Last week's Proceedings -
31st January, 2007
Last week's Proceedings -
31st January, 2007
Pres Paul opened the meeting by welcoming PP Claire Mak ( Taipo) who is our guest speaker for today and will be formally welcomed later.
First thing will be to wish Rtn Dr. Tony Loy a happy birthday & to receive his birthday present. Pres. Paul asked him who want to lead the birthday song. Guest who? It was none other than the man with the sexy voice PP John IV, who fortunately was up to it.
Pres. Paul has a few reminders.
- PP dinner on the 9th of March 2007 at the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. All PPs and President who are interested, please contact Pres. Paul or the Hon Sec to sign up.
- District Conference will take place on 26th of May. It will be a one day event which will take place at the Kowloon Shangrila Hotel. You will be reminded again in due course.
Next he invited our new SAA to make his report. Rtn Heman got some valuable practice in learning the names of our members and he came through brilliantly and reported a collection of $1,700.
Pres. Paul himself introduced our guest speaker PP Claire Mak who is our District General Secretary 2006-2007 and the AG of our Area 6 next year. PP Claire graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor Degree in Law and a Post- Graduate Degree in Law. She is a solicitor with the firm of Wong, Hui & Co. She is very active in Rotary affairs being the Club Secretary of the Rotary Club of Taipo and its President in 2005-2006. He then asked every one to give a warm welcome to PP Claire.
Claire began her talk by apologizing for her voice because she just recovered from a bout with the flu. If her voice sounds a little too sexy, she said it was unintentional.
She started her talk by asking, “How many here have a will?” She was surprised because many of our members raised their hands.
She said many people do not have a will because they do not wish to tempt fate. But there are advantages to have a will. Because:
- You can dispose of your estate in a manner you like in contrast no will in which case your estate will be evenly distributed among the beneficiaries.
- In many cases the administration of the estate will be quicker and easier because there are certainty of beneficiaries and personal representatives.
Now what exactly is a will. In general terms a will is a document executed in certain formalities and contains statements with regards to the distribution of personal properties on death.
What formalities? In Hong Kong there is a will ordinance that set out the formalities which has to be in writing, signed by the testator (the person making the will), usually the signature of the testator appears at the end of the document, but this is no longer necessary. But it makes a lot of sense to have the signature there. Two or more signatures must witness this signature.
The capacities of the will maker must reach the age of majority. Of course the will maker must have the mental capacities to make a will.
The beneficiaries You can name anyone as a beneficiary even infants and the unborn can be beneficiaries. An executor of a will can also be beneficiary but a witness cannot. An example of this is the Rotary Benefactor scheme.
The contents The contents of the will can be burial instructions and legacies. A will can also be revoked.
Now there are certain matters that cannot be done in a will.
A will cannot override Statues of the Law. For example, if you have a property in the joint names of you and your wife, you cannot on your death pass your half to a third party.
There are other things you can do with a will such as giving your assets to beneficiaries upon them attaining a certain age or upon graduation.
After making a will what do you have to do. You must keep that document in a safe place such as in a plastic folder which prevents making marks on that document, because when an executor of a will applies for probate of a will, the probate staff will scrutinize the document and if they find a mark or indentation on it they will demand an explanation because this may be suspected to have been changed. So keep your documents in a safe folder so as not to make a mark on it.
How to revoke a will? If you get married that can be revoked. It is different from a divorce. Divorce will not automatically revoke a will but it will cause the gift to a former spouse to lapse. The rest of the will will still be valid.
Another form of revocation is by making a later will. By making a later will the latter will revoke the former will.
The will can also be revoked by tearing, burning or otherwise destroying it.
Features of a will- A will will have no effect until the testator’s death. Until then it is merely a statement of intent subject to revocation and variation. However this statement does not have any specific form but only needs to be testamentary in nature that is the will will be effective on death. There are many standard will available from your stationary stores but she advises us to use a solicitor to prepare it to avoid any problems.
She then opened the floor for many questions which were answered fully and satisfactorily. I guess everyone present appreciated the free advise from an expert.
Pres. Paul then invited Rtn Dr. Tony to give a vote of thanks to our guest speaker. Wittingly, Dr Tony said in part “Where there is a will there is a way”.
