You are currently viewing 10 Things You Should Know Before Preparing Your Will In Malaysia

Do You Really Need A Will In Malaysia?

Why bother writing a Will? Well, let me share the top 10 things that you should know before writing a will in Malaysia.

First and foremost you must understand that your Will is your last wishes telling your love ones, people you care most and pets (if you have one) of how and what you want them to do with your assets and how you want your liabilities to be handled after you have passed away/ demised.

What Do You Need To Know Before Writing A Will In Malaysia?

 

things you need to know before writing a will in malaysia

 

Moving on to the top 10 things that you should know before writing a will in Malaysia:-

A Malaysian Will must be in written form, oral is not recognised;

Must be A Functional Will, I repeat is Functional Will. It must contain the following:-

 

a. Date of a Will

Must contain a date. The date of the Will must be the same date as both Witnesses signing.

 

b. Executor

Above the age of 21 years old and not more than 4 persons. The Executor is like your personal assistant after you pass away.

He will be the one handling all the matters such as gathering all your assets including details of your bank accounts, your property title or sale and purchase agreement, share and etc. Can be more than one.

 

c. Trustee

A trustee is like a bodyguard. You appointed him to hold assets on behalf of your minor child or a beneficiary whom you want to give assets to but you are worried that the beneficiary might not be mature enough or a spendthrift.

So the Trustee will be the one who slowly distributes the funds to these beneficiaries.

 

d. Guardian (if you have minor/ children)

As the name suggested, he is the Penjaga lah. Guardian will be taking care of your minor beneficiaries needs. Ex. like attending the parents day in school.

 

e. Beneficiary(ies)

The best person in a Will. He will be the person to get your assets after you die.

 

f. Your assets clauses (all your movable and immovable assets)

There is no need to itemise all your assets-unless some specific reasons which I will share in my next write up.

 

g. Residuary clause (the power clause)

I will name it the power clause. Whatever assets that you forget to list out or you obtained in future or inherit from someone, is covered under this clause.

 

h. The ‘survival clause – 30 days clause.

This is a clause is for instances such as you and your main beneficiary are involved in accidents.

For instance, your wife (main beneficiary) encounters an accident and went into comatose.

If she doesn’t wake up after 30 days, the next beneficiary named in your Will will automatically be the beneficiary for that portion of the assets which were supposed to be given to your wife.

 

i. Witnesses- Get at least Two – be mindful.

These people CANNOT be the beneficiary’s spouse. Best to choose someone out of the Will. Someone like your trusted aunties or your best friends.

 

j. Extra Notes

No need for stamping. A Will is NOT an Agreement.

You can always rewrite a fresh Will. The lastest Will prevails.

A Will should be made known to your love one. It should not be a secret. Don’t keep in a safety deposit box, as your love ones need it after your demise.

Who will be able to get it if you are the only person having access to the Safety Deposit box? It will then be the case as if you die WITHOUT a Will.

An equal share is not ALWAYS a good idea. I know as a parent, we want all our children to share and each of them to have what we possess equally.

But be mindful equal sharing might be a disaster during the distribution part.

 

How Does A Will Work With Insurance Policies & EPF Inheritance?

 

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Nomination in insurance policies and EPF prevails over your Will.

For example, if you have named Mr A to be the beneficiary for your EPF fund, and you named Mr B to be the beneficiary for your fund in EPF in your Will, then Mr A will be entitled to the fund and not Mr B.

 

How Does A Will Work With Bank Joint Accounts Inheritance?

 

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It will solely be the joint holders one after your demise. You can’t say like I have 50% and he has 50%. So I Will away 50% to Mr XXX. You can’t Will away your joint account unless your joint account holder has passed away before you.

Here is all you need to know before writing a will in Malaysia. If you still have any doubts, feel free to leave a comment at the comment section or get in touch with us for more info!

 

* This piece of opinion is by the founding partner Ms Sim Wen Yee.