Will - Documents living beyond you

Wills are unique. These documents only come alive when the maker of the Will has passed away. Hence these documents lives beyond you.

Whatever drafted on the Will has to be accurate. Once the maker of the Will has passed away, the Executor of the Will would have to decipher what the maker wishes. So, the Will has to be drafted in clear and understandable language. Any ambiguity may lead to unwanted consequences (for example; an ambiguous clause may be declared too vague, and the asset which you wish to donate to a specific beneficiary may not end up with that beneficiary after all).

It is strongly advised that you engage a Solicitor to draft a Will. Inform the Solicitor of all your tangible assets. Inform the Solicitor which asset shall go to who, upon your demise. Be clear with the Solicitor.

It is perhaps best not to have an asset divided to too many people (for example Landed properties should not be divided to too many people). One must also consider if the one asset is divided to too many people, when this beneficiary themselves pass away (and if they pass away without a Will) then your legacy would be in conflict and sometimes in chaos.

In some Wills, the maker gives a House to 5 children. When the maker dies, all 5 Children will be registered as co-owner. But when one of the child themselves passes away AND pass away without a Will; that is where your legacy faces problems. The 3rd generation will face much issues.

Anyway, this is merely an example. Be sure you think beyond the coming generation when deciding who benefits from your Will. It would be beneficial if you ponder of the 3rd generation too.

Wills, Probate & Letter of Administration (Part II)

In our earlier posting we had blogged about Wills & Probate. This is Part II of this series on Wills, Probate & Letters of Administration.

We append below a link to an excellent article by Ms Lee Chooi Peng, a partner at Messrs YH Teh & Quek. She had given a fairly extensive overview about asset management of a deceased, who left without a Will.

We trust you will find the Article, informative and useful.

Happy Reading!

http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/national_young_lawyers/have_your_own_way_with_a_will.html

Wills, Probate & Letter of Administration (Part I)

Just a short note on Wills in Malaysia.

For non-Muslims, once a person passes on and leaves a Will behind, please see a lawyer with that Will as soon as possible. The lawyer would file a Petition into High Court and apply for a legal Document, called Probate.

The Lawyer would have to, inter alia file Affidavits affirmed by the 2 Witnesses to the Will, and also the Affidavit by the Executor/Executrix. All in all, it normally takes around 3-9 months (depending on which High Court you go to) to extract a Probate Order.

There will be a requirement to provide some money as Administration Bond, and that money will be paid into Court. This Bond operates as a quasi undertaking from the Executor/Executrix that he/she will perform their duties as per the Will.

With a Probate, the Will will be given effect and the person named as an Executor (male) of Executrix (female); in the Will, can now proceed to distribute the properties of the deceased as per the Will.

The Executor/Executrix will be a quasi-Trustee, and under the law, the duty expected of that person is onerous. In short the Executor/Executrix must be transparent and must not breach the duties expected of him/her. He/she may be sued in his/her personal capacity if there is a breach.

We will Blog on the Laws on Wills and also Laws governing people who passed on without Wills, in due time.