Passing gold to the next generation: records, packaging and gifting

Why bullion makes a straightforward family heirloom

A bullion bar or coin carries its own description. The refiner's mark, weight and fineness are stamped on it, and most bars have a serial number too. Your grandchildren will read exactly what you read on the day you bought it. A watch or a necklace can't promise that, because so much of its value rests on taste and condition.

Bullion also shares out neatly. Ten 10 g bars can go to ten people, or a couple at a time over the years. A single 1 kg bar is a different matter: you can't split it fairly without selling it. If you have several heirs in mind, the sizes you hold make a real difference later.

None of this tells you what gold will be worth when it changes hands. Prices move, and we don't forecast them. The point is only that bullion is easy to identify and easy to divide, and that makes things simpler for a family.

Make a list your heirs can actually find

The most useful step costs nothing: write down what you have. Without a list, a family that finds one bar has no way of knowing whether there were others. A plain sheet of paper kept with your important documents settles that.

Keep it factual and update it each time you buy, sell or give something away. Date it at the top so the reader knows how current it is. A copy can sit with your lawyer or your named executor. Be choosy about who else sees it, though. A full list of valuables does not belong in the family WhatsApp group.

• Each item: brand, bar or coin, weight and fineness, as stamped
• Serial number, if the bar has one
• Where it is kept: home safe, safe deposit box, which drawer
• Who holds the keys, codes or box access
• Where the receipts and assay cards are filed
• Anything already promised to a particular person

Sealed packaging and receipts: why heirs will thank you

Many minted bars come sealed in an assay card, the plastic pack that shows the bar, its serial number and the refiner's details. Left intact, it keeps the bar's surface clean and ties the bar to its paperwork. There is usually no reason to open it just because the bar is changing hands.

Receipts do a different job. They show where and when the metal was bought, which helps an executor put a value on the estate and gives your heirs a clear history if they ever sell. File them in a dry folder, away from the bars. Thermal till receipts fade in our heat and humidity, so take a scan or photocopy while the print is still sharp.

Paperwork doesn't replace testing. When your family brings pieces to sell, we test them before the final amount is agreed, whatever the card or receipt says. What good records do is make the visit quicker and the conversation calmer.

Telling someone where the gold is kept

Gold hidden too well tends to get lost. A bar tucked in a biscuit tin can go out with the rubbish during an HDB flat clear-out, and a safe with no known code is just a heavy box. Pick at least one trusted person who knows where the gold is and how to get to it, even if they don't know the full contents.

If you rent a safe deposit box, ask the provider what is needed for someone else to open it after your death, and keep the answer with your list. For pieces kept at home, the same rule applies. The right person should never have to guess.

Giving gold during your lifetime

Plenty of families don't wait. A small bar for a newborn, a coin at a wedding, a zodiac piece at Chinese New Year: these become heirlooms in their own right, and you get to see them received.

Each time you give a piece away, add it to your list with the date and the name of the person who received it. It feels fussy. It also heads off the awkward question years later of whether a bar was a gift or part of the estate. Hand over the receipt or assay card with the piece, or keep a copy for your file.

On tax, bars and coins that meet IRAS's investment precious metals rules are exempt from GST in Singapore. That means gold of at least 99.5% purity and silver of at least 99.9%, in bar, wafer or coin form, with other conditions attached. Jewellery is not covered. IRAS's e-Tax guide on investment precious metals sets out the full rules.

Wills and the legal side: speak to a lawyer

We are a bullion dealer, not a law firm, so this part stays general. If you want particular pieces to go to particular people, a will is the usual way to say so. Without one, the law decides who inherits, and the outcome may not be what you intended.

Family circumstances, religion and assets held overseas can all change which rules apply. A lawyer can tell you how to describe bullion in a will, how to choose an executor and how to keep your wishes up to date. Take your list along. It gives them something concrete to work from.

When your heirs decide to keep or sell

Some families hold on to inherited gold for decades. Others sell and share the proceeds. That choice is theirs, and we don't advise on it. If they do sell, they can walk into our shop at #01-17, Centrium Square, 320 Serangoon Road, with the pieces and any paperwork, Monday to Saturday 12pm to 8pm or Sunday 2pm to 8pm. No appointment is needed. We test everything at the counter, and the final amount is set there, at that moment's price.

For transactions above S$20,000, we take NRIC or passport details, as the PSPM Act requires of registered dealers, so bring identification. Live prices are on bullionking.sg/market, and bullionking.sg/sell explains how selling to us works.