Stacy Choong

Partner | Singapore

Email Stacy

+65 6922 3718

VCARD

Secretary Alya Mastapa

Email Alya

+65 6238 3259

Operating as Withers KhattarWong LLP in Singapore.

Stacy is a partner in the private client and tax team.

She advises individuals and families on their estate planning and this includes advising on wills, trusts, family governance/constitution and family/shareholders' agreements, and also on establishing family offices, private trust companies, family charities and foundations. She also helps clients with developing efficient holding structures and succession plans, not just for their personal bankable wealth but also for their real estate investments, special collections and their family businesses. Her practice is more focused on families with multi-jurisdictional or multi-generational planning considerations or other more complex governance requirements.

She offers a unique perspective on wealth planning as she has experience not only as a legal advisor but also as a client advisor in a private bank. Stacy was previously a managing director of the wealth advisory team of one of the top global private banks and advised high-net-worth clients on succession planning and wealth structuring. Prior to that, Stacy was a tax and private client partner in the largest full service law firm in Southeast Asia.

Besides helping clients set up family foundations and philanthropic trusts and ventures, Stacy also acts for charities, non-profit organizations and trade associations on tax, regulatory and compliance matters and she has served as charity trustees for charitable foundations. For instance, Stacy is presently a director of B Lab Singapore, a not for profit organization. B Lab Singapore leads economic systems change to support the collective vision of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy through building a community of purpose driven businesses, developing partnerships and engaging the wider ecosystem of people, private and public sectors. Stacy is also a director of the Asia Community Foundation, the first Asia focused independent community foundation focusing on catalyzing change in the region; and a member of the governing board of Duke NUS Medical School. Additionally, Stacy regularly advises philanthropic foundations set up by prominent US families on their philanthropic activities.

Stacy is a respected legal and tax adviser. She has been appointed as a member of the Expert Panel for the Wealth Management Institute’s (WMI) Family Office Programmes, in collaboration with the Law Society of Singapore, where she provides guidance and input to support the review and design of modules and initiatives to ensure they are impactful and relevant. She has also been invited to be a member of the Modern Services Sub-Committee of Future Economy Committee (FEC) to develop and implement the industry transformation maps for the modern services cluster.

Stacy's knowledge of the legal landscape and also her experience in the private banking industry put her in a good position to develop a bespoke and functional solution for each client.

She is a regular speaker at many international conferences. She also organises training events for bankers and intermediaries to ensure that they are kept current of the latest developments in the private wealth space. And on special request, she can curate special educational sessions for family clients, often involving members from various generations (and this can be conducted in both Mandarin and English).

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Recent recognition

Stacy Choong is a standout practitioner. She has a unique ability to simplify and solve complex cross-border legal and tax issues. What distinguishes Stacy from others is her rare combination of sharp technical command and her instinctive grasp of family dynamics, which allows her to propose structures that are not only sound on paper but also effective in practice.

Clients trust Stacy Choong's judgment deeply and often see her as their first call for any complex wealth structuring or family governance issue. She is one of the top names in the private wealth field in Singapore today.

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026

Stacy Choong’s private client and tax team at Withers KhattarWong stands out for its rare combination of deep legal expertise, cross-border fluency, and commercial pragmatism.

Stacy Choong and her team consistently offer a level of strategic foresight and commercial realism, especially when dealing with family governance and succession matters involving multiple generations and jurisdictions.

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2026

No one would disagree that Stacy Choong is the leading figure in the private client in Singapore, especially when it comes to issues on family offices - undoubtedly second to none. Clients trust her a lot and enjoy working with her.

Stacy Choong is our go-to legal and tax practitioner in Singapore for private client/tax work with an unparalleled access to the top tier family offices in Singapore, and her ability to dissect complex factual scenarios, analyse tax and legal exposures from the perspectives of multiple jurisdictions and address clients’ needs are second to none.

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2025

She is willing to think of her role, but also think outside the box to give clients a good result. She is very concerned about the structures created and makes sure clients are protected.

Undoubtedly the best choice for any Singapore related private client work. In my mind, she is the queen of the Singapore family office.

Chambers HNW 2025

Stacy is willing to think of her role, but also think outside the box to give clients a good result. She is very concerned about the structures created.

Her depth of knowledge, especially in niche areas like climate investments, is incredible. She is well suited for sophisticated clients with developed family office models.

Chambers HNW 2025

Stacy is able to relate to clients and really get them to open up about their perspectives. She adds something to each case by providing solutions and looking at problems from a human perspective.

Stacy Choong understands all the facets of private wealth and brings them together to help us solve complex problems. She is an invaluable adviser to us.

Chambers HNW 2024

Stacy Choong is the most exceptional partner in the team, with an unparalleled ability to understand and navigate the complexities of the UHNW families.

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024

She has a strong following of Indonesian clients, particularly big wealthy families. She has a great way of speaking to clients and always brings them in to understand structuring matters. She is very good at communicating and bringing everything together.

Stacy Choong of Withers LLP advises on trusts, family offices and wills for high net worth clients and families. She also deals with tax in relation to charitable foundations and business succession planning.

Stacy is a leading light in private wealth legal work.

