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歡迎收聽「長者法網智多聲」。「長者三寶」,即持久授權書、遺囑和預設醫療指示之中,相信大家最常聽到的就是遺囑,亦即是「平安紙」。這一節我們會為大家說一下遺產承辦和遺囑。

一般來說,您可以決定自己的財產怎樣分配和留給誰,好像是留給親人、朋友或慈善機構等,只要在平安紙上寫清楚就可以了。平安紙可以說是您跟家人傳達的最後訊息,這樣重要,訂立之前,最好還是先諮詢律師。

任何年滿18歲而又精神健全的人,都可以訂立平安紙。平安紙必須要白紙黑字寫下來,您要在兩名見證人同時在場之下,在他們面前,在平安紙上簽名。兩名見證人之後亦必須在您面前,在平安紙上簽名。平安紙最好先寫上日期,然後再簽名。要留意了,兩位見證人,不可以是您的遺產受益人或他們的配偶,否則他們將來便拿不到您的遺產。

您可以在平安紙上,指定一至四個可靠的人,擔任您的遺產代理人,他們會代理您的財產,直至管理及分發工作完成為止。遺產代理人可以同時是您的遺產受益人,但記得要寫清楚。

如果訂立平安紙之後想更改,可以用同樣的方法,再訂立一份新的平安紙,記得寫明原本那一份已經取消了。

在考慮怎樣寫平安紙之前,有某些事您可能要先想清楚。舉例說,如果遺產受益人還未夠18 歲,您可以在平安紙寫明,等他到了某個年紀,才可以繼承遺產,期間遺產代理人會代為托管這筆遺產。如果遺產受益人因為殘疾不能夠照顧自己,您也可以在平安紙上委任信託人,代為管理他繼承到的那一筆財產。除了如何分配遺產之外,平安紙亦可以交代您想如何安排身後事。

若您年事已高、曾經中風、患有老人癡呆症、或患有其他可能影響您精神狀況的重病,記得要在訂立平安紙之前,先找醫生檢查和紀錄您的精神狀況,以免日後家人說您訂立平安紙時精神錯亂,要求法庭推翻您的平安紙。

訂好平安紙以後,記得要放好,還要告訴遺產代理人平安紙放在哪裡。

如果沒有訂立平安紙又如何呢?根據法例,您的親人可以有不同優先次序,申請成為您的遺產代理人,代理您的財產,直至管理及分發工作完成為止。

在扣除您的債務、稅項、葬禮及法律等費用以後,您的財產會根據法律,按次序分配。在一般情況之下,在生的配偶和子女,會優先分得您的財產。如果您只留下丈夫或妻子、沒有子孫;或是有子孫在生,但配偶已經過身;甚至是有私生子女,又或是在1971年10月7日之前納了妾侍,不同的情況,分配財產的方法都不同。如果想知道更多,可以參考長者社區法網文字版。這一節就說到這裡,謝謝大家收聽。

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How to make a will?

Probate

Any person being mentally sound and having reached the age of 18 may make a will. Though you may make your will on your own, it is always advisable to consult a lawyer first, especially if you find it likely that your family members will fight over your assets. In case you insist on preparing your will by yourself, you must follow the following steps:

  1. your will must be in written form;
  2. your will must be signed by you;
  3. you must sign your will in the presence of two witnesses at the same time (preferably the witnesses should be aged 18 or above);
  4. your witnesses may also be your executor(s). But they, or their husband or wife, cannot be a beneficiary of your will or else they will lose the right to receive from your estate (section 10 of the Wills Ordinance (Cap. 30));
  5. the two witnesses must sign your will in your presence;
  6. for the sake of clarity, you should date your will before you sign it and you should sign it at the end of the contents of your will. Meanwhile, your witnesses should, before they sign your will, first state next to your signature that you sign in their presence and that they sign in your presence (section 5 of Wills Ordinance (Cap. 30)).

If you want to amend your will after you have made it, you may do so according to section 13 of Wills Ordinance (Cap. 30).

You may make a new will by taking the same steps as above and stating in it that you cancel the previous will. If you just want to cancel your original will and do not want to make a new one, you may take the same steps as above and simply state that you cancel the original will. For the sake of clarity, no matter whether you are making a new will or just canceling the original, you should tear up the original one to avoid any possible confusion or challenge to your new will.