Last Will and Testament

[james adams]

I'm an American citizen living permanently in the Philippines. I have no Will but wish to create one while here. What's the best way of doing that.

[Jack Peterson]

1 hour ago, james adams said:

I'm an American citizen living permanently in the Philippines. I have no Will but wish to create one while here. What's the best way of doing that.

 I used myBank, Most Banks have a Will and Probate department.  

[mountainside]

Welcome aboard.

Short answer:  you need a Filipino attorney.

Reasons:  For disposition of assets in the Phils, things can get complicated by mandatory distribution rules and difficulty with disposing of Philippine bank accounts which usually require estate settlement and/or payment of 6% tax before release of your funds to your heir(s).  For disposition of US assets, and perhaps others, I believe that Philippine courts (in their due time) will generally honor a US will.  You should inquire about the difference between testimentary and non-testimentary wills.

Sounds like @Jack Peterson has a good source for getting things taken care of, and meant to say "Maybank."  

If you search the forum for posts about this, you'll find helpful information.  Best wishes.

[hk blues]

8 minutes ago, mountainside said:

Sounds like @Jack Peterson has a good source for getting things taken care of, and meant to say "Maybank."  

I suspect Jack meant 'my bank' rather than Maybank - as Jack said, most banks have a will and probate department.

[Jack Peterson]

12 minutes ago, mountainside said:

a good source for getting things taken care of, and meant to say "Maybank."  

 No my Bank is PNB

[mountainside]

1 hour ago, Jack Peterson said:

 I used myBank, Most Banks have a Will and Probate department.

Missed the myBank clue.  Went straight over my head. 

But now you have me curious.  Never in my life have I thought of asking a bank employee to draft my will.  

A PNB attorney actually drafted your will?  As a PNB client?  I'm only familiar with US institutions, but I don't think an attorney employed by a US bank could ethically write a will for a bank client  Big conflict of interest issues.

Not to pry, but did your bank's in-house attorney(s) actually draft your will?  Or did they instead refer you to an outside attorney with no conflict of interest?

[Jack Peterson]

3 minutes ago, mountainside said:

Not to pry, but did your bank's in-house attorney(s) actually draft your will?  Or did they instead refer you to an outside attorney with no conflict of interest?

 I have had my account for over 16 years, they know more about me than I can remember. There could on no account, be  any conflict of interest,  they are my Lifeline  where my Finances are concerned. It is outside Lawyers who may well be a source of conflict given the rules of Hereditary here.

[mountainside]

1 hour ago, hk blues said:

most banks have a will and probate department.

Some do.  Such departments administrate the probates of wills, for fees.  But they don't write wills.     

Not looking to start a fight.  Just wondering whether a member has actually had a will drafted by an employee of his or her bank.

[Clermont]

I left money in my Australian bank account, it’s in both names, therefore if either dies first the other automatically inherits the account, our pensions are tied to the account, no need to change anything and when we need money we transfer it through our transfer account. The Philippines account is in my name only but I keep enough for a month or so only in it, my wife has her own account. No problems to date.

[hk blues]

4 hours ago, mountainside said:

Some do.  Such departments administrate the probates of wills, for fees.  But they don't write wills.     

Not looking to start a fight.  Just wondering whether a member has actually had a will drafted by an employee of his or her bank.

I have no idea - it's not something I have personally done but I've no reason to doubt Jack.  Now, the detail of who actually drafted the will (i.e. actual bank employee vs. sub-contracted attorney) may not be clear but I don't know that it matters as long as it's legit.