Rockwills International Group, an estate planning specialist, is seeing an uptake in demand for foreign wills by Malaysians.
Its Group CEO, Azhar Iskandar Hew, said this latest phenomenon follows the increasing investments by Malaysians abroad and the growing awareness of the need to protect these assets with proper estate planning for the benefit of their heirs.
Rockwills, which pioneered will writing and estate planning in Malaysia, has been able to offer foreign will-writing services through collaboration with legal firms and estate planning companies in several countries that are the popular choice for Malaysian investors.
“Through our partners who are well-versed with local laws governing foreign ownerships of assets, we are able to serve the needs for a Last Will and Testament that safeguards the interest of Malaysian investors overseas,” added Azhar.
Rockwills has been experiencing a high demand for Foreign Will writing services, particularly in countries like Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, and India.
According to Azhar, more Malaysians are having properties and investments abroad in a move to diversify their portfolio and manage investment risks.
A 2021 survey by Knight Frank LLP, a leading independent global property consultant, revealed that there was a 25% increase in preference among High-Net-Worth investors for investment opportunities overseas.
Azhar said this holds true in even the last two years of Covid-19 pandemic. Probably with more time on their hands and being able to be more discerning to lock in good investment choices, the investment appetite of Malaysians did not go into lockdown.
“If anything, it has sharpened it. We noticed this when a greater number of our clients request to amend their wills to include their overseas properties and investment.
“The surge in overseas investments brings with it a different set of challenges for the investors and among them is the need to have a separate foreign will written.”
A separate foreign Will would save legal cost which can be extremely expensive if not pre-arranged. It will also save time on re-sealing. Re-sealing is essentially an endorsement of the Malaysian probate where the investments are located within the Commonwealth or, for non-Commonwealth countries, the need to wait for the Malaysian probate to be obtained first before applying for separate probate overseas.
With a separate foreign Will, it allows the executor named in the foreign Will to obtain probate without the need for the Malaysian probate to be granted by the Malaysian courts. In addition, having a foreign Will prepared by local experts would ensure compliance of the local laws for probate to be obtained in the future.
Furthermore, in the event the Malaysian Will is being disputed, it may not affect the ability of the executor of the foreign Will to obtain probate in that country as the foreign Will is not in dispute.
“Many Malaysians with overseas investments are under the impression that as long as their foreign assets are included in their Malaysian Will it is fine. Many are not aware of the potential inheritance issues, legal complications and additional costs involved in the administration of foreign assets upon their demise,” said Azhar.
He added that it would be prudent not to overlook this. Rockwills and its estate planners could be consulted on how best to safeguard one’s foreign assets for distribution to beneficiaries according to one’s wishes.
