After her father suffered stroke, dementia, before signing a Lasting Power of Attorney, Sylvia Lim's been helping Singaporeans with end-of-life documents

Singapore’s Workers’ Party chair Sylvia Lim once again assisted residents in preparing crucial end-of-life documents, hosting a session titled “Should You Make A Will? Points to Consider” alongside the Singapore Management University Pro Bono Centre. Lim credited the university’s students and staff for their volunteer efforts in organizing similar sessions previously.

While some residents may shy away from discussing death and estate planning, Lim noted that the Kovan attendees left the session with essential knowledge to organize their affairs. Lim’s dedication to the cause stems from a personal experience when her father suffered a stroke in 2010 and was later diagnosed with dementia. By then, he had not established a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), forcing her family to navigate the legal system to appoint deputies.

An LPA, which must be signed by an individual aged 21 or older, allows a trusted person or persons to make decisions on their behalf when they lose mental capacity. These decisions cover health, personal welfare, and financial matters. Lim expressed her encouragement when hundreds of residents attended the 2025 session, emphasizing the ease an LPA grants loved ones in acting in the individual’s best interest.

Lim and fellow WP leaders, also lawyers, have been assisting Singaporeans in preparing such documents since 2018. In 2019, Lim and Chen Show Mao helped certify LPAs for residents, while Fadli Fawzi organized a similar event in Kaki Bukit last March, and joined the Punggol team in helping almost 150 individuals complete their LPAs.