Estate Planning Is Not Just for the Rich

You do not need an estate to need an estate plan. You only need people who depend on you. (Clearing up the biggest myth.)

The phrase "estate planning" calls to mind family fortunes and tax avoidance. Singapore abolished estate duty in 2008, so for almost everyone the goal is not saving tax — it is directing assets cleanly and protecting dependants. That goal applies at every income level.

Look at the most ordinary asset of all, the home. Across all Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats sold in 2025, the median price was about S$628,000 and the average about S$652,000. Even a three-room flat had a median resale price near S$445,000, and a four-room near S$630,000. For most households, the home alone is already a six-figure estate.

And the home is only part of the picture. Department of Statistics figures for the end of 2025 show that, for an average resident household, residential property makes up only about 43 per cent of total assets — the other 57 per cent is financial: CPF savings, insurance, deposits and investments. In other words, add what sits alongside the home and the typical household's estate is roughly double the value of the property itself, commonly well above a million dollars.

More importantly, the case for planning does not even rest on the size of the estate. It rests on dependants: children, a spouse who relies on your income, an ageing parent, a sibling with special needs. For them, the questions are not about wealth but about continuity: who decides, who receives, and how quickly. A modest estate left in disarray can hurt a family more than a large one left in order.

So the right test is not "Am I rich enough to need this?" It is "Does anyone depend on me, and do I own anything in my sole name?" For almost every working adult, the answer is yes — and that is reason enough.

Illustrative example: even an HDB flat is a six-figure estate

The chart shows the median 2025 resale price of HDB flats by type, from two-room to executive, with the all-flats median marked for reference. The range runs from roughly S$370,000 to S$900,000, and that is the home alone — before CPF, insurance and savings are added. Figures are from HDB resale transactions in 2025 (median across 25,092 sales); private property runs several times higher.