The Complete Guide To Resealing A Malaysian Grant Of Probate Or Letters Of Administration In Singapore

It is a frequent occurrence for well-to-do Malaysian citizens to pass away having assets in both Malaysian, Singapore and possibly other countries as well. Usually, after visiting a Malaysian lawyer, the personal representatives of the deceased Malaysian citizen will extract the Grant of Probate or the Grant of Letters of Administration from the Malaysian Courts.

Unfortunately, the Malaysian Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration only allows the personal representative to administer the estate of the deceased in Malaysia itself. If the deceased party has assets in other countries, the personal representative has to either reseal the Malaysian Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration OR apply for a fresh Grant in those countries.

Currently, only foreign Grants of Probate or Letters of Administration made by a Court of a Commonwealth jurisdiction, or by the courts in Hong Kong may be sealed by the High Court in Singapore. If the deceased was domiciled in a non-Commonwealth country, the personal representative applying for the Grant would have to petition for a fresh grant in Singapore. 

Documents Required For Resealing A Malaysian Grant Of Probate Or Letters Of Administration In Singapore

Generally, the application for the Memorandum of Resealing of a Malaysian Grant is similar to that of applying for a fresh Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration in Singapore. The applicant should also be the Grantee of the Malaysian Grant.

To reseal the Malaysian Grant, it is necessary to provide the following documents to the Singapore Court:-

• Original or Court Certified True Copy of the Malaysian Grant;
• Notarized copy of the identification documents of the Grantee of the Malaysian Grant; and
• Details and value of the assets of the Singapore estate.

It should be emphasized that either the Original OR Court Certified True Copy of the Malaysian Grant has to be produced to the Singapore Court. 

On a number of occasions, our law firm has encountered scenarios whereby the personal representative / law firm representing the deceased has produced electronic copies of the Malaysian Grant and stated that the Malaysian Courts only release electronic copies and nothing else. 

We emphasize that it is necessary to obtain the Court Certified True Copy of the Malaysian Grant. You will know you / your Malaysian lawyer has obtained the correct copy from the Malaysian Court when the seal of the Malaysian Grant is embossed.

Process For Resealing A Malaysian Grant Of Probate Or Letters Of Administration In Singapore

All resealing applications take place in the High Court of Singapore, and as such incur higher filing fees as compared to the Family Court. The application for resealing is similar to that of the application for a fresh Grant and can generally be broken down into the following steps:-

1. The initial application is filed, comprising of filing the Ex-parte Originating Summons, Statement and the Engrossed Malaysian Grant (and if necessary, the Will).
2. If necessary, the High Court may request evidence as it thinks fit to ascertain that the deceased is domiciled in Malaysia.
3. Once the initial application is accepted, the Malaysian Grantee will have to sign a Supporting Affidavit and Administration Oath in front of a Commissioner for Oaths/Notary Public, and to subsequently file these documents in Court.
4. If necessary, the Malaysian Grantee may also wish to conduct inquiries into the extent of the assets in Singapore. If so, the Malaysian Grantee will have to sign a further Supplementary Affidavit to finalize the Schedule of Assets after the relevant financial institutions have responded to the inquiries.
5. If everything is in order, the Singapore Court will give notice that an Order-in-Terms has been granted for the application and there will be a notice to extract the Memorandum of Resealing.
6. Once the Memorandum of Resealing has been extracted, the resealed grant will be of like force and effect, and have the same operation in Singapore as if it were granted by the High Court to the Malaysian Grantee.
7. The Malaysian Grantee may then use the Memorandum of Resealing to deal with all the deceased's assets in Singapore accordingly.

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If you are contemplating your options with respect to Resealing a Malaysian Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, we can assist. Just get in touch with us through our contact form below and we will follow up with you regarding your matter.

Alternatively, you may wish to get in touch by contacting us at: 6550 6359