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Most people buy property and never ask one question: who gets this when I’m gone? As a licensed will writer as well as an agent, this is the gap I see constantly. Buyers plan the loan, the layout and the location in detail, and give the succession part no thought at all.
Your situation is different? Ask me on WhatsApp. I reply myself, usually the same day.
Ask Jason on WhatsAppThe law decides, not your family
If a non-Muslim dies without a will in Malaysia, the estate is divided under the Distribution Act 1958. The shares are fixed by law, whatever you would have wanted and whatever your family agrees among themselves. A few common examples:
| You leave behind | How the estate is split |
|---|---|
| Spouse and children (parents no longer alive) | Spouse 1/3, children share 2/3 |
| Spouse, children and parents | Spouse 1/4, children share 1/2, parents 1/4 |
| Spouse and parents, no children | Spouse 1/2, parents 1/2 |
| Children only | Children share everything |
So a home you thought would go to your spouse may end up partly owned by your children, some of them possibly minors, and your parents. Selling or refinancing it then needs everyone’s agreement.
And it is not fast
Before anyone can transfer or sell the property, someone has to be appointed to administer the estate. Estates worth up to RM5 million with no will are usually handled as a small estate through the land office’s estate distribution unit; larger ones need letters of administration from the High Court. In my experience this often takes 6 to 12 months, sometimes longer, and the property is effectively frozen meanwhile.
What a will changes
- You decide who receives the property, and in what shares.
- You choose the executor, who can apply for probate instead of the family working out who should administer the estate.
- You can plan for special cases, such as young children, a foreign beneficiary or a property in joint names.
This is not worst-case thinking. It is a conversation that takes minutes now and saves your family months later. Related reading: Why your Malaysian property needs a will and why joint name doesn’t mean automatic ownership.
Is your property actually covered by a will, or just assumed to be? I can walk you through what is missing.
Source: Skrine: changes to the Small Estates (Distribution) Act. General information, not legal advice. By Jason Lim (REN 84424, IQI Realty Sdn. Bhd. E (1) 1584/6), licensed will writer.