The story of the funny Will

But Mr Lee’s will awarded her all of $1.

Victor said in an affidavit: ”I suspect the will is not the original or authentic will of the deceased.”

In a recent hearing, the High Court, however, was not persuaded by his and Linda’s arguments.

The court heard of family disputes that led Mr Lee to remove Victor from being a director of Mr Lee’s company in 2002.

The old man also obtained a court judgment to make Victor repay him a $1 million loan.

During that hearing, Mr Lee became ”extremely angry” with Linda for supporting Victor, said Mr Lee’s lawyer, Mr Goh Kok Yeow, in an affidavit.

So Mr Lee’s last will - which he made in 2004 - stands.

The beneficiaries are his wife, some grandchildren, nieces, nephews - and his other 50-something son, businessman Billy Lee, who was a former president of Sembawang Marine & Logistics.

The elder Lee’s assets included a property in Hong Kong and shares of listed companies. The total value of the assets was not stated.

The case raises a question: How to make a will water-tight, especially o­ne that favours some beneficiaries far more than others?

As Singaporeans become more affluent and are likely to leave significant assets, the question becomes more relevant.

How Mr Lee went about doing his will provides some answers.

Professional help

CONSIDER seeking professional help, especially if you are rich and have quite a few beneficiaries you want to leave assets to.

The cost of professional help ranges from $250 for a simple will to a few thousand dollars for complex o­nes.

”It’s easy to make a will, but in a simple will, many things are left unmentioned,” says Mr Richard Yeo, the author of the book Will Writing: Practical Considerations When Drafting Your Will.

A professional will writer will ensure that various possible scenarios are considered.

”Most people won’t know what to consider. Our situations are never the same and there is a need for professional assistance to help them clarify their thoughts,” says Mr Yeo, a will writer with Probate Enterprise.

It is not just about assets.

For example, if the deceased was a Christian but his parents are Buddhists, they may pressure his spouse to hold a Buddhist funeral.

Ideally, the deceased should spell out in his will how he wants his funeral to be held, says Mr Yeo.

Mr Lee Teck Seng had a lawyer prepare his will.

The lawyer, Mr Goh of De Souza Tay & Goh, told the court the circumstances and background of how the will was prepared - which leads us to the next point.

‘Good’ witnesses

WITNESSES are important if a will is contested.

If a will has been signed before a lawyer, the latter can attest to it as o­ne of the witnesses, says lawyer Chew Mei Choo of Shook Lin & Bok.

The lawyer will also be able to give evidence that the testator - the person who is making a will - was aware of the contents and desired the consequences, says Ms Chew.

If the testator is not literate in English, there will have to be a further certification that the will was interpreted to the testator, she adds.

The certificate is signed by the interpreter.

The general manager (life) of insurance cooperative NTUC Income, Mr Stanley Jeremiah, says: ”If the person is old and more so if he’s not in very good health, it is good to get a doctor to attest in the will as a witness and to attest that the testator was of sound mind and lucid when making the will.

”It will be better if the doctor was the person’s regular doctor.”

That is exactly what Mr Lee Teck Seng did. He signed his will in the presence of not just his lawyer, but also his doctor.

A month after witnessing the signing, Dr Tan Khai Tong, who runs a clinic at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, wrote a two-page letter recording what he knew of Mr Lee’s medical condition and the events surrounding the signing of the will.

In a copy sent to Mr Goh, he wrote: ”I asked Mr Lee some questions to clarify the state of his mind. Mr Lee was able to answer my questions regarding the purpose of his will very clearly.

”He informed me that his last will was made several years ago and after some consideration, he had decided o­n a new will. He appeared calm and purposeful.”

Give reasons

MR JEREMIAH says it is important that if some people are being left out, to show in the will that the testator had considered them but decided to leave them out.

Hence, the nominal $1 gift to show that the testator had taken these people into account, but had then decided to pass them over, he says.

He could also state the reason for giving a nominal sum, although that is not strictly required in a will.

But if the will is contested, the stated reasons would show that he had deliberated o­n the matter and had reasons that led him to his decision, says lawyer Rajan Chettiar of Rajan Chettiar & Company.

He adds that some of the reasons could be that the testator had provided for the beneficiary sufficiently during his lifetime; or the beneficiary is of some financial standing and therefore does not need much from the testator.

But even if the testator has a reason, he cannot cut off any dependants from his will, says Mr Leong Sze Hian, the president of the Society of Financial Services Professionals.

The operative word is ”dependant”, so if you have young children and a spouse, for example, you must provide for them, he adds.

The meaning of ”dependant” can be extended to cover an unmarried daughter or a grown-up child who is unable to maintain himself for mental or physical reasons, he says. If you do not provide for them in your will, they have the inheritance law o­n their side and can contest your will.

Sign every page

WILLS can be forged. To reduce the risk of that happening, the testator should sign each page so that replacements are not possible, advises lawyer Ms Chew.

Every page of Mr Lee Teck Seng’s will did bear his signatures.

An additional step, says Mr Yeo, to prevent tampering is to place the original will under the care of the executor - someone who has been appointed by the testator to administer his estate and distribute it according to his will.

The testator can also choose to have his original will kept by a company that provides safe keeping services, he adds. It would release the will o­nly to the executor.

In Mr Lee’s case, son Victor said in an affidavit that he suspected the will was not authentic. A handwriting expert he hired inspected the will and found, among other things, that the pages had been stapled and re-stapled.

Victor said this raised the possibility of certain pages being inserted after the original will had been made.

Mr Goh, the lawyer, said in his affidavit that he had made photocopies of the will and ”could have removed the staples and re-stapled the document more than o­nce”.

Warning against contest

A WILL can also contain a clause to deter any contest.

Mr Lee Teck Seng’s will specified that if it is contested by any beneficiary, the beneficiary’s interest under the will will lapse and his or her benefit will be limited to o­nly $1.

In the case of Victor and Linda, their benefit was cut to 10 cents.