Ask Melanie | Ask Melanie: Writing a will

A will aims to honour your final wishes. Those wishes usually cover to whom you pass your assets, who is responsible for ensuring this happens and how your remains will be dealt with.

The assets and liabilities covered by your will (estate assets) are those owned by you. Assets owned jointly, held in trusts or under life insurance policies that nominate beneficiaries are not part of your estate and so are not covered by your will.

A client provided in his will for half of his assets to go to two children from his first marriage and the rest to his wealthy second wife. His assets were all properties owned jointly with his wife. Joint asset laws provide for the properties to fall automatically to his wife's sole ownership on his death, leaving his sons disinherited. We rearranged his asset holdings.

Estate assets are dealt with when your will is deemed valid. This is the probate, or proving, process. The Hong Kong Probate Office must confirm it's your last will, properly drafted, in good condition and voluntarily signed by the person making it in the presence of two witnesses who are not beneficiaries.

If you have assets in other countries your Hong Kong will might also go through probate there before they can be dealt with. Proving a will from another country can be a longer process. If you have assets elsewhere, consider a separate will in that country for those assets.

The probate process will take least a year so it's practical to have a joint bank account so a spouse and/or children have money to live on.