Pres. Paul closed the meeting by making a toast to RI coupled with the Rotary Club of Taipo.
Rotary InformationPresidential Theme – Rotary Shares for 2007-08
The 2007-08 theme Rotary Shares will act as a daily reminder of what ordinary people can accomplish through the extraordinary work of Rotary, said RI President-elect Wilfred J. Wilkinson at the 2007 International Assembly’s opening session to-day. (29-1-2007)
“What makes Rotary great is our expressing the love in our hearts and our minds, “ said Wilkinson. “As Rotarians, we don’t just sit back and talk about loving other human beings. As Rotarians, we demonstrate that love, and we share that love, through helping each other.”
Almost everything Rotary does involves sharing, Wilkinson told more than 500 district governors-elect gathered at the meeting in San Diego, California, USA, We share our time, we share our talents, and we share our money with others who need our help.”
Furthermore, he said, “In Rotary, sharing doesn’t mean giving away what you have to spare, what you don’t need for yourself. Sharing means giving of yourself, selflessly, for the good of others.”
And Rotarians don’t need to do this alone. They know that when the need for service in their community can’t be met by one club alone, they can call on Rotarians from around the world to help, said Wilkinson.
More than a theme, Rotary Shares is a call to action. As the incoming governors begin preparing for the year ahead with the training, leadership, and inspiration they receive at the international Assembly, Wilkinson asked them to focus on sharing their leadership, skills, and dedication to making clubs and districts stronger.
Sharing Rotary does more than strengthens Rotary; it ensures that Rotary continues a second century of service. Rotary Shares means inviting people to join their local Rotary clubs.
“Rotary will only be able to continue sharing if it continues to grow, “said Wilkinson. To help Rotary grow, Wilkinson requested that all of the incoming governors ask their club presidents to bring in one new club member during their year in office.
“Without new members, nothing else matters” he said. Without our youth and new members, it will only take a few decades for Rotary to disappear, and we’ve already seen that happen in other service clubs.”
In addition to the crucial job of welcoming new club members, the president –elect said Rotarians should not forget their past. He asked them to reach out to former club members, including club members’ widows and widowers.
Wilkinson reminded the audience that the opportunities they’ll have to help may not come their way again.
This year is your chance to be a district governor, to help your clubs to guide them, to share your strength and your love,”
In the year ahead, a great deal will be asked of Rotarians said Wilkinson.
“I ask you all, this year, to share Rotary freely and fully. Work hard, and work with love. And remember that everything you do in service to others is part of the magic of Rotary, the magic that allows ordinary people, like you and me, do absolutely amazing things.”
******************
Electronic Make-up Questions
JokesJOKE ONLY A GOLFER WOULD UNDERSTAND THIS STORY
It was a sunny morning, a little before 8.00 am, on the first hole of a busy course, and I was beginning my pre-shot routine,
Visualizing my upcoming shot when a piercing voice came over the club house loud speaker,
"Would the gentleman on the woman's tee back up to the men's tee please!"
I could feel every eye on the course looking at me.
I was still deep in my routine, seemingly impervious to the interruption.
Again the announcement, "Would the man on the woman's tee kindly back up to the men's tee."
I simply ignored the guy and kept concentrating,
When once more, the Man yelled, "Would the man on the woman's tee back up to the men's tee, please!"
I finally stopped, turned, cupped my hands and shouted back
"Would The asshole with the microphone kindly keep quiet and let me play my second shot!"
on
31st January, 2007
Our guest speaker today was PP Claire Mak (Taipo) who spoke to us on the making of the Will.
(L to R) Hon Sec Andy, SAA Heman Lam and PP John IV.
Our birthday boy was non other than Rtn Dr. Tony Loy receiving his present from Pres. Paul, with PP John IV the guy with the sexy voice leading his birthday song.
Dr. Tony here thanking our guest speaker for a very interesting talk.
(L to R) PP Henry, Dir Jason, Rtn. Kenny, PP's Hubert, George.
(L to R) PP's Stephen, Rudy with Rtn Peter II.
(L to R) Rtn Herman, PP Eddy, Dr Tony and Dir Norman.
The group photo of our meeting with PDG Uncle Peter, our guest speaker, Pres. Paul and our members on 31st January 2007.
