WHAT IS INHERITANCE?
Inheritance is property left by the deceased, whether it is immovable property or movable property.
Examples of immovable property are land, rice fields and houses.
Examples of movable property are vehicles, savings in the bank and investment shares.
The estate of a deceased is categorised as:
1. Testate estate
The deceased dies leaving a valid and enforceable will.
2. Intestate estate
The deceased dies without leaving a valid and enforceable will.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE ADMINISTERING THE INHERITANCE OF A DECEASED?
1. Whether the deceased left a will
2. What type of property was left by the deceased
3. What is the value of the property left by the deceased
4. Who are the heirs of the deceased?
In addition, for the deceased who is a Muslim, it should be remembered that before the administration of the estate is made, make sure the following matters are resolved:
1. Funeral costs
2. Debts of the deceased with other people
WHAT IS HIBAH?
Hibah is giving ownership of something without any exchange during life voluntarily.
Hibah from the syariah point of view means to give ownership of an item to someone for whom the item is legal to sell or given as a loan by a member of tabarru’ without any exchange or compensation.
The requirements of the hibah are:
1. Hibah settlor and hibah beneficiary
2. The asset bequeathed as hibah
3. Akad ijab and qabul (offer and acceptance)
Property that has been bequeathed as Hibah will not be included in the category of inheritance.
WHAT ARE LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION?
In addition to application for administration and distribution of estates through probate, it can also be done through letters of administration.
If the deceased died without a will, an application for letters of administration.
The application for this letter of administration depends on the value of the property and the type of property owned by the deceased:
• Property less than RM600,000 and 100% movable property: Application at Amanah Raya Berhad
• Property less than RM2 million and there is immovable property: Application at the Small Estate Office
• Property more than RM2 million: Application in the High Court
A grant of letters of administration will then be issued to the administrator of the deceased’s estate.
DISAGREE WITH GRANT OF PROBATE?
If a grant of probate has been issued by the Court and you do not agree, you can prevent the matter from the administration of the estate being made.
This also means you want to challenge the validity of the deceased’s will.
A caveat may be entered against the grant of probate. This caveat will last for 6 months only.
The party that entered the caveat has to show the reason to the Court why the caveat was entered.
The administration of the estate cannot be made until the issue regarding the validity of the deceased’s will is resolved.
APPLICATION OF HEIRS TO INTERVENE AND BE A JOINT ADMINISTRATOR OF THE INHERITANCE
Ramli bin Ahmad dll lwn Kamilah bin Ahmad [2015] 10 MLJ 307 – not the real name.
The deceased has died leaving behind four wives and 24 children. An application for letters of administration has been made by the heirs but the letters of administration grant has not been issued yet.
Then Ramli applied to include other heirs as co-administrators. The court granted this application.
Kamilah then applied to intervene and be made a respondent in the proceedings. Kamilah was also requesting the court order before to be set aside.
The court decided Kamilah can intervene. No letters of administration grant have been issued for the estate of the deceased. Kamilah, as the heirs of the deceased, have a legal interest in the deceased’s estate.
The previous court order also contradicted the provisions of the law because no letters of administration grant was issued according to legal procedures.
What should you do after a family member dies?
Any property left behind?
Who are the other heirs?
Don’t know how to do enheritance distribution?
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