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https://dollarsandsense.sg/what-is-lasting-power-of-attorney-lpa-and-why-all-singaporeans-should-make-one/ The importance and value of making a will is widely accepted and well-documented. In the same way, a Lasting Power Of Attorney is a logical component of a holistic estate planning process, complementing your existing will. The importance and value of making a will are widely accepted and well-documented. We all understand that it makes sense to express your wishes when you’re still of sound mind and not under duress, so that your intent can be carried out when you’re no longer around. However, what happens in the event something unfortunate were to befall you, but you’re not quite dead? Surely you would still want all your assets to be managed by a trusted party, who can also take steps to protect your portfolio’s value. Your assets can then be used to sustain your treatment, or ensure your existing liabilities continue to be serviced, without having to trouble your loved ones. This is how a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) can be helpful in giving you peace of mind. Here’s how a LPA works and how it can help you. What Is A Lasting Power Of Attorney (LPA)? A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legally-binding document that empowers someone you trust to manage your financial affairs for you (including your assets) in the event you lose the ability to do so for yourself. LPAs in Singapore are administered by the Office of the Public Guardian. Without an LPA, your loved ones will need to undergo the long, troublesome and expensive process of applying to the court to allow your financial and personal affairs to be managed on your behalf. An LPA is a logical component of a holistic estate planning process, complementing an Advance Medical Directive and existing will. Eligibility To Make A Lasting Power Of Attorney According to the Office of the Public Guardian, if you want to make an LPA, you must fulfil the following criteria: – You must have the mental capacity to make the LPA – Your donee(s) that you wish to appoint to act on your behalf must be willing – Both you and your donee(s) must be at least 21 years old and not be an undischarged bankrupt for LPAs for property and -personal affairs. For your LPA to be legally valid, you also need to register your LPA with the Office of Public Guardian. Lasting Power Of Attorney: Form 1 Or Form 2? When deciding to make an LPA, one of the decisions you need to make is whether to do use “Form 1” or “Form 2” for your LPA. Form 1 is the most common and “default” type of LPA, giving the donee that you trust general powers with basic restrictions to act on your behalf. On the other hand, Form 2 requires a lawyer to draft the exact scope (or customised powers) that you wish to grant your donee to perform on your behalf. How To Submit An Online LPA Application Step 1: Choose your Donee(s). They must be above 21 and someone you can trust to make decisions on your behalf regarding your personal welfare, your property & affairs, or both. Step 2: Log in to the Office of the Public Guardian Online (OPGO) via Singpass, where you can draft your LPA. The donees can also accept their appointment via the OPGO. Step 3: Next, look for a LPA Certificate Issuer, such as Accredited Medical Practitioners, Practicing Lawyers and/or Registered Psychiatrists to certify your LPA and sign using Singpass digital signature. Step 4: Once the LPA is certified, it will be submitted to the OPGO for registration. When the digital LPA is accepted and registered, you and your donee(s) will be notified via SMS/email. There’s No Better Time To Make An LPA Than Now The fact that you’re reading this article shows that you have sufficient mental capacity. If you haven’t made an LPA, we hope that we’ve convinced you of their importance. As an additional bonus, application fees for the LPA Form 1 have been waived until 31 March 2026. There really isn’t a better time to set up an LPA than right now.

