What is a Will? 

A Will is a legal document signed by Will Maker ( Testator ) and Witnesses ( min 2 Witness ), in detail of your wishes about distributing your assets and care of your loved one(if any). Whether it includes all your assets, strictly based on you. 

The different between have a WILL & without WIL, the processes 

If you are thinking that you can walk into the bank or land office to claim your inheritance simply by showing proof of your identification and your relation to the deceased anytime you like 

- YOU ARE WRONG 

If you are thinking your spouse's assets when he/she passes away fully belong to you and your kids 

- YOU ARE WRONG. 

If a non-muslim die intestate ( Without a Will ), how to gain back the assets of deceased! 

1. Next of kin need to apply for Letter of Administration ( LA ) 

2. Appoint an Administrator ( All beneficiary need to have written consent) 

3. Finding the Guarantors 

Their beneficiary needs to go through a lengthy process of administering an estate that can be as long as 5 years and above based on the size of estate and its complications. You do not have a say on your assets distribution, it is strictly follow the way govern by Distribution Act 1958( Amended 1997) 

If a non-muslim die with a Will, 

1. The appointed Executor will apply for Grant of Probate(GP) from court ( approximately 3 months ) 2. GP granted and executor allow to execute the content of the Will 

What is the requirement to write a valid WILL in Malaysia? 

A person wanted to write a WILL, must comply with the formalities stated in Section 5 of the Wills Act 1959, in order for the Will to be valid and effective 

1. Must be at least 18 years old 

2. He/She must be of sound mind 

3. The Will must be in writing 

4. The Will signed by Testator(Will Maker) in the presence of minimum 2 witnesses 

5. These 2 Witnesses must then sign in the presence of each other and the Testator. 

Who Can Be The Witness Of Your Will?

For a Will to be valid in Malaysia, you need to have at least 2 Witnesses.The witness must be 

1. Who must be age 21 & above 

2. Who is not Beneficiaries or Spouse of Beneficiaries 

The Role of a Witness ?

1. To make sure Testator(Will Maker ) is Sound mind 

2. To make sure Testator is at age 18 & above 

3. To make sure He/She is signing the Will together with another Witness and Testator. 

Who Can Be The Beneficiary ?

1. Anyone you wish to give away your asset to,

2. Executor of the Will 

Who Can Be The Executor?

1. Anyone who you believed and trust 

2. A Trustee Company 

3. A Organisation 

4. One of the Beneficiary 

Does a Will Need to be Stamped or Seal? 

A Will does not need to be stamped in order to be valid in Malaysia 

When Is It, is a good idea to Do It Yourself For Your Own Will

You should ONLY write your own Will if your wishes are very SIMPLE.Such as, if you are married and

1. You want to leave everything to your spouse, 

2. If your spouse die before you( if you knew it ), you want to leave everything to your children 

When Not To ‘Do it Yourself” Your Will ? 

When you fall under this situation, it is encourage to engage a professional Will services 

1. You have a sizable / complicated estate 

2. Multiple properties and/or properties in other country 

3. Oversea investment and/or bank account 

4. Complex business structure 

5. You are handling over the business to someone as a Will 

6. Individuals other than your immediate family members are financially dependent on you 

7. You have specific wishes that may be misunderstood by others and consider complex. 

8. You have peculiar family tie 

What about your KWSP(EPF) and Insurance Proceed 

Employee Provident Fund (EPF-KWSP) & Insurance proceed, payment will be made accordance to your Nomination registered 

We only register your EPF in the Will when under the condition of “Nomination Failed” 

It is important because 

1. Your nominee might be passed on together with you when travel together 

2. You forgot to register any nominee there. 

When Your Will, Revoke Automatically ?

Under such condition, your Will consider revoke 

1. Marriage or Remarriage @ presumption that your priority changed 

2. Conversion to Islam @ distribution of the estate will follow Islamic Law of Heritance Exception for Marriage when you already for sure going to marriage and putting your fiance into the Will and expressly stated about your marriage. 

Your Will Being Challenged, when? 

A Will, regardless of ‘Do It Yourself” or professionally written, can be challenged by any “interested persons” who have an interest and legal standing to gain from the Will 

1. Testator’s signature is fake/forged 

2. Testator was of unsound mind / undue influence to write the Will 

3. Contents have been illegally amended 

4. Execution is not properly witnessed in the presence of the testator 

5. Existence of a Newer Will voiding the old one. 

If a Will successfully challenged by an interested party,the court may declare is as a invalid Will.In that event, the distribution of the estate will follow according to Distribution Act 1958 

When Should You Rewrite Your Will? 

Whether you decide to rewrite your existing Will, is based on the distribution in the Will still fulfill what exactly you wanted or not.Usually people consider to rewrite the Will when 

1. Marriage, separation, divorce or remarriage 

2. Birth or adoption of a child 

3. Death of a family member or other beneficiary of your estate 

4. When you want to change your beneficiaries or the proportion of distribution 

5. When your appointed executor,trustee or guardian dies or is unable to act as such 

6. When you decide to name someone else as your executor, trustee or guardian 

7. When the size of the estate changes significantly 

8. When there are changes in probate or tax law that could affect your estate.

FURTHER KNOWLEDGE, refer to the post below

1. So Much Unclaim Money !!

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6813462273303150592