Q ABOUT four years ago, my parents bought a resale three-room HDB unit for $120,000.
They used their entire CPF ordinary account balance of $48,000 and I forked out $40,000 in cash.
As they were in their 60s, they were not eligible for loans. I borrowed the balance of $32,000 from my siblings and cleared the debt early last year.
As I eventually want the flat for my son, now aged 15, I am paying off my parents, by instalments, the $48,000 they came up with.
My parents agree that rightfully, I should inherit the HDB unit, but in order to avoid any dispute with my siblings, I am considering asking my parents to write a will for the flat.
Please advise how I should approach this matter.
I own an HDB flat of my own.
A Although you have provided for the cost of the flat, you are nevertheless not the registered owner so legally, you have no right or interest in it.
Your parents can freely decide to whom and in what share to give their flat.
Fortunately, it appears that they both intend to bequeath it to you.
If so, it would be wise to encourage them to document their intentions in wills as soon as possible while they still have the capacity.
Since you want your son to have the flat, you may ask your parents to name him as the beneficiary instead.
Once your parents die, the transfer of ownership of the flat to the beneficiary is subject to HDB's eligibility rules.
As you are already a HDB flat owner, you cannot own your parents' one as well.
And your son, being under 21, has no legal capacity to own it either.
If the beneficiary, in this case you or your son, cannot satisfy HDB ownership criteria at the time of your parents' deaths, the executors of the wills can transfer the ownership only when the beneficiary becomes eligible.
Alternatively, the executors can be empowered by the wills to exercise their discretion to sell the flat and distribute the proceeds to the beneficiary.
The transfer or sale should take place within six years of the death of the testator - your parents - unless a court order is obtained for the sale to take place at a later date.
If your parents die without wills, then your siblings, being their surviving next-of-kin, will also be entitled to a share of the sale proceeds.
This is not the outcome intended by your parents or expected by you so it is important that your parents make their wills to avoid disputes among your siblings.
You should bring your parents to a lawyer who can talk with them clearly and to draw up wills that are appropriate in the light of your family situation.
There are other considerations for them to take note of as well when making a will - whom to appoint as executors, what other assets are to be distributed and to whom.
Also, the mode of ownership of the flat - joint tenants or tenants in common - must be clearly communicated to the lawyer.
Lie Chin Chin
Lawyer
Lie Kee Pong Partnership
Advice provided in this column is not meant as a substitute for comprehensive professional advice. E-mail questions to chanteik@sph.com.sg 
