Terminal Illness & End-of-Life Administration in Singapore: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Coordinate Specialist Palliative Care, Home Care, and Hospice Services

   Ask the treating hospital specialist, polyclinic doctor, or general practitioner to submit a referral for home palliative care, day hospice care, or the Inpatient Hospice Palliative Care Service (IHPCS) coordinated through the Agency for Integrated Care (hotline 1800-650-6060) [1][2]. You can review accredited charitable and community providers across Singapore (such as HCA Hospice, Assisi Hospice, Dover Park Hospice, or St Luke's Hospital, listed as public-source examples for orientation; Clarvia does not endorse, recommend, or rank them) through the Singapore Hospice Council [3].

   For Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, the Ministry of Health provides means-tested government subsidies alongside MediShield Life coverage for inpatient palliative care [2]. In addition, when a patient is certified as terminally ill and receives approved home palliative or day hospice care (or inpatient hospice care), there is no withdrawal limit when paying bills from the patient's own MediSave account, while standard daily or lifetime limits apply if family members use their own MediSave accounts for a dependant [4][5].

2. 2

   Complete Advance Care Planning (ACP) and Register an Advance Medical Directive (AMD)

   While your family member has full mental capacity, Singapore provides two complementary frameworks to record end-of-life care wishes [3][6]:

   • Advance Care Planning (ACP): Through the myACP digital service on MyLegacy@LifeSG (using Singpass) or with a certified ACP facilitator at a hospital or polyclinic, your family member can record their personal care values, preferred place of care and death, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation preferences, and appoint up to two Nominated Healthcare Spokespersons [6]. Completed ACP records are uploaded directly to the National Electronic Health Record (NEHR), making them immediately visible to public hospital and emergency teams [6].
   • Advance Medical Directive (AMD): Under the Advance Medical Directive Act administered by the Ministry of Health, any person aged 21 or older with mental capacity can sign an official AMD instructing doctors not to use extraordinary life-sustaining treatment if they are terminally ill, unconscious, and facing imminent death [7]. The AMD form must be signed in the presence of two witnesses (one of whom must be the patient's medical practitioner) and returned to the Registrar of Advance Medical Directives at the Ministry of Health [7].
3. 3

   Register a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) with the Office of the Public Guardian

   Because ordinary bank mandates and powers of attorney cease to operate if the donor loses mental capacity, your family member (the Donor, aged 21 or above) should execute a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) under the Mental Capacity Act while capacity is intact, appointing one or more trusted Donees to act on their behalf for Personal Welfare and/or Property and Affairs [8].

   Most individuals use standard LPA Form 1 (granting general powers with basic restrictions), while LPA Form 2 is drafted by a lawyer for customised clauses [8]. The process is completed digitally through the Office of the Public Guardian Online (OPGO) portal managed by the Office of the Public Guardian (under the Ministry of Social and Family Development) [8]: 1. The Donor logs into OPGO via Singpass to draft the LPA and appoint Donees (specifying whether multiple Donees act jointly or jointly and severally) [8]. 2. The Donees log into OPGO via Singpass to accept the appointment [8]. 3. Your family member attends in person before an accredited Certificate Issuer (an accredited medical practitioner, practicing lawyer, or registered psychiatrist), who certifies that the Donor understands the LPA and submits it digitally to the Office of the Public Guardian for registration [8].

