Implementing a wealth plan in Singapore: eight steps from family stocktake to annual review

The eight steps at a glance

Step by step

1. Step 1: Stocktake of family and asset facts

   • Documents needed: passports and identity documents for family members, marriage and birth certificates; a list of assets in each jurisdiction (property, shareholdings, deposits, investments, insurance policies); a list of liabilities and guarantees given; existing wills, trusts and policy documents.

   • Timeframe: several weeks, depending on where assets are located and how complete the documents are.

   • Who does it: the family's main decision-maker leads, with the financial adviser helping to organise the information; where business shareholdings are involved, the company's finance team or accountant needs to take part.

   • Common sticking points: nominee or cross-holdings that cannot be explained clearly; forgetting to list personal guarantees given for the business.

   The stocktake method (the "five maps") is described in Asset allocation framework.

2. Step 2: Goals and money tasks

   • Documents needed: a table of cash-flow needs for the next 2, 5 and 10 years (tuition, retirement, medical costs, business funding needs) and the currency of each expense.
   • Timeframe: 1–4 weeks.
   • Who does it: the financial adviser together with the family.
   • Common sticking points: conflicting goals (wanting high liquidity and long-term growth at the same time); looking only at investment returns and overlooking payment obligations triggered by events.

   The horizon and liquidity requirements of the four money tasks are set out in Asset allocation framework.

3. Step 3: Residency and tax residence assessment

   • Documents needed: each member's travel records for the past few years, work and living arrangements, materials on the intended residency route, and existing tax filing records.
   • Timeframe: several weeks for the assessment itself; residency applications take longer — for example, GIP applications take about 12 months to process (EDB GIP Factsheet, 5 May 2025 edition).
   • Who does it: a cross-border tax adviser; residency applications are made by the applicant as required by the authorities, with the help of a licensed service provider if desired.
   • Common sticking points: treating a pass, PR and tax residence as the same thing; being treated as tax resident by two countries at once; CRS self-certifications not updated after a change in residency.

   The tests are explained in Residency and tax residence. The conclusion of this step determines where later accounts and structures are reported and where information is exchanged to; the steps and timeline for residency applications are covered on the sister site hnwi.sg.

4. Step 4: Source of funds and source of wealth documents

   • Documents needed: evidence of Source of Funds (the direct origin of the money to be transferred this time) and Source of Wealth (how the client's overall wealth was built up), such as salary and dividend records, tax returns, bank statements, share sale agreements and tax clearance, inheritance or gift documents, property sale and purchase contracts, and audited financial statements of controlled companies.
   • Timeframe: several weeks to several months; the longer the time span and the more dispersed the assets, the longer it takes.
   • Who does it: family members and the accountant compile the documents, with a lawyer helping to explain complex transactions.
   • Common sticking points: little written record of income from the early years of a business; money that has passed through several layers of accounts, breaking the chain.

   This is a normal compliance requirement. The Guidelines to MAS Notice 626 treat source of wealth as the origin of the client's entire body of assets and list acceptable evidence such as salary records, tax returns, bank statements and audited financial statements of controlled entities. Where the client is a politically exposed person (PEP), the bank must apply enhanced due diligence. The current MAS version sets the specific requirements.

5. Step 5: Holding structure design

   • Documents needed: the conclusions of Steps 1–4; letters of intent for any proposed entity or trust; existing company constitutions and shareholders' agreements.
   • Timeframe: several weeks to several months, depending on the complexity of the structure.
   • Who does it: led by a lawyer, with a tax adviser assessing the tax impact in each jurisdiction; where a family office or fund is involved, a corporate secretary and fund manager need to take part.
   • Common sticking points: too many layers, making upkeep costly; a structure that does not match the tax residence conclusion; overlooking the home country's reporting rules for foreign entities.

   Holding options include individual, joint, trust, company and family office. A single family office must notify MAS and file annual returns; notification is not approval. The role of each tool is described in The Singapore wealth tool landscape.

