Estate Administration

Articles taken from FPAM

It is glad that there is a great deal of awareness on the importance of Wills among Malaysians; however, a sizable number of them think that all their estate planning issues are settled once they have a Will written. This is untrue because writing a Will merely indicates the wishes to be carried out after our lifetime. Who carries out those instructions? And how is it going to be carried out when you are no longer around?

So, what is estate administration? .....
During the estate administration process, the personal representative is responsible for locating and collecting the deceased’s assets, paying off the debts and distributing the assets. The personal representative will be an Executor when there is a valid Will or an Administrator when there is none.

Most people are under the mistaken impression that the deceased’s beneficiaries receive the assets almost immediately upon death or as soon as the probate or letters of administration has been obtained. This is certainly not the case because there is a process to follow.

For example, one thing is to try to locate the bank accounts and life insurance policies the deceased have by writing to financial institutions and insurers. Another issue maybe is to find out what real properties the deceased has or which private limited company he hold shares in. Upon the conclusion of the estate administration, the executor is obliged to prepare a statement of accounts to be given to the beneficiaries.

The estate administration can be an extremely tedious and difficult process. The estate administration process may span years.

Imagine if you have only one executor and he dies before the administration of the estate is
completed, in this case, who will be your executor? The answer is his executor (i.e. the executor of the said deceased executor) will also be your executor, who could possibly a total stranger! Therefore, consider appointing a trust corporation to eliminate this uncertainty.