Planning for the Future

If you are the primary caregiver and you lose capacity or die without any legal arrangements in place:

• There may be no one with immediate legal authority to manage the affairs or welfare of the person you are caring for.
• If the person you care for is a minor, a court would need to appoint a guardian.
• If the person you care for is an adult who lacks mental capacity, a new deputy would need to be applied for through the courts—a process that takes time.

1. Make your own Lasting Power of Attorney—appointing a trusted person to step in and manage your own affairs if you lose capacity, so that your ability to continue caring for your dependant is maintained as long as possible.
2. Make a Will that appoints a guardian for any minor dependants below 21 years old and set out your wishes regarding the care of the person you are looking after. Consider setting up a trust (including through Special Needs Trust Company) for the long-term financial provision of the person with special needs.
3. Nominate a co-deputy or successor deputy—if you are currently appointed as someone's deputy, consider applying to the court to appoint a substitute or co-deputy who can step in if you are no longer able to act.
4. Create a Future Care Plan—work with your family and relevant social service organisations to document who will take over the care of the person you are caring for, and what their needs and preferences are.
5. Make a CPF nomination—ensure your CPF savings are directed appropriately, especially if the person you care for is financially dependent on you.

Making an Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to decide in advance who will make decisions for you if you one day lose mental capacity—rather than having a court decide. 

As a caregiver, making your own LPA while you are well also protects the person you care for—if you were to lose capacity without an LPA in place, there would be no one with clear legal authority to continue making decisions for you or to access funds to support your dependent. Having an LPA in place also avoids the need for a longer and more expensive deputyship application later in order to appoint a deputy to manage your affairs.

A Will is a legal document in which you set out what you want to happen to your assets and property after your death. You can use a Will to:

• Specify who inherits your property and in what shares.
• Appoint an executor to carry out your wishes.
• Appoint a guardian for your minor children.
• Set up a trust for a dependent with special needs.

A Will can only dispose of assets which the testator beneficially owns at the time of death. CPF moneys, for example, cannot be disposed of by a Will and must be dealt with through a separate CPF nomination. Assets held under a joint tenancy (such as jointly owned property or most joint bank accounts) generally pass automatically to the surviving joint owner by right of survivorship, and do not form part of the estate governed by the Will. No Will shall be valid unless it is in writing and executed in the prescribed manner.

Making a Will gives you control over what happens to your assets when you pass away.  Without a Will, your estate will be distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act 1967 (for non-Muslims), which follows fixed legal rules based on your family structure. These rules may not reflect your actual wishes—for example, if you want to leave a larger share for a child with special needs, or if you want to set aside funds in a trust for their long-term care. A Will also allows you to:

• Name a guardian for your minor children.
• Set up a special needs trust.
• Minimise family disputes after your death.

The following rules will apply under the Intestate Succession Act 1967:

The Intestate Succession Act 1967 does not apply to Muslims. Islamic inheritance law or Faraid governs the distribution of a deceased Muslim’s estate, by determining their heirs and the shares, based on guidance from the Quran and Hadith. This distribution would apply by default for all of a deceased’s assets unless prior arrangements were made. You can refer to the guide on Islamic legacy planning by the Majilis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) here: https://www.muis.gov.sg/get-help/islamic-legacy-planning/. 

For a Will to be validly executed, it must: (1) be in writing; (2) be signed by you (the testator); (3) be signed in the presence of at least two witnesses who are both present at the same time; and (4) signed by those two witnesses in your presence.

Witnesses should not be beneficiaries under the Will (or the spouse of a beneficiary). It is strongly advisable to engage a lawyer to draft your Will to ensure it is clear, valid, and properly reflects your intentions.

You can revise your Will at any time while you have mental capacity. The recommended approach is to make a new Will that clearly revokes all previous Wills. You can also add a Codicil (a supplementary document amending the original Will), though this must be executed with the same formalities as the original Will. Avoid simply writing on or crossing out parts of an existing Will, as this can cause confusion and legal complications.

A Will may be revoked by the burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying the Will by the testator, or by some person in their presence and by their direction, with the intention of revoking it.

You can also revoke a Will by making a new Will that contains a clear revocation clause. Note that marriage automatically revokes a Will made before the marriage (unless the Will was made in contemplation of that marriage). Divorce does not automatically revoke a Will, so it is important to update your Will after a divorce.

A CPF nomination is a legal instruction you give to the CPF Board directing how your CPF savings should be distributed after your death. By law, CPF moneys paid out upon a member's death do not form part of their estate and are not subject to their debts.  The statutory regime for making CPF nominations gives effect to a member's intentions as to where their CPF moneys are to go after their death.