6. Step 6: Bank and private bank account opening

   • Documents needed: proof of identity and address, tax residence self-certification (CRS / FATCA), the source-of-funds and source-of-wealth document pack, evidence of Accredited Investor eligibility and opt-in documents, and, for entity accounts, corporate documents and controlling person information.
   • Timeframe: usually several weeks to several months, depending on the bank's review; longer where the asset structure is complex or a PEP is involved.
   • Who does it: the bank's relationship manager and compliance department; the client provides documents and attends interviews.
   • Common sticking points: self-certifications that do not match the facts; incomplete controlling person information; documents that have expired or are not certified.

   Accredited Investors must expressly opt in with each institution, and the institution must still carry out a suitability assessment (MAS FAQ). The document checklist and account-opening process are covered on the sister site bankaccount.sg.

7. Step 7: Putting the tools in place

   • Documents needed: an investment policy or portfolio description; insurance proposal forms, health declarations, medical reports and financial underwriting documents; trust deeds and trustee due diligence documents; incorporation documents and management agreements for family office or fund entities.
   • Timeframe: depends on the tool. Medical and financial underwriting for large policies usually takes several weeks or more; setting up a trust requires the trustee to complete due diligence; 13O/13U tax incentives are applied for separately, and MAS has said that most new applications were approved within three months (29 Sep 2025), subject to current review times.
   • Who does it: banks or fund managers, insurers, licensed trustees and lawyers.
   • Common sticking points: incomplete health declarations that affect future claims; policyowner, life assured and beneficiary arrangements that do not match the structure design.

   When putting tools in place, distinguish guaranteed from non-guaranteed benefits; illustrated values and past performance do not indicate future results.

8. Step 8: Succession documents and annual review

   • Documents needed: a will (the testator must be at least 21, and the will must be in writing and signed before two witnesses, Wills Act; MoneySense); a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA; the donor must be at least 21, witnessed by an LPA Certificate Issuer, OPG); insurance beneficiary nominations (LIA); a CPF nomination (CPF savings are not covered by a will). The requirements for each document are set out in Succession and family governance.
   • Timeframe: signing the documents usually takes several weeks; the review is carried out once a year and started at any time a life event occurs.
   • Who does it: an estate lawyer and financial adviser; the review is led by a person the family designates.
   • Common sticking points: wills, nominations and trust documents that contradict one another; assets in other countries where local succession law has not been considered; CRS self-certifications not updated after relocation.

   The annual review covers: whether the asset allocation has drifted from the money tasks; whether tax residence and self-certifications are accurate; whether the will, LPA, nominations and trust documents need updating; and whether ongoing obligations such as SFO annual returns are being met on time. An annual compliance calendar is available on the sister site hnwi.sg.

Timeline and running steps in parallel

The eight steps are not strictly sequential. A common arrangement in practice is:

1. Complete Steps 1–3 first and start Step 4 alongside them: the first three steps set the premises for the structure and accounts and are the most expensive to change later; source-of-funds documents take the longest, so collection can begin while tax residence is being assessed.
2. Alternate between Steps 5 and 6: entity accounts can only be opened once the entity exists, and the bank's document requirements in turn shape the structure design.
3. Run the tools in Step 7 in parallel, and do not leave Step 8 until last: insurance underwriting, trustee due diligence and the investment portfolio can proceed at the same time, but policyowner and beneficiary arrangements must match the structure; basic versions of the will and LPA can be signed first and updated once the structure is complete.

This site makes no promise that everything "can be done remotely" or "completed in X days"; the institutions' actual requirements prevail.

Working with professionals and when to pause

Who is responsible for each step is listed under "Who does it" above; to check how roles are split among professionals, see the Self-check list. The most important rule when working with several parties is consistency: if the facts a family gives the bank, the trustee and the tax adviser contradict one another, reviews will be delayed or even declined. For a model of multi-party collaboration, see the sister site hnwsolution.sg.

If the source of funds cannot be documented, if a compliant route for moving money out of the home country has not been confirmed, or if the hope is to use a cross-border structure to avoid reporting obligations in the home country, resolve these preconditions first rather than rushing to open accounts or buy products; the last of these is neither compliant nor workable. For questions on tax, foreign exchange and CRS, please obtain professional advice in the relevant jurisdiction (Singapore / Hong Kong / mainland China). If you would like help mapping out the steps for your own situation, you can register your needs through the contact details on this site.