Nominations & Wills for foreigners

As a foreigner, if you have been working in Singapore for a few years, you would have the following assets:

  • Local bank account(s)
  • Insurance policies
  • Investments

As your family members are likely to be residing overseas, it’s best to ensure your assets can be transferred to your loved ones in a quick and efficient way.

Nominations for Foreigners

The easiest (and free) way would be to do nominations for your life insurance policies (where applicable). This will ensure your loved ones can access the payouts within 4-6 weeks upon your passing.

For investments, it would be preferable to invest via insurance companies as your investment assets can be passed onto your beneficiaries smoothly through a nomination as mentioned above.

What happens if you don’t do any nominations?

If you do not make any nominations for your insurance policies, upon claim the maximum the insurer will payout is S$150,000 per life to the proper claimant.

As the balance of claim proceeds will only be paid after the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration are available, it may be a lengthy time before your beneficiaries receive the rest of the claim proceeds.

What happens if you invest via non insurance companies (eg banks, investment platforms)?

The investment accounts will be frozen until the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration are available.
While the investment accounts are frozen, there is a risk of loss and deterioration of your investment funds due to equity market fluctuations.

Wills for Foreigners

Do consider setting up a Will in Singapore to take care of your Singapore assets like bank accounts and investments.
This would enable you to appoint your preferred Executor and decide on your beneficiaries.

Without a Will, it will become a costly and complex legal matter to determine your domicile and laws of intestacy.

Some points to note when setting up your Will in Singapore

Revoking previous Wills / foreign property
Usually the Will set up in Singapore is meant to take care of Singapore assets only.
Be sure to check that the Singapore Will does not supersede any Wills made worldwide.

Concurrently in your home country where you have substantial assets / properties, its best to setup a Will according to local laws there as well.

This will save time and legal costs as both Wills can pass through the probate process at the same time.

Executor(s)
• If you are appointing an individual, it’s best to appoint someone residing in Singapore, due to the ease of estate administration
• If you do not have a suitable Executor, you can consider appointing a corporate trustee to administer your estate (subject to estate administration fees)

What’s Next?

Still unsure about the best way to transfer your assets to your loved ones? Do drop me an email winniechan@fapl.sg or chat with me

Important: The information and opinions in this article are for general information purposes only. They should not be relied on as professional financial advice. Readers should seek unbiased financial advice that is customised to their specific financial objectives, situations & needs. This advertisement or publication has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Published By:

Chan Wen Li Winnie

Winnie Chan is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and MDRT Court of the Table qualifier (top 5% of advisers) with 15 years of experience in financial advisory services.

She specialises in helping doctors and high-income professionals build sustainable passive income, protect what they’ve worked for, and create a financial legacy for the people they love. Working across different insurers and investment platforms, Winnie focuses on finding the right fit for each client — not the other way around.

Her experience supporting clients through insurance claims has helped families access the financial protection they planned for, providing peace of mind during life’s most challenging moments.

Winnie was recognised as a Top 5 Weighted Premium producer at Financial Alliance in 2025 — out of close to 500 advisers — and received industry-level recognition for Top 3 Single Premium category Insurer award.

She has also brought financial education to organisations including Carousell Group, Singapore National Eye Centre, and Singtel.

Outside of work, Winnie stays active through regular gym workouts and is an accomplished pianist — recently attaining ABRSM Piano Performance Grade 6 (Merit).
She believes balance matters in finances, and in life.

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