If you do not make a CPF nomination, your CPF savings will be paid to the Public Trustee for distribution to those entitled under the Intestate Succession Act 1967 (or, for Muslims, in accordance with Syariah law). This may not reflect your wishes. For example, if you want your CPF moneys to go to a child with special needs, you must make a CPF nomination—you cannot achieve this through a Will alone. You should also review your nomination regularly, particularly after major life events such as marriage, divorce, or the birth of children.

The Special Needs Savings Scheme (SNSS) allows parents of children with special needs to nominate their CPF savings specifically for their child's use after the parent's death. Instead of a lump sum payment to the child, the nominated CPF moneys are paid out in regular monthly instalments directly to the child through the CPF Board. This helps ensure the child has a steady income stream for day-to-day living and is protected from risks such as financial mismanagement. Parents with a child who has an intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, or a physical disability may wish to consider enrolling in the SNSS.

A trust is a legal arrangement where a person (the "settlor") transfers assets to another person or institution (the "trustee") to hold and manage for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries. The trustee is legally obliged to manage the assets according to the terms of the trust and in the interests of the beneficiaries.

For caregivers of persons with special needs, a trust can be a powerful planning tool—it allows you to set aside money and assets for your loved one's long-term care, managed by someone you trust, and paid out over time rather than in a lump sum.

For most families of persons with special needs, the SNTC Trust is a practical and accessible option. You should consult a lawyer or SNTC directly to find out which is more appropriate for your situation.

Insurance can provide additional financial protection and provision.

Life insurance can help provide a lump sum or income stream to fund the long-term care needs of your care recipient.

Please speak to a licensed financial advisory professional who is competent and experienced in special needs-centred financial planning.

The Central Provident Fund Board (CPF) has several schemes that may be relevant to caregivers considering future care plans:

1. CareShield Life/ElderShield: A national long-term care insurance scheme for Singaporean citizens and Permanent Residents who become severely disabled. 
2. Dependants' Protection Scheme: A term life insurance scheme that provides basic financial protection to the insured's family in the event of death, terminal illness or total permanent disability.

You can refer to CPF’s website for more information: https://www.cpf.gov.sg/member.

While the Advance Care Plan is not a legal document, it allows you to record your personal values and preferences for your care and treatment in advance—so that if you cannot speak for yourself in future, your family and doctors know what matters to you and how you would want to be cared for. For caregivers, making an ACP for yourself helps reduce uncertainty and family conflict during difficult moments, and ensures that medical decisions align with your wishes.

Unlike an Advance Care Plan, a letter of intent or care plan is specifically made for the benefit of your care recipient.

It is similarly not a legal document and records the care and treatment preferences for your care recipient, in case you are not around or able to communicate them to whoever replaces you as their caregiver, whether on a temporary or permanent basis.

It allows you to put down in writing your care recipient’s routines, daily preferences, medical needs, and key contacts (of future caregivers, SNTC case manager, physicians and therapists, extended family, etc.). This helps future caregivers provide continuity of care.

Find out more:

• Guide on Future Care Planning by SG Enable 
• Guide on the Special Needs Savings Scheme by the Central Provident Fund Board (CPF)
• Guide on the Lasting Power of Attorney by the Office of the Public Guardian 
• Guide on how to prepare your Lasting Power of Attorney by My Legacy@LifeSG
• Guide on writing a will by My Legacy@LifeSG
• Guide on intestacy by MoneySense
• Guide on Islamic Legacy Planning by Majilis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS)
• Online Trial Inheritance Calculator (For Muslims) by Syariah Court 
• Guide on Making a CPF Nomination by CPF
• Guide on Advance Care Planning by My Legacy@LifeSG

Legal Guidance and Representation: 

• Legal Aid: Check what legal aid you can apply for here (Note: legal aid is for individuals unable to afford a lawyer, and the application process will likely involve means-testing).
• Find a Lawyer: If you do not qualify for legal aid, you may find a lawyer using the following directories:
  • Ministry of Law Directory
  • Law Society of Singapore Directory

Social assistance: 

• Contact the SG Enable Future Care Planning team
• Financial Care Plan Generator by SNTC: A tool to estimate how much your loved one will require in his or her lifetime. The estimation is based on the information you provide: year of birth of yourself and your loved one, the special needs condition of your loved one, his/her future care arrangement and the income level of the family. Knowing the cost of care empowers you to make decisions to provide for your loved one with special needs.
• FutureReady. MINDS: A user-friendly online tool to help families build a future care plan for loved ones, taking into consideration each family's needs and desires and helps the user explore legal, financial, health, and accommodation options available in the community.