Conference on estate planning for Muslims

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THE problems Muslims encounter in some areas of financial planning when
dealing with the civil law code here will be tackled in a ground-breaking
conference later this month.

The event is aimed at helping financial
advisers to guide Muslim clients on managing their assets and finances.

Specific issues include joint tenancy of HDB flats, joint CPF
nominations and joint bank accounts.

These will help industry
professionals reconcile civil and syariah law in the area of estate planning, a
contentious process for Muslims.

For example, if a married Muslim man
dies without a son or a will, civil law dictates that if his wife has joint
tenancy of their HDB flat, she should get full ownership.

However,
syariah law says she is entitled to only half of the flat, with the other half
to be equally distributed among the man's siblings.

His siblings can
then require the wife to sell the flat and give them their share of the
proceeds, which could leave her with no roof over her head. Disputes sometimes
end up in court.

Such conflicts will rise in number as the Muslim
community gains affluence and owns more assets, said Ms Halijah Mohamad, of law
firm Halijah Mohamad & Co, and a council member of the newly formed Muslim
Financial Planning Association (MFPA).

The MFPA, which was set up to
resolve such problems, is organising the conference to be held on July 15. It
is aimed at financial planners, lawyers and other industry
professionals.

Ms Arfat Selvam, MFPA president and managing director of
Arfat Selvam Alliance LLC, said the event will not be open to the public as
discussions will be technical and aimed at experts.

'Estate planning is
one of the most pressing issues right now for the Muslim community,' said Mr
Mohamed Salim, an MFPA council member and chief executive of First Principal
Financial.

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