No residuary clause in the Will – what would happen to the estate? It is common and necessary to have a residuary clause in a Will which usually states “I hereby leave my residue of my estate, both movable and immovable of whatsoever description and wheresoever situated absolutely for their use and benefit and enjoyment [...]

Whether only brothers and sisters of the deceased living at the time of the deceased's death are entitled to the deceased's intestate estate? (How will an intestate’s estate be distributed?) If a person dies without leaving a Will, it means that the person has died “intestate”. Once a Letters of Administration (“LA”) is granted by [...]

In general, the deceased would usually name the beneficiaries in the will to express their wishes to leave their estate behind for their benefits. And in most situation, each beneficiary named in the Will is intended to be the last and final recipient of the assets bequeathed by the deceased. However, there are exceptional circumstances [...]

This is a common question and a serious issue which must be solved. Without the Original Land Title, the owner of the land could not sell or transfer the Land. It is quite common when a loved one passes away, the next of kin could not locate the Original Land Title. Solution: There is a [...]

In Tan Sri Dr M Mahadevan v Dr Jeyalakshmi Ratnavale & Ors [2017] 6 CLJ, the facts are as follows:- Ratnavale passed away on 9 April 1973 and on the date of his death, the eight beneficiaries mentioned in the will were alive. Ratnavale’s wife (Annalakshmi) and mother (Ratnamal) had since passed away. The remaining [...]

Why you should consider buying a residential property now? (Stamp Duty Exemption). Malaysia’s New Exemption on Stamp Duty Under P.U.(A) 53/2021 (“the Order”) which came to effect on 1 January 2021 provides full stamp duty exemption for the purchase of the first residential property by a Malaysian citizen worth up to RM500,000. The Order exempts [...]

A Divorce is initiated by filing a Petition to Court. In reality, ending a marriage is often not a simple process and could be very complicated. As compared to a single divorce petition, a joint divorce petition is more straightforward. Dissolution of marriage by Joint Divorce Petition or mutual consent is governed under Section 52 [...]

The Court of Appeal in Lai Wooi Giap v. Rosli Zakaria & Anor [2020] 7 CLJ 477 decided that the respondents were entitled to an equity in the deceased’s estate. The absence of Letters of Administration (LA) should not be an obstruction to the beneficiaries of the deceased’s estate to take legal steps to protect the subject [...]

Under the Real Property Gains Tax (Exemption) Order 2020 under P.U.(A) 218 of the Real Property Gains Tax Act 1976 dated 28th July 2020 (“the Order”), whereby the Order exempts any individual who is a Malaysian citizen from paying gains tax accrued on disposing of a residential property on or after 1st June 2020 till [...]

In the case of Lionel Lau Siang Kok v Datuk Seri Panglima Lau Cho Kun [2014] 10 CLJ, , the Plaintiff claims that he was a legitimate child of the deceased, thus, he was entitled to the distribution of the deceased’s estate pursuant to Section 3 of the Distribution Act 1958. To support his claim, [...]