assets.
What you want to do with the inheritance, should discussed be after the storm blows over, not now.
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hi mancha,
the thing is;
administratorship has been agreed 3 months ago. sister has signed the waiver of rights, relinquishing her claim as administrator. the application has been submitted and approved by the court. now is just waiting for the Court to grant the letter of administration.
what cheesed my wife and me off is after 3 months, out of nowhere; you changed your mind. i know our rights. she has signed the waiver of rights... there is no way she can contest it as she did it in front of the lawyer.
CPF monies has been cleared. Public Trustee has issued 2 cheques in different sisters name respectively.
Insurance companies have also paid out... all issued 2 cheques in different sisters name respectively. Everything has been agreed upon and it was simple. 50% each.
now she wants us to take out whatever money that father left us, put it in a joint account and she wants to oversee the money... so, even if we take out $50K for the house renovations, she WANTS us to return the money back in instalment...
i mean, is it ridiculous?
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Is a matter of just include a name for administratorship, should have no issue on your side. Most importantly is the well beings and close relationship of your wife and her sister. It is good to save for your son future. The nice gesture of female especially married female is that they do think and care for the future of their child. In view of this lovely attribute, some way of doing may unwittingly arouse negativity from you. Probably, your wife and her sister can discuss to set aside 60-70 percents of that total sum. You'll may consider renting out and earn extra monthly income, for spending into the well beings of the economy. Just opinion
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Now there only the HDB flat left. You wife as administrator can advise the lawyers to sell off the flat and divide the proceeds 50/50. I suggest she do that. Same for any other assets remaining. Just to get the matter over.
Then comes the after the storm part. With each sister having their share of the inheritance. To discuss plans for the future of the deceased's grandchildren.
This should be a separate issue from the inheritance. Emotional blackmail should not be used for leverage.
If the sister-in-law is adamant to have her way with regards to the inheritance monies, tell her to go to the lawyers, who will advise that she will need to prove the intentions of your late parents-in-law regarding their monies. Are there letters of the grandparents wishes for the children?
Her proposal to oversee the joint account with full transparency is a nice promise, but in reality will be very ugly.
In family matters, there is always the incitement to delve into joint projects, by one member who usually have his/her own agenda, using family piety as a leverage. Guard against that.
Family togetherness should be fostered by social activities, not by economic unions..
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hi mancha,
thanks for UNDERSTANDING my frustration...
i've spoken to our lawyer, Serene Chan & Co (a little publicity for her very professional advices).
Fact: there is no way the Letter of Administration can be "passed" to spouses in the event the administrator passed away. my sister in law must go and apply a new Letter of Administration if anything happens to my wife.
the lawyer told me that if i retract our initial application, she will still have to charge $3,500 for the first one and another $3,500 for the second application which she advise as "silly"...
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Originally posted by novelltie:
hi mancha,
thanks for UNDERSTANDING my frustration...
i've spoken to our lawyer, Serene Chan & Co (a little publicity for her very professional advices).
Fact: there is no way the Letter of Administration can be "passed" to spouses in the event the administrator passed away. my sister in law must go and apply a new Letter of Administration if anything happens to my wife.
the lawyer told me that if i retract our initial application, she will still have to charge $3,500 for the first one and another $3,500 for the second application which she advise as "silly"...
$3500 for letter of administration is very expensive..usually lawyers charge between 2k to 2.5k for letter of administration..
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Originally posted by novelltie:
hi again... just seeking a general opinion from you guys. please be as frank as possible ;-)
if you have read my last post, my father in law passed away just recently and did not leave any will behind. my mother in law passed away a year earlier and in accordance to Singapre's intestate succession act, the assets, HDB flat and CPF monies would have to be spilt among the remaining children... my wife and my sister-in-law, just the 2 of them 50-50. should be quite clear, no dispute at all... Estimated amount about $100K each...
my wife and i are currently staying with my parents and just received the keys to our new flat this year at Punggol after waiting for 3 years. so of course renovations have to be done before we move in. we discussed and decided to use the inherited money to pay for the renovations, some outstanding credit card loans and invest some of it either in shares or whatever comes along.
now the issue;
1) currently, my wife is applying to the court for the letter of administration as there is no will and HDB requires it to either sell it off or even rent it out. initially, the 2 sisters agreed that my wife will be the sole representative and all is in the midst of proceedings since last June... however, last night she asked us to retract the initial application and include her in the new application as joint administrator. her justification is that in the event my wife passed on and i inherit the "administrator" rights, i quote her, "if he wants to sell off the house, there's nothing i can do about it."
this is a little puzzling... i understand that in the eyes of the law, my wife and sister-in-law are the beneficiaries of the HDB flat... so no matter what happens if the flat is sold, they must receive their portion of the sale proceeds... am i wrong to say that? also, can "Letter of Administration" be passed on to the spouse so easily in the event of death?
2) she also suggested that whatever money that we will inherit be put into joint account between the 2 sisters and she will oversee the money. she will show us the bank book every month to verify no money has been spent or transacted. we can take out money from that account for the renovations BUT, i stress again BUT we have to pay it back to the account in instalments at no interest charged. she said it will be like a saving for my son in the future.
