If you pass away without a Will, you will be deemed to have died “intestate”. In such a situation, your money and assets will be distributed according to the Intestate Succession Act – you will have no say in who is appointed to administer your estate and who will inherit your money and assets. This may not be the way you want your assets to be controlled and distributed.

The executor or administrator must first determine what assets or debts the deceased left behind. Then he or she must settle the debts (if any). He or she must then collect the assets and distribute them according to the Will or the intestacy law.

If there are multiple Wills, the latest one should supersede the earlier one. A determination may have to be made based on the deceased’s final intention. 

If you cannot find the Will, a search can be conducted in the Wills Registry or other places before applying for a grant to be issued based on a certified copy of the Will. Without a certified true copy, the assets will have to be distributed according to the intestacy law.

As long as you are mentally competent you can revoke or amend a Will and we will advise you on the procedure involved.

• If the deceased left a Will behind, you should apply for a Grant of Probate. The executor or executors named in the Will must take the original Will to the lawyer for the lawyer to apply for the Grant of Probate.
• If the deceased did not leave behind a Will, the deceased’s spouse or family members can apply for the Grant of Letters of Administration by instructing lawyers.

It typically takes around 3-4 months to complete the process, or longer depending on the complexity and assets left behind.

Yes, however certain safeguards are required and disclosure of relevant information in order to effectively cater to such assets.

• A trust is a legal framework in which you (the settlor) give a trusted person (the trustee) the right to hold title to property or assets for the benefit of others (the beneficiaries).
• A testamentary trust is set up in your Will.
• A testamentary trust allows you to set aside a portion of the estate for your children or grandchildren’s education and to provide them with an income.
• Assets placed in a trust may give your beneficiaries protection against their creditors and in divorce proceedings.
• A Testamentary Trust takes effect only upon your death.

You set up a trust in which you (the settlor) give a trusted person (the trustee, who could be you as well) the right to hold title to property or assets for the benefit of others (the beneficiaries) while you are alive.

The advantage of a living trust is that your spouse, in the event of a divorce or your creditors cannot make claim on those assets placed under the trust.

The disadvantage of the living trust is that as a trustee, you will lose control over your assets because you have to act in the best interest of the trust at all times. Stamp duty and other charges may also be payable in certain instances.

Usually, one or more of the deceased’s family members. If there is a dispute as to who should apply then the court will make a decision.

If there are beneficiaries below 21 years, two administrators are required. If not, one will do. There cannot be more than four. If there is more than one, they must all act together at all times.

There is no time limit. However, the administrator must call in and distribute the assets as soon as possible. If the deceased owns a property, it must be sold or transferred within 6 years from the death of the deceased otherwise the administrator will be required to apply for court sanction to sell the property. If it is a HDB flat, the HDB will usually require that the flat be sold sooner than that.

They must do so until the last of the beneficiaries attain 21 years of age.

The beneficiary who has prior right e.g. a surviving spouse or parents of the siblings of the deceased if the deceased did not have children.

Yes, if there are beneficiaries below the age of 21. However, an application can made for the dispensation of sureties and the court will usually accede to such requests if it is almost impossible to get a surety.

Notwithstanding that, if the estate comprises a high value asset, and there is a real risk of the administrator dissipating the asset, the court may insist on the surety being provided.

Usually, the deceased would have left some documents evidencing the assets. When you apply for Grant of Letters of Administration, the law firm would usually write to all the local banks, insurance companies and the Central Depository Pte Ltd to ascertain whether the deceased held any shares. Property searches can also be carried out to determine if any property was owned by the deceased.

The application for the Grant of Letters of Administration must be made in the Family Division of the High Court.

There are two options. Firstly, an application for a Grant of Letters of Administration can be taken out in each jurisdiction. However, if that is not possible, a Grant obtained in Singapore can be used to obtain a Resealing of the Grant in another Commonwealth country or vice versa.

An application has to be made in court for the deceased administrator to be replaced by a suitable person.

You will have to apply for a Grant of Probate of the Will and upon getting it proceed to administer the estate in accordance with the Will.

A mirror Will is a Will made by two persons who make two separate Wills but the terms of which are identical.

A mutual Will is a Will made by two persons which is binding on the two of them i.e. the survivor would not be able to make another Will which differs in terms from the mutual Will.

No. The Malaysian court keeps the original Will. You can only apply for a Grant of Probate in Singapore if you have the original Will. If you are unable to obtain the original Will from the Malaysian court, you would have no choice but to apply for a resealing of the Malaysian Grant here.

The surviving executor or the executor of the executor who died later can administer the estate on his or her own.

A member of the deceased family can apply for Letters of Administration with Will Annexed. In this case the administrator must follow the instructions in the Will on the distribution of the assets and not the intestacy rules.

A court application will be required. This is what is known as contentious probate application. The court will decide on the validity of the Will after a trial or hearing.