Chambers HNW 2023

Experience of dealing with Ultra High Net Worth clients and their requirements which are often very complicated. Advice is high quality and straight to the point. Stacy Choong is one of the industry leaders in this space and she is supported by an excellent team.

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021

Stacy Choong has an incredible ability to connect with clients, put herself in their shoes and view their world from the inside out. After zeroing in on the real issues, Stacy provides legal advice tempered with prudence, good judgment, and humanity. Her execution is energetic, and she is a lawyer for whom placing the client’s interests first is not just a rule of professional conduct but it infuses her whole practice.

City Wealth Magazine 2018

A peer says Stacy Choong is "regarded as one of the leading practitioners," and is "known for her experience; she is Singapore-qualified with considerable experience." Choong handles cross-border investment work, family office matters and the full range of tax, wealth and estate planning issues for ultra-HNW clients across Asia. Sources particularly highlight her valuable expertise at a private bank before joining Withers. One local private banker says: "She’s incredibly experienced and has a significant background doing private work, and has also been in industry. I think she’s got many strengths, her knowledge of Asia and its clients particularly." This source also says: "She's got great personality; she's friendly, very personable, has a wonderful disposition and great technical knowledge which she can put over to clients in a way that is not intimidating, and they can understand.

Chambers HNW 2018

Stacy Choong assists high net worth clients with their estate planning and wealth protection needs. One interviewee says: "She is one of the most renowned private client lawyers in Singapore - she is usually involved in large structures and complex structurings." Sources note Choong's previous experience at J.P. Morgan, which gives her an added edge as a private client lawyer with experience in a major bank. A market insider reports: "She has excellent technical knowledge, excellent client relationship skills and an excellent reputation in the market. She handles quite a significant number of wealthy families in Asia. I hold her in regard. She's got a very easy manner to deal with - she makes you feel comfortable either as a professional or as a client. She has a great manner in explaining complex issues in terms people can understand.

Chambers HNW 2017

CityWealth Leader List 2017

Stacy Choong advises HNW clients on estate planning and wealth protection, and helps structure cross-border investments as well as assisting family offices on establishment, tax and regulatory matters. "She is an experienced practitioner and is good at what she does," says one interviewee, with another adding that they were "very impressed by her." Choong is able to bring a unique perspective to the firm's wealth management practice owing to her past experience as managing director of a top global private bank. One source notes that "she really made her name in banking and is very well versed in this area of law." As well as advising on welath management, Choong also assists HNW clients with setting up family foundations and philanthropic trusts.

Chambers HNW 2016

Me in a minute

It is such a joy and privilege for me to do what I do every day

I believe that my diverse background in the wealth planning industry enables me to share with my clients a broader perspective by looking at their concerns from different angles. I always aim to design and propose viable and efficient solutions that are right for each family.

Experience

Beneficiaries and heirs Charities and non-profit Climate change, sustainability and social impact Crypto and digital assets Families and family offices Family businesses Founders High net worth individuals

Indonesia Leaders and senior executives Philanthropy Private client Professional advisors Tax Trustees, executors and fiduciaries

Track record

Establishment of family offices

Assisted some of the wealthiest families globally with the establishment of their family offices in Singapore and obtained the appropriate Singapore tax exemptions (by procuring the Enhanced-Tier Fund Tax exemption or the Resident Fund Tax exemption status) for the relevant investment holding companies and family fund entities.

UHNW families

Assisted to apply for Singapore employment passes and also Singapore Permanent Residency ("PR") status (under the Global Investment Programme or otherwise), as appropriate, for family members in various global UHNW families, in connection with their investments to set up their Singapore family offices or other selected businesses.

Private trust company

Advised an UHNW family on the establishment of their private trust company ("PTC"), their family trust for the holding of their global business operations with the master holding company based in Singapore. Also assisted the family with their family constitution and their family philanthropic foundation. Assisted on further restructuring of the family trust when certain family members acquired new tax residency status (eg in US/UK).

Singapore and Southeast Asian families

Advised many Singapore and Southeast Asian families on the formulation of their family constitution and/or shareholders agreements/family agreements (as the case may be), taking into consideration restrictive ownership requirements, requisite disclosure requirements and where applicable local forced heirship law considerations. Assisted also with putting in place appropriate prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements for family members.

International real estate investment advice

Assisted UHNW families with their real estate investments in Singapore in a tax efficiency and confidential manner, including appropriate asset protection features. Advised also on their international real estate portfolio structuring (for their HK, US, UK, Australia and Japan real estate portfolio).

Formulated family philanthropy policies

Assisted in formulating family philanthropy policies, established family charitable trusts and foundations, advised on the suitability of each charitable trust and foundation to apply for registered charity status, and assisted in structuring the investment and asset holding structures for the charitable trusts and foundations.

UHNW family

Assisted an UHNW family with the restructuring of their family wealth and reorganisation into two trusts: one trust to hold their family operating businesses and a separate trust for their financial portfolio investments; with agreed policies in place for the funding and distribution of wealth between the 2 trusts and also for inter-company financing transactions. In the restructuring of their existing holding structure, assisted with appropriate tax planning (from both local and foreign taxes) and applied for stamp duty exemptions to minimize the restructuring costs.

Cross-border business investments

Assisting families with cross-border business investments, and enhancing the results with seeking applicable tax treaty benefits to achieve a tax efficient solution.