Borneo Post with the expert help of Rockwills Trustee Bhd, the leading specialist in estate planning having pioneered wills and trust 24 years ago, is publishing a regular Q & A column on estate planning. It will feature questions which readers have in mind but don’t know who to ask. Question from readers
Question: I have two children who are not on good terms, but I want to give my assets to them separately. As I read from your previous publication, I understand that I need to appoint an Executor to do the transfers. Can I write a Will, and name my son and my daughter both as Executors but they only handle their own inheritance?
Answer: First and foremost, thank you for reading our Q&A column. Good to know that you are aware of the need to appoint an executor, but the answer to your question is no.
Once both the appointed Executors have proven the Will and obtained the probate, they cannot administer the estate separately. Their duties and obligations are joint, hence they would also administer the estate jointly.
Since both of them are not on good terms, it is not a good idea to put them to administer the estate together. Disputes are bound to happen when they administer the estate as everything will require both their signature and approval.
This will cause unnecessary delays in distributing the estate.
We suggest that you appoint a licensed trust company as your executor, who is well experienced and impartial in handling estate distribution and will distribute the assets according to your instructions spelt out in the Will, even if both your children are not on good terms.
Under such circumstances, it is recommended that you consult an experienced estate planner who can help you plan your distribution instructions carefully to avoid allegations of fraud and manipulation.
Question: I’m a local from Kota Kinabalu, most of my assets are located here except for one property in Kuala Lumpur. Can I include them in the same Will that mentioned all my assets in Sabah? Is there any special matters I need to take note of?
Answer: Generally you can include all your assets in the same Will, regardless of where the assets are located in Malaysia. In this case, the grant of probate for your Will is to be issued in the High Court of Sabah.
However, in order for that probate which is issued by the High Court of Sabah to be accepted by the land office in Kuala Lumpur to transfer to your beneficiary, it must be resealed in the High Court of Malaya.
This may incur additional costs. If you think your beneficiaries do not have the financial ability to pay for the costs of obtaining probate and resealing, it would be best for you to create a trust with your insurance policy with the same trust company who is acting as your executor to be the trustee for the insurance
policy.
The purpose of the trust is for the trustee to use the insurance proceeds to pay for the legal costs for probate, resealing in Kuala Lumpur and cost of transfer of properties to your beneficiaries. This way, it will prevent the beneficiaries from arguing about who should pay for the costs of probate and property transfer.
We suggest that you discuss further with an experienced Estate Planner who can assess the finer points including funding needs of your estate planning.
This Q&A Column in published as a joint public service and educational initiative with Rockwills Trustee Bhd. Please email your questions related to Estate Planning to [email protected] or Rockwills’ Training and Business Development Senior Manager Sam Chan ([email protected]).