Neba Private Clients recently assisted a family with significant assets based in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The family owned a group of restaurants valued at around S$15 million, held within a Private Investment Company (PIC). Alongside the family business, they had an investment portfolio worth over S$5 million, spread across different currencies and asset classes. The parents, Mr and Mrs Shah, were concerned about ensuring an equitable inheritance for their two children. While their daughter played an active role in the business, their son had pursued a career in golf, and the parents were unsure how to fairly divide their wealth between them.
To resolve this, Neba Private Clients recommended a life assurance policy to ensure an equal distribution of wealth while providing a high level of cover. This policy would be structured using some of the parents’ private company shares, valued at S$5 million, as the underlying asset. Under Singapore’s Nomination of Beneficiaries framework, there would be no need for probate, and since there are no estate taxes in Singapore, the process would be simplified.
Upon the passing of Mr and Mrs Shah, the life assurance policy would pay a total of S$15 million to their children. The daughter would receive the family’s restaurant business shares worth S$5 million, along with the rest of the business, bringing her total inheritance to S$15 million. The son, in turn, would inherit the remaining S$10 million from the policy, plus the investment portfolio worth S$5 million, also totalling S$15 million.
This approach allowed the family to pass on their estate smoothly, with both children receiving an equal inheritance. The solution ensured the son could avoid becoming involved in the family business, allowing him to focus on his golf career, while also providing both children with sufficient capital to secure their financial futures and protect their families.
TEAM plc (LON:TEAM) is building a new wealth, asset management and complementary financial services group. With a focus on the UK, Crown Dependencies and International Finance Centres, the strategy is to build local businesses of scale around TEAM’s core skill of providing investment management services.
