The Will cannot overwrite the EPF beneficiaries’ policy. Therefore whatever you write on the Will has no power to overrule what you have assigned at the EPF (KWSP) office.
I also found out that there is no substitute beneficiary with EPF which post some problems. Here are the cases:
1. Let’s say I nominate my spouse to take 100% of my EPF fund. If my partner and I passed away, the fund will be distributed according to the law. That is
2. Let’s say I nominate my spouse to take 50% and my children to take 50%.
In above both cases with children below 18, it will be difficult for us to use the money for them. We need a court order and apply for a withdrawal for them with all the relevant documents. I am not sure how long it will take but a court order will take some time.
A Will Executor is some who execute the Will or the deceased wishes. It is not an easy job as he/she will need to engage a lawyer to get a court order or grant of Probate to distribute the asset in the Will accordingly.
For any transfer of property, again he needs to seek lawyer to carry that out. By the way, any transfer of property will required legal fees or stamp duty as below.
Legal Fees:
Stamp Duty:
Above has to be paid by the executor but he/she can get the money from the Will for administrating the distribution.
Documents required for grant of probate:
The executor can be a beneficiary of the Will. The executor must also clear off the deceased’s debt before distributing the Will’s asset.
In cases where there is no cash in the Will, the executor may need to liquidate the property to pay for the debt, taxes and other expenses. However, the beneficiaries may not agree to the sale of the property.
Here is a detailed chart of the Executor Roles & Responsibilities from VitalWills.com: DutiesofExecutor.pdf
However if you have very few properties, it is not a big problem for the Executor. If you have a lot of properties and asset, maybe you should consider a professional Executor.
A Will is a written declaration of a person of things he wishes to take effected after his death or at the time of his death. At the time of his death is when one is in a coma and wishes to end his life peacefully. I am not sure whether this is legal in Malaysia, maybe not.
A Will can be hand written, signed by the one who made the Will and signed by 2 witnesses. Witnesses cannot be the beneficiaries of the Will such as parents, spouse, children or anyone that the person puts as beneficiaries of the Will. Most important, the person must be of sound mind at the time of signing the Will.
Well, you and I can just create a Will without paying anyone to do it for you. Just get 2 witnesses and have it signed. It will be a legal document.
In most cases, people will seek corporation help when he/she wants someone trusted to be the Will executor. The executor is required to carry out the distribution accordingly, seek legal help to apply grant of Probate from High Court and a lot of running around. You are advised to name 2 executors in your Will, just in case the main executor either cannot carry out the duties or he/she passed away. It is not easy to become an executor if the Will is not written properly.
I guess that is one reason why many people seek professional help and willing to pay a fee for it.
I am learning on how to write a Will and doing one for the family. I have been procrastinating about it until someone asked me to be a Witness. I am also an Executor for someone in my family. Anyway let’s start with the impact without a Will.
Without a will, here is how the assets distributed to surviving parties:
Spouse only – 100% to spouse
Parents only – 100% to parents
Issues only – 100% to Issues. Issues refer to children & grandchildren
Spouse and Parents only – 50% spouse and 50% parents
Spouse and Issues only – 1/3 spouse and 2/3 Issues
Parents and Issues only – 1/3 parents and 2/3 Issues
All Spouse, Parents & Issues – 25% spouse, 25% parents and 50% Issues
However, there is a catch. You must engage a lawyer to apply for Letter of Letter of Administration (LA) from the High Court for the distribution order to the Land Office. In order to get the LA, the court needs 2 guarantors that has equivalent amount of assets left by the deceased. The application of LA takes 9-12 months. Again here, the beneficiaries need to agree what to do with the property.
The problem comes while applying for the LA, the parents passed away. Now the number of beneficiaries will increase because the parents’ portion will be divided to the children, meaning the deceased siblings. It will be a lengthy process moving forward.
Above information is based on my findings, I may be wrong in certain areas as I am not a lawyer. Let me know if you spot any mistake so I can correct it.