Where there's a will, there's certainty for your chosen heirs

Making a will can be an emotive task. So much so that many people never get around to making one.

If you are one of those sensible people who have sought professional advice then it may well be that you have most of your assets in a trust structure already. If so, a will is only needed to deal with the residue of your estate and some administrative matters - but you do still need one. If you do nothing then you are doing your loved ones a serious disservice.

Intestacy rules prescribe the way in which your estate will be divided on death if you have not made a will. These rules vary from country to country but always favour the surviving spouse, children, parents and remoter relatives of the deceased, in that order of preference. This may not result in your estate being divided between those that matter to you - especially if you are not married.

The intestacy rules in Hong Kong closely mirror those in Britain. Briefly, they state that if you die leaving a spouse and children, your spouse will receive the first HK$500,000 of your estate (HK$1 million if there are no children) plus a life interest in half of the rest of the estate.

This means the spouse can have the income generated by that portion of the estate but the capital sum must be preserved and goes to the children when the spouse dies. The children take the rest of the estate immediately but their share will be held on trust for them until they reach the age of 18.

Generally, your estate will be dealt with according to the rules of the place where you make your main will, but taxes on the estate may be payable outside Hong Kong according to the rules of their situs. Careful planning may eradicate such taxes.