s6 Distribution Act 1958 in Real Life
Ok so I finally got to witness this for myself.
An elderly Indian uncle suddenly barges through the glass doors of our office and demanded to see my master, Mr Yang.
As he was out at that moment, our receptionist cum secretary gently told him so and asked how else could she be of help.
His response was to chastise her on her soft voice: " Eh, speak louder lah! You a lawyer right? Why so scared of me?"
She repeated that Mr Yang had gone out and asked again what was the matter.
He said he wanted to see Mr Yang and reiterated on her soft voice and said: "What lah you why so timid so scared of me ar?"
At this point the other partner of our firm probably couldn't just ignore the predicament our poor receptionist was facing so she stepped out and said, "I'm another lawyer in this firm, how may I help you?"
To which he responded by saying: "What with this girl lah like so scared of me so timid," and before he could continue his rant Miss Luang straightened him out by saying: "She was just being polite. Please sit down and explain your problem to me."
Shut up for once, he began to tell of his wife's sudden demise and that the title of the house was in her name but that he wanted it to be transferred into his name now.
Miss Luang asked him if his wife had made a will and received a reply that she had not.
Listening intently to the conversation, I immediately thought of s6 of the Distribution Act 1958 and quickly Googled it to affirm the conditions set therein.
I found 2 websites which gave a fairly straightforward and simple description of the particular section and will refer to them here:-
When a person dies without making a will
24/11/2006 The Sun-Law & Realty by Roger Tan
When a person dies without making a will, lawyers say he has died intestate. His property is then known as his estate, and his children, his “issue”.
The law which provides for the distribution of the property of a person who dies intestate is contained in the Distribution Act 1958 (“Distribution Act”), as amended by the Distribution (Amendment) Act 1997 which came into force on 31 August 1997.
The Distribution Act applies to non-Muslims in West Malaysia and Sarawak, but it does not apply to Muslims in Malaysia, non-Muslims in Sabah and the natives in Sarawak.
Definitions
Under the Distribution Act, the word “child” means a legitimate child, and where the deceased had more than one lawful wife, includes a child by any of such wives but it does not include an adopted child other than a child adopted under the Adoption Act 1952.
The word "issue" means the deceased’s children and includes the descendants of his children who died before him. It also includes any child who at the date of the deceased’s death was only conceived in the womb but who had subsequently been born alive.
"Parent" is defined under the Distribution Act as the natural mother or father of a child, or the lawful mother or father of a child under the Adoption Act 1952.
Distribution of the deceased person’s estate
When a person dies intestate, his property will not go to the government.
It will be distributed among his surviving family members according to the Distribution Act. The same law applies to male and female deceased persons.
Section 66(1) of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 provides that “the property of a wife who at the time of her death is judicially separated from her husband shall, in case she dies intestate, go as it would have gone if her husband had been then dead.” This provision will however not apply to the property of a husband who is judicially separated from his wife, and the wife would still be entitled in the same way as a surviving spouse as if no judicial separation had been made.
An elderly Indian uncle suddenly barges through the glass doors of our office and demanded to see my master, Mr Yang.
As he was out at that moment, our receptionist cum secretary gently told him so and asked how else could she be of help.
His response was to chastise her on her soft voice: " Eh, speak louder lah! You a lawyer right? Why so scared of me?"
She repeated that Mr Yang had gone out and asked again what was the matter.
He said he wanted to see Mr Yang and reiterated on her soft voice and said: "What lah you why so timid so scared of me ar?"
At this point the other partner of our firm probably couldn't just ignore the predicament our poor receptionist was facing so she stepped out and said, "I'm another lawyer in this firm, how may I help you?"
To which he responded by saying: "What with this girl lah like so scared of me so timid," and before he could continue his rant Miss Luang straightened him out by saying: "She was just being polite. Please sit down and explain your problem to me."
Shut up for once, he began to tell of his wife's sudden demise and that the title of the house was in her name but that he wanted it to be transferred into his name now.
Miss Luang asked him if his wife had made a will and received a reply that she had not.
Listening intently to the conversation, I immediately thought of s6 of the Distribution Act 1958 and quickly Googled it to affirm the conditions set therein.
I found 2 websites which gave a fairly straightforward and simple description of the particular section and will refer to them here:-
When a person dies without making a will
24/11/2006 The Sun-Law & Realty by Roger Tan
When a person dies without making a will, lawyers say he has died intestate. His property is then known as his estate, and his children, his “issue”.
The law which provides for the distribution of the property of a person who dies intestate is contained in the Distribution Act 1958 (“Distribution Act”), as amended by the Distribution (Amendment) Act 1997 which came into force on 31 August 1997.
The Distribution Act applies to non-Muslims in West Malaysia and Sarawak, but it does not apply to Muslims in Malaysia, non-Muslims in Sabah and the natives in Sarawak.
