Email Question: Will for Non Malaysian Citizen

-

Hi Kamarul

I am happy for you to post this question on your blog.

I have a malaysian passport but have been living overseas for years. I am an Australian permanent resident and since I have no plans of moving back to Malaysia in the long term, I am considering becoming an Australian citizen. I am aware that Malaysia does not allow dual citizenship and I am happy to surrender my Malaysian citizenship.

However, my parents still in Malaysia and they have said that if I give up my malaysian citizenship, I would not be able to inherit their properties in their legal will.

Could you please clarify if this is true and where I can get more information about this?

Thanks

(name deleted)

Answer:

I disregard the first issue of Malaysian Citizenship and the sender's choice to give it up.

As for the second issue, regarding the legal will of property my answer would be

  1. Any person can create or make his or her will as long as he/she is competent to do so. Section 3 of Malaysian Will Act, 1959 stated that: 'Except as hereinafter provided, every person of sound mind may devise, bequeath or dispose of by his will, executed in manner hereinafter required, all property which he owns or to which he is entitled either at law or in equity at the time of his death notwithstanding that he may have become entitled to the same subsequently to the execution of the will.'
  2. The subject matter of the will namely the property, shares, stock, business and so on could be from within Malaysia or even situated outside Malaysia.
  3. The beneficiary of the said will, i.e. the person named under the will to receive the property may be the citizen of Malaysia or elsewhere, there is actually no restriction under Malaysian Law regarding that.
  4. The only issue is that to execute the will when the time that the maker passed away, such beneficiary must have it done or process under Malaysian law, for example filing necessary court paper to obtain order of probet.
  5. Second issue is that registration of the property under a non-Malaysian citizen name could be further subject to other laws and current regulations.
  6. In conclusion, 'whether or not the sender will not be able to 'inherit' her parent's property under a legal will' is not entirely correct.

p/s what is the meaning of having able to 'inherit' your parent's property when you are actually not 'inheriting' their love and blessing?

Regards,

Kamarul Irzuan bin Busu Piah, Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya, Malaysia.

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 12, 2009 at 7:31 PM

    How do you know that he/she is not inheriting his/her parents' love and blessing?

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2009 at 2:14 PM

    I don't quite understand your point 6 "In conclusion, 'whether or not the sender will not be able to 'inherit' her parent's property under a legal will' is not entirely correct."
    Kindly please elaborate?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 6, 2009 at 2:03 PM

    Dear Kamarul,

    Please clearly clarify me with the relevant provisions of malaysian law under Wills Act 1959 and PAA 1959 whether a non-malaysian (e.g.Sri Lankan)can make a Will in Malaysia which includes his property here in Malaysia.

    Your prompt rely will be very much appreciated.

    Thank you.
    Ani

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 17, 2009 at 3:03 AM

    Dear Kamarul,

    To be strictly professional, you should refrain from giving personal comments about the enquirer's ability to inherit his parents' love and blessing. For all you know, the parents are happy to have their child who is living in a free country where everyone's right of freedom is accepted, and their only concern is a practical one?

    Salam,

    Educated Malaysian muslim

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousNovember 19, 2009 at 9:32 AM

    Can a Malaysian with properties outside Malaysia insert such properties in his will? Will the will be valid? Does a notary public needed for such matter to take effect?

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJuly 20, 2010 at 7:02 PM

    Hi Kamurul,

    If a non-citizen inherits a Malaysian property, is he subject to any taxes over and above what a citizen has to pay?

    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  7. DaisyJuly 13, 2011 at 2:31 PM

    Dear Kamarul,
    About 17 to 18 years ago my father advised me that he had drawn up a Will and said that he was concerned that when the time comes I may have problems as I was no longer a Malaysian citizen having taken up Australian citizenship however I responded that I didn't forsee any problems.He said that the Will was drawn up by the lawyers that he had used for all his legal work.My father passed away more than 6 months ago ( after suffering from Alzhemeir's at least for several years). I had asked my mother about his Will a week after his passing, before returning to Melbourne but she said that there was no hurry and that she didn't know where it is. She would not give me access to his drawer where he had kept written details of contacts. When I called her recently she maintained that she has not found it and that sometimes it takes 3 to 4 years to finalise. I am quite sure that she has it and that my younger sister who lives in my father's house with her has read it to her but will not let me have it .I am not interested in the estate although it is quite significant but just wish to see my father's last Will and Testament. I vaquely remember the solitor's name Cynthia Lim (I think )but can't find it amongst the retired lawyer's list . What can I do next?

    ReplyDelete
  8. baristaJuly 22, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    Dear Daisy,

    1.
    Ive made few research and if the name given is Cynthia Lim, maybe you can go this website and try to verify whether this is the Cynthia Lim that drawn your late father's will
    http://www.inyk.com/our-people.html

    2.
    This is purely an assumption and there is no assurance as to the correctness of the information.

    regards
    Khairul Aiman
    Messrs Irzuan

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Small Claim Court: Do-It-Yourself (DIY)

-
Salam, Last post I have explained on how simple it would be to claim ' dishonored ' cheque from the drawer in court. And now, in this post I am going to show you another simple claim that everybody can do by themselves. It is normally called 'Small Claim Procedure'. So make it easier to understand, let me put it in point form. What is 'small claim procedure'? Small Claim Procedure is where an individual (not agent or company or person holding power attorney or etc) wants to claim from someone else (debt) using court procedure, i.e. suing in court of law. The total amount of claim must not exceeding RM5, 000-00 The claim must be made through summons in Magistrate Court No lawyer can get involve in this small claim proceeding … (that's bad for me…hehehe), everything is done by the plaintiff himself (person who is suing) with the guidance of court (staff). To illustrate, if B owes A RM 5, 000-00 and B refuses to pay, A can sue B in Magistrate court under this ...
Read more

Non Muslim Divorce Proceeding-brief email question & answer

-
the email:- hello.. my fren is planning for a divorce and she has no clue about the regulations abt it and she need a lawyer to help through the process.. her situation is like this: she is married but not fully 1 year. she dun have any children.she wanted divorce as she feels that she and her husband are not suitable anymore. no more more particular reason.. any of ur reply i will forward it to her.. hope to hear from u soon..hope tat u can help her..thanx.. the brief answer:- Hi, no divorce petition can be brought to court within 2 years of marriage except for very strong reason eg intolerable marriage with eminent danger to either wife or husband (normally wife). there 3 reasons to get divorce, one of simple reason to give irrevocable broken down of marriage. establish the first requirement and your friend can file the divorce petition either joint petition (both husband and wife agree to a divorce) or single petition filed by one of the party (the other party may or may not agree t...
Read more

Hire Purchase: Car Repossessed?

-
Image
Salam, I have one assignment yesterday regarding one poor chap's car repossessed by his financier. His case is straight forward but one that typical type of problem, the brief is simple:- This guy has a car which is still under hire purchase He defaulted for more than 3 months which gave the bank rights to repossess his car under the Hire Purchase Act, and the bank did. The car was kept at one store somewhere in Penang for 2 months pending auction. He however managed to settle his overdue installments (after getting some soft loan from friends) and wanted to bring out his car. Too bad, somehow when he tried to get back his car from the store, he noticed that some (quite substantial) 'things' and parts of his car is no longer intact. He did a complaint to his bank and then lodged a police report. The police due some reasons (God knows why) asked his just to refer back to the bank and had done nothing till date, in fact he was advised by the police to settle the matter direc...
Read more