4. 4

   Access the Home Caregiving Grant, MediSave Care, and CPF Reduced Life Expectancy Withdrawals

   Activate statutory financial and caregiving support through the Agency for Integrated Care and the Central Provident Fund Board:

   • Home Caregiving Grant (HCG): If your family member permanently requires assistance with at least 3 of the 6 Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), resides at home (not in a residential long-term care institution), and meets the household means test, apply via the Agency for Integrated Care eFASS portal with a Functional Assessment Report (FAR) for monthly cash payouts of SGD 200 to SGD 600 to defray caregiving or domestic helper costs [9]. Severely disabled individuals aged 30 and above can also apply for MediSave Care cash withdrawals [5].
   • CPF Withdrawal on Medical Grounds (Reduced Life Expectancy): If an accredited doctor certifies that your family member has a severely reduced life expectancy or is permanently unfit for work, they (or their registered LPA Donee if capacity is later lost) can apply online to the Central Provident Fund Board under the Reduced Life Expectancy scheme to withdraw CPF savings early in a lump sum, with the Medical Assessment Report submitted within 90 days of application [10][11].
5. 5

   Organise the Will, CPF Nomination, Public Trustee Thresholds, and Probate Records

   While your family member has full testamentary capacity, review or execute a written Will under the Wills Act (signed at the foot by the testator in the simultaneous presence of two or more independent witnesses who are not beneficiaries or spouses of beneficiaries) and optionally log its storage location (without uploading the confidential contents) in the Wills Registry via MyLegacy@LifeSG [6]. Assemble NRIC records, marriage and birth certificates, insurance policies, bank statements, and funeral wishes.

   Keep three critical Singapore estate rules in view:

   • CPF Nomination (Separate from a Will): Central Provident Fund savings (Ordinary, Special, MediSave, and Retirement Accounts) are excluded from the estate covered by a Will [12]. Your family member should review or submit a digital CPF Nomination via Singpass with two witnesses through the Central Provident Fund Board so CPF monies are paid directly to named nominees after death; un-nominated CPF funds are transferred to the Public Trustee's Office for distribution under intestacy rules (Intestate Succession Act for non-Muslims, or Administration of Muslim Law Act for Muslims), which carries an administrative fee [12][13].
   • Small Estates (Up to SGD 50,000): If the deceased's non-CPF estate does not exceed SGD 50,000 and meets statutory conditions, the Public Trustee's Office (under the Ministry of Law) can administer and distribute the estate without requiring a court grant [13].
   • Estates Exceeding SGD 50,000 and Tax Clearance: For estates over SGD 50,000, the executor named in the Will applies to the Family Justice Courts for a Grant of Probate (or next of kin apply for Letters of Administration if there is no Will) [14], and the legal representative settles any final income tax obligations up to the date of death with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS; Singapore has no estate duty for deaths on or after 15 February 2008).

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Palliative Care Services Overview — Agency for Integrated Care (AIC)
2. [2]
   Inpatient Hospice Palliative Care Service (IHPCS) and Subsidies — Ministry of Health (MOH)
3. [3]
   Singapore Hospice Council: Palliative Care Services and Advance Care Planning — Singapore Hospice Council
4. [4]
   Using MediSave for Outpatient and Palliative Treatments — Central Provident Fund Board (CPF)
5. [5]
   MediSave Care and Palliative Care Financial Schemes — Agency for Integrated Care (AIC)
6. [6]
   Advance Care Planning (myACP) on MyLegacy@LifeSG — LifeSG, Government of Singapore
7. [7]
   Advance Medical Directive (AMD) Guidelines and Registration — Ministry of Health (MOH)
8. [8]
   Making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) via OPGO — Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) / Office of the Public Guardian
9. [9]
   Home Caregiving Grant (HCG) Eligibility and Application — Agency for Integrated Care (AIC)
10. [10]
    Withdrawing CPF Savings on Medical Grounds (Reduced Life Expectancy) — LifeSG, Government of Singapore
11. [11]
    CPF Withdrawal on Medical Grounds Application Requirements — Central Provident Fund Board (CPF)
12. [12]
    CPF Nomination Scheme and Distribution After Death — Central Provident Fund Board (CPF)
13. [13]
    Administration of Un-Nominated CPF Monies and Small Estates — Public Trustee's Office, Ministry of Law
14. [14]
    Apply for Probate or Letters of Administration — Singapore Courts (Family Justice Courts)