SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Sim Bock Eng, Josephine Choo, Aw Wen Ni and Vincent Ho, WongPartnership LLP
8.2 Appointment of a Guardian A child’s parents are the natural guardians of the child and have rights to make decisions relating to the child for as long as the child is a minor. No application to court is necessary even if the child has disabilities, whether mental or physical. Under Section 7 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1934 (GIA), the father or mother of a minor may – by deed or will – appoint any person to be the guardian of the minor after their death. This appointment does not require a court application. In other instances, a person may apply to the court under the GIA to be appointed as the guardian of a minor. The court may also exercise its powers to remove any existing guard - ian and to appoint another guardian in their place. While guardianship does not normally require ongoing court supervision, all guardians must generally act in the best interests of the minor. However, once a child reaches the age of majority (above the age of 21 years), the parent no longer has decision-making rights for said child. In such circum - stances and where the child is mentally incapable, the parent will need to apply to court to be appointed as deputy for their adult-child so that they can continue to make decisions for that child. 8.3 Elder Law With the implementation of the MCA in 2008, there has been increasing awareness of the vulnerability of aged persons to be mistreated and manipulated. The Vulnerable Adults Act 2018 came into force on 19 December 2018 and is intended to safeguard adults who, because of mental or physical infirmity, disability or incapacity, are incapable of protecting themselves from abuse, neglect and self-neglect. The Act pro - vides for enhanced powers of intervention regarding vulnerable adults, including: • powers to enter their homes and investigate sus - pected abuse, neglect or self-neglect; • powers to make alternative care arrangements for vulnerable adults in order to protect them from potential abusers; and • powers to impose enhanced penalties for offences against vulnerable adults.
The awareness surrounding mental capacity has also prompted high net worth individuals in their wealth planning not only to consider the succession of their wealth in the event of their death, but also to make provision for their own care in the event of their infir - mity or incapacity. In this respect, the LPA and the setting up of a reserve trust to provide for themselves are common solutions. 9. Planning for Non-Traditional Families 9.1 Children Children Born Out of Wedlock Children born out of wedlock are considered illegiti - mate, although they are legitimated by the subsequent marriage of their natural parents. Until they are so legitimated, they would have no right to inherit from their father in the event that he should die intestate. They would only be entitled to inherit from their bio - logical mother if the biological mother has no surviving Under the Adoption of Children Act 2022, adopted children are deemed to be legitimate children of their legal (adoptive) parents and, in the case of intestacy, will be entitled to their estate as if they were born to their adoptive parents in lawful wedlock. As the adoption legally severs all ties between the adopted children and their natural parents, they will have no right to inherit from their natural parents in the event that the natural parents should die intestate. Surrogacy Whilst surrogacy is not unlawful per se in Singa - pore, commercial surrogacy is not allowed under the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, which prohibit assisted-reproduction clinics from providing surrogacy services. In the landmark case of UKM v Attorney-General [2019] 3 SLR 874, the High Court allowed a gay man’s appeal in relation to an adop - tion application for his son who was conceived via gestational surrogacy overseas on the basis that the adoption order would be in the child’s welfare as it improves the child’s chances of acquiring Singapore citizenship or long-term residence in Singapore, and legitimate children. Adopted Children
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