Characterist LLC has been advising both local and cross-border clients on Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning since 1978. Led by Lie Chin-Chin with 30 years of experience, our Family Team has accumulated a wealth of expertise and in-depth knowledge in the preparation of Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorneys (“LPAs”), Trusts, as well as assisting Executors in obtaining Grants of Probate, Letters of Administration or the resealing of a foreign grant. Our clients have consistently affirmed our expertise and services rendered through the awards the team has won consistently over the years including the Straits Times Best Law Firm award from 2021 to 2024, and Asia’s notable firm 2020.
Our team regularly gives seminars and training to financial advisory corporations and their clients as well. Our solicitors including Lie Chin-Chin and Daniel Goh are also registered as Professional Deputies (Personal Welfare and Property & Affairs) by the Office of the Public Guardian, Ministry of Social and Family Development. They are potentially available to act as a professional donee to be appointed under a Lasting Power of Attorney. With our expertise, we will be more than well placed to help structure, plan and advise on your estate planning needs, and also walk through the processes of obtaining the Court’s grant to administer the estate of your loved ones.
Our team has advised and acted for clients in the following areas:
- Wills and Testamentary Trusts
- Lasting Power of Attorney
- Deputyship Applications under Mental Disorder Act
- Living Trusts
- Probate and Administration
Examples of our work:
Wills
At Characterist LLC, we have prepared Wills that covered inter alia the following scenarios: –
- Setting up of testamentary trusts for bonds, equities, insurance pay-out and other financial instruments with detailed terms and conditions for management and pay-outs.
- Structure the Will to make various gifts with calculations to equalise the distribution among children and step-children.
- Incorporate the customised terms contained in a Testator’s Lasting Power of Attorney Form 2 into the Will.
- Granting life interest to spouse and children with disability so that they will have a roof over their head during their lifetime, with the property distributed only after their deaths.
- The forgiveness and release of debts owed by children to parents especially in respect of loans extended to children for purchase of their properties.
- Drawing up Wills with sufficient substituted positions to minimise the need for testator to make subsequent amendments to Will upon the earlier demise of beneficiaries. This gives a greater peace of mind for the testator that the substituted position may kick in even if they were to lost their mental capacity to make any subsequent amendments.
- Setting up of Mutual Wills for husband and wife.
- Setting up Wills with delayed pay-outs to minor beneficiaries.
- Setting up Wills made in contemplation of marriage.
- Revival of Will revoked by marriage.
- Preparation of Codicils where assets were disposed or lapsed after execution of Wills.
Lasting Power of Attorneys
Our team has advised and assisted clients in customising their LPAs to ensure various concerns are addressed, including inter alia:-
- Paying out monies to the Donor’s dependants regularly for their maintenance and needs when the Donor is incapacitated.
- Recording the Donor’s preference for medical care and avoidance of nursing homes.
- Assurance that the Donees do not interfere with the Donor’s family business.
- Ensuring the assets in a living trust flow into the LPA.
- Restricting powers of investment by Donees to low-risk instruments.
Trusts
Our team has assisted in setting up a family trust to ensure that the benefits of the real estate were applied towards medical fees and living expenses of the patriarch and matriarch, the children and the grandchildren in the order of that priority and the ownership of the assets were devolved into the Trust only when no Buyer Stamp Duty or ABSD was payable.
What Our Clients Say
My brother was single and died suddenly. He was successful in his career and we were sure he was a person of means but we had no idea where his assets were located. The team at Characterist LLC diligently located his various assets for distribution.
Jennifer L.
I was about to embark onto an inherently risky business investment. However, I was concerned for my young family. Hence, I started to look for help to structure my assets to ensure that my family will have monies for their basis living expenses even if my business should fail. I knew I had to ringfence some assets from potential business creditors. However, after approaching many banks and financial institutions, I was not able to find available information and help. Those I approached were either not interested in handling real estate in Trusts or they required immediate substantial assets to be placed into the Trust to make commercial sense to them. I found Chin Chin through her book ‘Instant Legal Protection To Your Family’ and was extremely relieved to find someone like her who was able to set up a Trust for my family to protect my wife and young children should my business venture fails.
T.B. Lim
My father died leaving no will and an estranged family. I was left with an unenviable situation to apply for a grant of administration. I had located long lost estranged siblings for the process. Characterist LLC did this for me with great resourcefulness, compassion and sensitivity. It was a difficult drawn-out process which also involved some litigation help from the robust litigation team at Characterist LLC before the matter was finalised. The team was reliable and dependable and compassionate throughout the journey.
A Devi
I appreciate the wholesome consultation given by Chin Chin who drafted various Wills and set up some trusts for my entire family. She has understood us individually and given us overview and strategies to customise our respective Wills. She has taken note of our individual desires and circumstances and given us creative solutions.
M.H. Chang