One of the duties of the personal representative, an administrator or an executor, would be to settle all outstanding debts before distribution of assets to the beneficiaries. Once the administrator or executor has fulfilled his duties, the assets that remain can be distributed to the beneficiaries of the estate. It is only at this point [...]

Whether a person has the mental capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2008 (MCA) usually is an issue when a lasting power of attorney (LPA) is challenged.   Section 4(1) of the MCA states that a person lacks capacity… if the person is unable to make a decision for himself or herself in relation to [...]

To execute a will validly, the will needs to be in writing and signed by the testator in the presence of 2 witnesses. The witnesses will need to similarly sign on the will in the presence of the testator (section 6 of the Wills Act 1838). Part 2 of the Electronic Transactions Act 2010 (ETA) [...]

The principle of testamentary freedom states that a person is free to will away his assets in his will. However, there are limits to this testamentary freedom. Section 3 of the Wills Act 1838 (WA) provides that all real and personal estate which the deceased is entitled to either at law or in equity at [...]

For a will to be valid, there needs to be both formal validity as well as essential validity.   Formal validity We will first deal with the issue of formal validity. If a testator died before 26th of June 1992, common law would govern the formal validity of the will. If a testator died on [...]

Spouses of sham marriages cannot succeed under the Intestate Succession Act 1967 As held in the High Court case of Gian Bee Choo and others v Meng Xianhui [2019] 5 SLR 812, an immigration advantage marriage would fall under the ambit of a sham marriage. Such sham marriages are void ab initio (the marriage never happened) [...]

There are many holdings that can be gleaned from the Court of Appeal case of Cheo Yeoh & Associates LLC and another v AEL and others [2015] 4 SLR 325 (“Cheo Yeoh”).    Brief facts of the case: The deceased had executed two wills. One in 1990 and another in 2005. His supposed intention was for [...]

Background: The law of legitimacy was received in Singapore as part of the common law through the Second Charter of Justice 1826. Singapore never abolished the law of legitimacy and therefore it remains part of Singapore law. Assumption: That the deceased is not a Muslim. If the deceased is a Muslim, the Intestate Succession Act [...]

The rule on vesting and capacity Unlike an executor of a will obtains his title and authority from the will, an administrator obtains his title and authority from legislation. Therefore, an administrator can only act on behalf of the estate when the grant of Letters of Administration is obtained. Before obtaining this grant, the person [...]

When a person dies and he made a valid will he is deemed to have died testate. In the will, there would be a named executor to the will. In some cases, there may be more than one executor. The executor would then have to obtain the grant of probate. This is the formal appointment [...]