When someone has passed away , his or her property is administered under either the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administrations. The administration of the estate follows two distinct paths depending on whether the deceased has left a will or not. In both of these cases, all his assets will be frozen until Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration is obtained. It is a time-consuming and tedious process as we may not know the whereabouts of his surviving legatee, assets or even his debts.
Probate can be only be granted to a executor if the deceased had left a last will. Probate is conclusive proof that the will was executed validly, is genuine, and is the deceased’s last will.
STEP 1: appoint a lawyer
Appoint a experienced lawyer to assist you in gathering all the deceased ‘s assets, debts and taxes, and what’s left to successor.
Documents needed:-
- a) Original death certificate;
- b) Original last will and testament;
- c) Identity card of the executor and beneficiaries;
- d) List of Assets and Liabilities (with documentary evidence).
Hearing:-
The probate court will schedule a hearing after cause papers has been filed in court containing affidavit, such as the date of death, names of surviving family members and of beneficiaries named in the will, and so on. In most cases, the hearing is a formality and you need to show up. If your request is approved and all papers are in order, the Probate will be granted to you to act on behalf of the deceased.
Bearing in mind that your request can be rejected if someone else has filed application for administering the deceased’s estate in other institution, i.e. Land Office or Amanah Raya. You may need to revert the matter to this institution which had already filed initially. In worst case, somebody would have filed citation/caveat against this probate if they would want to challenge the validity of the will (expunged the will). If that is the case, the probate hearing will become a contested one whereby parties will have to litigate.
Step 2:Distributing Property and Closing the Estate (Transfer and Transmission)
The deceased’s debts shall be first be settled before you’re ready to distribute remaining property to the beneficiaries and close the estate. Thereafter, you are ready to close the estate releases you from your duties as executor.
When it comes to movable property, you need to present a certified true copy of the probate to the relevant institution such as bank, JPJ, SSM to effect the transfer and the disbursement of monies.
If the deceased’s estate consists of immovable properties, you need to go through a transfer and transmission process to allow the title deed to be registered in favour of the intended beneficiaries. The legal fees payable is based on the market value transacted but the stamp duty will be exempted (only nominal amount RM10.00 need to be paid).
