A year ago, he left tis world in the early mornings of a Monday. Recalling is traumatising. But the fact & reality of him being no longer present physically with mum & I, have since sunken in & accepted yet we are walkin through life with chin up, carryin his spirit within us...
I am not here to talk abt how sad or painful it was copin all these times but I wanna share somethin that might be helpful for us, who will eventually pass on or face the death of our loved ones.
My father's passing brings alot of lessons. I remember my uncle sayin tis to me, "Supi, tis is it. U will have a lot to handle but stay Patient. We know u will face some difficulties/challenges, take ur time...U will LEARN in the process. And from all these, who noes u can share with others what u have experienced."
From being clueless, i somehow have gained some knowledge through experience & class abt handling estate(monetary & properties of the deceased) issues & Faraid. People don't really like to deal with this issue (esp. Me!) cos when it comes to money & properties, it is emm..sensitive. Another thing, for Muslims, we are governed by the Shariah's way of distributing the assets, so it can be a lil troublesome for us, especially if we have no clue whatsoever how it works through the Islamic laws. But let's face it. These things cannot be avoided and it is best to get it all settled as soon as possible. Although it is easy to say a.s.a.p., sometimes with many financial commitments & investments by the decesed, especially here in Singapore, where our money is even "kept" by the Govt, Faraid can really be mind-boggling!
Here I would like to share some tips and suggestions so that when that day comes, insya Allah, these matters will not be a great burden to all who will face them.
In my father's case, he did not make any nominations for the beneficiery of his CPF money..so zoom, all go straight to the Public Trustee to handle. Other matters, such as money in bank accounts, invested shares and insurance policies can either be claimed by bringin on documents such as Death Certificates & Letter of Administration (best to employ a lawyer). For a "financial idiot" like me, all these admistrative stuff are really Overwhelming!
So my tips/suggestions before u pass away, PLAN for it and:
1. GET ORGANISED!
Please have a habit of organising important documents (birth certs, death certs of kins, loan documents, investment portfolio, insurance policies, bank statements/books etc.) into folders that are easily retrieved.
2. Either choose ur beneficiery for ur CPF money OR let Public Trustee handle it (the latter is actually recommended by my Ustaz, because Public Trustee will do a good job sifting through all required documents before releasing the money-hurhur trust me, i concur cos my case is still not closed!)
Point to note tho, for a Muslim, if u happen to be the one chosen to be the beneficiery, it doesn't mean that all the money goes solely to u. U r actually holding the responsibility of being the Trustee to actually distribute the money to the appropriate beneficieries.
3. Write a will on
(a)how/what the family should do with the estate that u have left behind esp. those who wants to give away some of their assets to their Non-Muslim family members or someone not related/not amg the rightful beneficieries through Faraid, it IS possible and as much as 1/3 of ur assets can be given away.
(b) where to find certain things that might be kept unknown to family members
(c)list of outstanding issues (eg. loans, religious matters such as skipped fasts, haj etc.)
4. On insurance plans & Dependent Protection Scheme (DPS)
Pls ensure that u know what insurance plans that u r signing up during the time u live because there are some forms of insurance that are proposed to be Haram (eg. Life Insurance) due to certain reasons (pls do some reading on the fatwa if u wanna noe more..MUIS site, Google). Money from DPS can be taken & has been ruled to be Halal as it is a cooperative scheme (can also find info in MUIS' site).
If u r the next of kin, handling the death matters (religious obligations,burial, estate/assets) of your loved ones, pls REMEMBER & PRIORITISE gettin these things settled in the sequence such as below:
1. Use the deceased money(if he/she has enough) to settle the preparations for & the burial itself
2. Settle the deceased religious obligations (eg. Haj if he/she could afford with his/her wealth, skipped fast, zakats etc.)
3. Settle any forms of debts (his/her debts or getting back the money he/she lent to others)
4. Settle his/her Will
5. Faraid the remaining assets to Ahli Waris, rightful beneficieries
I guess these are some of the basic things that I could share with u on the eve of my late father's passing. As we become more financially-savvy in order to attain or maintain financial stability but as Muslims, we have to exercise our responsilibities. Though it can be rather tedious, troublesome to juggle between the laws of the world & Allah's laws...Remember, in Allah we trust, and pray to him for lotsa patience & guidance to balance & settle these affairs...
Allahummagh firlahum warhamhum wa afihim wa'fu anhum
