As someone who blogs about travel and personal finance, I read other people’s blogs too. One day, I found an interesting article about will writing. Thanks to that blog post, I realised the importance of having a will as an expat.
Okay, this idea may sound strange to you. At first, I felt the same.
I’m an expat who doesn’t own a car or a house. I don’t even have a fat savings account and investment portfolios. In addition, I’m very healthy.
So, why should I write a will?
The reason is very simple. Although I don’t own much, I don’t want my hard-earned money to go to waste.
Every month after I get my salary, I put aside some money for my travel goals, savings account, and investment portfolios. In your case, it could be the money that you saved diligently for:
- Further studies
- Travelling
- Kid’s education
- New house or car
- Family holidays
- Emergency savings
- Retirement
- Marriage, etc
If you suddenly pass away without a will, your assets will be distributed according to the laws of the country you live in.
The process could take up to five years, and your assets may already depreciate by the time your loved ones receive them!
Sure, they can try to claim your assets but according to the stories that I read, the process is very complicated and costs more money compared to what you spend when hiring a professional to write a will.
Will Writing for Expats in Malaysia
Before I continue, I want to make it clear that this isn’t a paid post or a suggestion. I’m simply sharing my personal opinion and experience.
So, expats in Malaysia have some options to write a will:
- Google how to write your own will (free of charge) — not recommended, let’s play safe
- Get a lawyer to help you write the will
- Ask your bank if it provides a will writing service
- Contact will writing providers
It’s very important that you mention that you’re an expat aka foreigner when you contact them. Make sure that they also offer a will writing service for expats.
I myself engaged Maybank to write my will. It has an online will writing service for Malaysians, so I emailed them and asked if I was eligible to use the service as an expat.
Only then did I know that the process for expats was different. Instead of online will writing, I had to fill out a form and emailed it + the supporting documents to them.
Their team had to review them and after I got the approval, I had to transfer the payment to them. The bank will only start drafting the will after I made the payment.
As a note, although I chose Maybank will writing service, it doesn’t mean that the will includes only Maybank-related assets. Let’s say I have another savings account from a different bank, I could include it in my will as well.
So yes, do tell the lawyer/bank/will writing providers that you’re an expat from the start. And ask them a lot of questions!
As an expat, I know how it feels to try to do your best at work because your life is depending on your working visa. Furthermore, if you have some people depending on you financially — more reasons not to waste your hard-earned money!
I hope this article can inspire all expats to consider writing a will. If you need more information, this article and this Maybank will writing page could help.
Also read: “How to End Your Travel-or-Save Dilemma”
Also read: “Investing for a Bucket List, Tony Robbins’ Way”
Also read: “Bajirao Mastani, an Award-winning Bolywood Movie for Lockdown Leisure”