Please share your frank opinions. Thanks!
want to ask you..did your mother in law have any money in her bank accounts? is it under her own name?
if yes, did the bank freeze the money until you get the letter of administration than they let you withdraw the money?
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Originally posted by icare:
want to ask you..did your mother in law have any money in her bank accounts? is it under her own name?
if yes, did the bank freeze the money until you get the letter of administration than they let you withdraw the money?
there is a cap of i think $6000... if the deceased's account has less than the cap, you can just withdraw but if it's more, the letter of administration is needed...
what we did is just withdraw $2000 every day as we know the PIN Code
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Originally posted by icare:
$3500 for letter of administration is very expensive..usually lawyers charge between 2k to 2.5k for letter of administration..
well, Serene Chan & Co is very HIGHLY recommended by some of my clients. she may charge higher but she can solve most of my problems, why not?
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Originally posted by novelltie:
there is a cap of i think $6000... if the deceased's account has less than the cap, you can just withdraw but if it's more, the letter of administration is needed...
what we did is just withdraw $2000 every day as we know the PIN Code
does fixed deposit account have pin code and atm card to withdraw the money? -
Whoa!
Deceased expired on such and such a date. Any withdrawl after that date is illegal. If its been done. Better shut up.
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Originally posted by novelltie:
hi again... just seeking a general opinion from you guys. please be as frank as possible ;-)
if you have read my last post, my father in law passed away just recently and did not leave any will behind. my mother in law passed away a year earlier and in accordance to Singapre's intestate succession act, the assets, HDB flat and CPF monies would have to be spilt among the remaining children... my wife and my sister-in-law, just the 2 of them 50-50. should be quite clear, no dispute at all... Estimated amount about $100K each...
my wife and i are currently staying with my parents and just received the keys to our new flat this year at Punggol after waiting for 3 years. so of course renovations have to be done before we move in. we discussed and decided to use the inherited money to pay for the renovations, some outstanding credit card loans and invest some of it either in shares or whatever comes along.
now the issue;
1) currently, my wife is applying to the court for the letter of administration as there is no will and HDB requires it to either sell it off or even rent it out. initially, the 2 sisters agreed that my wife will be the sole representative and all is in the midst of proceedings since last June... however, last night she asked us to retract the initial application and include her in the new application as joint administrator. her justification is that in the event my wife passed on and i inherit the "administrator" rights, i quote her, "if he wants to sell off the house, there's nothing i can do about it."
this is a little puzzling... i understand that in the eyes of the law, my wife and sister-in-law are the beneficiaries of the HDB flat... so no matter what happens if the flat is sold, they must receive their portion of the sale proceeds... am i wrong to say that? also, can "Letter of Administration" be passed on to the spouse so easily in the event of death?
2) she also suggested that whatever money that we will inherit be put into joint account between the 2 sisters and she will oversee the money. she will show us the bank book every month to verify no money has been spent or transacted. we can take out money from that account for the renovations BUT, i stress again BUT we have to pay it back to the account in instalments at no interest charged. she said it will be like a saving for my son in the future.
Please share your frank opinions. Thanks!
then congrats are in good order............
i should be so lucky...............
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Originally posted by novelltie:
hi again... just seeking a general opinion from you guys. please be as frank as possible ;-)
if you have read my last post, my father in law passed away just recently and did not leave any will behind. my mother in law passed away a year earlier and in accordance to Singapre's intestate succession act, the assets, HDB flat and CPF monies would have to be spilt among the remaining children... my wife and my sister-in-law, just the 2 of them 50-50. should be quite clear, no dispute at all... Estimated amount about $100K each...
my wife and i are currently staying with my parents and just received the keys to our new flat this year at Punggol after waiting for 3 years. so of course renovations have to be done before we move in. we discussed and decided to use the inherited money to pay for the renovations, some outstanding credit card loans and invest some of it either in shares or whatever comes along.
now the issue;
1) currently, my wife is applying to the court for the letter of administration as there is no will and HDB requires it to either sell it off or even rent it out. initially, the 2 sisters agreed that my wife will be the sole representative and all is in the midst of proceedings since last June... however, last night she asked us to retract the initial application and include her in the new application as joint administrator. her justification is that in the event my wife passed on and i inherit the "administrator" rights, i quote her, "if he wants to sell off the house, there's nothing i can do about it."
this is a little puzzling... i understand that in the eyes of the law, my wife and sister-in-law are the beneficiaries of the HDB flat... so no matter what happens if the flat is sold, they must receive their portion of the sale proceeds... am i wrong to say that? also, can "Letter of Administration" be passed on to the spouse so easily in the event of death?
2) she also suggested that whatever money that we will inherit be put into joint account between the 2 sisters and she will oversee the money. she will show us the bank book every month to verify no money has been spent or transacted. we can take out money from that account for the renovations BUT, i stress again BUT we have to pay it back to the account in instalments at no interest charged. she said it will be like a saving for my son in the future.
Please share your frank opinions. Thanks!
why must the house be sold or rent out?because your wife and her sister each have a hdb flat so they have to sell off this existing flat?