BANGKOK—The office of Thailand’s attorney general on Friday said it intends to file criminal charges against former Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra for allegedly mishandling a multibillion-dollar rice subsidy program, potentially threatening the fragile calm that has largely prevailed in the country since a May military coup. The agency said that after consulting with Thailand’s anticorruption agency there was sufficient evidence to press criminal charges against the former leader at Thailand’s Supreme Court. Ms. Yingluck, the sister of populist billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra , who was ousted in a coup in 2006, could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years if she is convicted, a prospect that could infuriate her supporters who have largely kept a low profile since martial law was imposed, analysts and risk consultants say. Ms. Yingluck, 47, also faces possible impeachment as prime minister, despite being removed from office shortly before last year’s putsch for improperly transferring a senior civil servant. A verdict is expected later Friday. If Thailand’s military-appointed legislature votes for impeachment, Ms. Yingluck would be banned from running for any political office for the next five years, effectively sidelining the country’s most popular politician and hardening the fault-lines between Thailand’s civilian populist leaders and its conservative armed forces. Ms. Yingluck’s critics describe the rice subsidy as a reckless attempt to win over rural voters. It was introduced after Ms. Yingluck’s landslide election win in 2011 and involved buying rice from farmers at as much as twice the market price and then stockpiling harvests in the hope of steering global prices higher. The program fell apart when rival exporters such as India and Vietnam increased their shipments to the global market, driving down prices and leaving Thailand with paper losses of more than $15 billion. Ms. Yingluck in her final appearance before the legislature Thursday defended the program as a means to lift incomes in agricultural areas. “It gives farmers the opportunity to have a better life like everyone else,” she said, adding that barring her from politics is a violation of her basic rights and freedom. The attorney general office’s move and the impending impeachment decision aren’t expected to prompt mass protests, at least not yet, Bangkok-based consultancy PQA Associates said. Gatherings of five or more people are outlawed under martial law and the armed forces have been aggressive in breaking up fledgling protests in recent months. The legal cases against Ms. Yingluck, however, risk chipping away at the veneer of neutrality that junta leader Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has tried to erect since seizing power, although he has denied trying to sway any verdict against Ms. Yingluck. At the least, PQA Associates said in note to clients, the cases “will be a further setback to the regime’s legitimacy and could portend a return to civil unrest over the near and medium term.”

SALT LAKE CITY: Microsoft Corp purposefully duped a Utah company into believing its writing application would be included in the Windows 95 rollout, then pulled the plug so Microsoft could gain market share with its own product, an attorney said Tuesday in closing arguments for a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit against the software giant. "It was purely a predatory action," Novell Inc. attorney Jeff Johnson told jurors. Utah-based Novell sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming the Redmond, Wash., company violated U.S. antitrust laws through its arrangements with other software makers when it launched Windows 95. Novell said it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss. Novell is now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group, the result of a merger that was completed earlier this year. Microsoft lawyers have argued that Novell's loss of market share was its own doing because the company didn't develop a compatible WordPerfect program until long after the rollout of Windows 95. "Novell was late. It was always behind. It was playing catch-up," Microsoft attorney David Tulchin said during closing arguments. The jury was expected to begin deliberations on Wednesday. Tulchin recapped testimony by a series of former WordPerfect and Novell executives who recalled that WordPerfect was hitting its zenith by the time Novell bought it in 1994. Novell neglected the product and was slow to develop new versions for the Windows operating system or recognize the power of Microsoft's graphical operating system, he said. "In the high-tech world where things can move quickly ... the market can kill you," he said. Novell's lawsuit is the last major private antitrust case to follow the settlement of a federal antitrust enforcement action against Microsoft more than eight years ago. Novell's trial began in October in federal court in Salt Lake City. Johnson has conceded that Microsoft was under no legal obligation to provide advance access to Windows 95 so Novell could prepare a compatible version. Microsoft, however, enticed Novell to work on a version, only to withdraw support months before Windows 95 hit the market, he said. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates testified last month that he had no idea his decision to drop a tool for outside developers would sidetrack Novell. Gates said he was acting to protect Windows 95 and future versions from crashing. Novell could have worked around the problem but failed to react quickly, he said. Gates also said Novell couldn't deliver a compatible WordPerfect program in time for the rollout, and that Microsoft's own Word program was actually better. He said that by 1994, the Word writing program was ranked No. 1 in the market, above WordPerfect. WordPerfect once had nearly 50 percent of the market for word processing, but its share quickly plummeted to less than 10 percent as Microsoft's own Office programs took hold. Novell has argued that Gates ordered Microsoft engineers to reject WordPerfect as a Windows 95 word processing application because he feared it was too good. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/ne...ow/11106530.cms