Definitions
Under the Distribution Act, the word “child” means a legitimate child, and where the deceased had more than one lawful wife, includes a child by any of such wives but it does not include an adopted child other than a child adopted under the Adoption Act 1952.
The word "issue" means the deceased’s children and includes the descendants of his children who died before him. It also includes any child who at the date of the deceased’s death was only conceived in the womb but who had subsequently been born alive.
"Parent" is defined under the Distribution Act as the natural mother or father of a child, or the lawful mother or father of a child under the Adoption Act 1952.
Distribution of the deceased person’s estate
When a person dies intestate, his property will not go to the government.
It will be distributed among his surviving family members according to the Distribution Act. The same law applies to male and female deceased persons.
Section 66(1) of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 provides that “the property of a wife who at the time of her death is judicially separated from her husband shall, in case she dies intestate, go as it would have gone if her husband had been then dead.” This provision will however not apply to the property of a husband who is judicially separated from his wife, and the wife would still be entitled in the same way as a surviving spouse as if no judicial separation had been made.
As respects divorced spouses, they remain surviving spouses until the decree (divorce order) is made absolute.
Generally, the estate will be distributed among the deceased’s immediate family: his parents, his spouse, and his issue.
The distribution of the estate of an intestate who dies after 31 August 1997 is shown in the following table from this link:
In other words, if a person dies leaving no parent, spouse and issue, the estate will go to his brothers and sisters, who will share the estate equally. If a person dies leaving no parent, spouse, issue, brother and sister, the estate will go to his grandparents, and so on.
It follows if a person dies leaving no parent, spouse, issue, and any of the above family members, then the whole estate will go to the government.
Ok, that's enough for the legal jargon now, back to the story ;)
Bearing in mind that his wife had just passed away very recently, the client could be excused for the forceful and overbearing manner in which he addressed Miss Teng, our receptionist clerk and demanding to see a lawyer immediately.
Miss Luang's manner to deal with the client was very professional yet strict in her own way that in order for her to advise on the issue of getting the title of the house under his late wife's name, and without a will to boot, he had to sit down and listen to her as she explained patiently the procedures in order to extract probate and be administrator of his late wife's estate in order to distribute her properties accordingly with the Distribution Act 1958.
Being my first time witnessing this, I was very impressed with how Miss Luang managed to calm the client down efficiently enough to explain the procedure to him.
I had a very clearly defined moment that being a lawyer was not just about knowing and applying the law: I knew about the procedure and stuff during CLP Probate classes, but seeing the whole business of communicating to a client and explaining everything in layman terms was a very eye-opening experience for me.
This has inspired me more than ever to work hard and learn all I can in order that I may hold my head up high when I am finally called to the Bar. If I can only be half the lawyer my master and his partner, Miss Luang, and our counsels Mr Gurdit and Nashvin are, it'd be good enough for me :) Very grateful to be learning under all of them :)
#gratitudepost
P.S.
When you own any property or title, please make a will. It will makes things so much easier and smoother later on.
#notetoself
Generally, the estate will be distributed among the deceased’s immediate family: his parents, his spouse, and his issue.
The distribution of the estate of an intestate who dies after 31 August 1997 is shown in the following table from this link:
| How Your Estate is distributed under Distribution Act 1958 (Died intestate) |
DISTRIBUTION OF ESTATE UPON INTESTACY
WEST MALAYSIA AND SARAWAK
Distribution (Amendment) Act, 1997, Malaysia
Section 6 (Amended in August 31, 1997)
|
It follows if a person dies leaving no parent, spouse, issue, and any of the above family members, then the whole estate will go to the government.
Ok, that's enough for the legal jargon now, back to the story ;)
Bearing in mind that his wife had just passed away very recently, the client could be excused for the forceful and overbearing manner in which he addressed Miss Teng, our receptionist clerk and demanding to see a lawyer immediately.
Miss Luang's manner to deal with the client was very professional yet strict in her own way that in order for her to advise on the issue of getting the title of the house under his late wife's name, and without a will to boot, he had to sit down and listen to her as she explained patiently the procedures in order to extract probate and be administrator of his late wife's estate in order to distribute her properties accordingly with the Distribution Act 1958.
Being my first time witnessing this, I was very impressed with how Miss Luang managed to calm the client down efficiently enough to explain the procedure to him.
I had a very clearly defined moment that being a lawyer was not just about knowing and applying the law: I knew about the procedure and stuff during CLP Probate classes, but seeing the whole business of communicating to a client and explaining everything in layman terms was a very eye-opening experience for me.
This has inspired me more than ever to work hard and learn all I can in order that I may hold my head up high when I am finally called to the Bar. If I can only be half the lawyer my master and his partner, Miss Luang, and our counsels Mr Gurdit and Nashvin are, it'd be good enough for me :) Very grateful to be learning under all of them :)
#gratitudepost
P.S.
When you own any property or title, please make a will. It will makes things so much easier and smoother later on.
#notetoself
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