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Question:
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“Dear Lawyer Yeo,
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I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to seek your legal advice concerning inherit assets in Malaysia as a foreigner. In brief, my father is a Taiwanese citizen who owns several properties in Malaysia. Before his passing, he had executed a will in Taiwan explicitly stating my inheritance of these assets.
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Following his demise, I am curious to know whether his will be recognized under the Malaysian laws. Additionally, suppose I have obtained a court order in Taiwan for the distribution of his estate. In such a situation, could this foreign court order be used to apply for the transfer of ownership in Malaysia? Which country’s court order will be directly recognized here without the need to apply letters of administration? What is the legal procedure applicable?
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I would greatly appreciate your advice in this matter. Thank you.”
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Whether a foreign will is recognized by the Malaysian courts?
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1. Whether a foreign will/ international will be recognized by the Malaysian courts depends on whether it complied with all the legal requirements under section 5 of the Will Act 1959 as follows:-
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- It must be in writing
- It must be nominated at least one executor
- it must be signed by the testator at the foot of the document with the intention to make a will
- it must be signed by the testator in his or her presence before two or more witnesses.
- the signature of the testator is attested by the witnesses in the presence of the testator.
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2. Considering Each country has different legal requirements and formalities for wills, and the languages used are also different. Usually, there is a high chance that a will made abroad won’t be legally enforceable or recognized in Malaysia due to failure to comply with the legal requirements here.
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3. Therefore, for those foreigners who own properties in Malaysia, we would advise them to engage a Malaysian lawyer to prepare a separate will that meets legal requirements in this country. So that in the event of their passing, their beneficiaries can directly apply Grant of Probate in the High Court of Malaya, and inherit the properties through a faster inheritance procedure.
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Whether a foreign distribution order is recognized in Malaysia?
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4. If the deceased is a citizen of one of the Commonwealth nations such as the UK, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, or India, and has obtained a Grant of Probate/ Letters of Administration in that country, then the deceased’s executor can make an application in the High Court of Malaysia for a Court Order to recognize the foreign order.
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5. The legal application is known as “Resealing of Foreign Grant”. Once completed, the foreign court order will be sealed again by the Malaysian High Court, and the order will be recognized and have legally binding effects under Malaysian laws as if it is an order issued by the Malaysian Court.
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6. If you wish to understand the laws and documents for resealing, you can read our legal article: https://www.yeolaw.my/resealing-of-a-foreign-grant-out-of-malaysia/
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7. However, if the deceased is not a citizen of a commonwealth country, even if the deceased’s legal representative has obtained a court order for estate distribution or relevant legal documents from that country, these documents will not be recognized under Malaysian laws. In such cases, the deceased’s relatives will need to apply for a new letter of administration in Malaysia and appoint an Administrator to handle the estate matter in Malaysia.
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8. In such a case, the immovable properties of the deceased in Malaysia will not be distributed according to the content of the foreign will/ distribution order. According to the recognized principle lex situs, the immovable properties of the foreign citizen will be distributed according to local law (Distribution Act 1958) among the deceased’s close relatives.
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9. The distribution of the movable property of the deceased will be according to the laws of the country in which he was domiciled at the time of his death.
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The above is the legal information we would like to share with our readers today with regard to whether foreign wills are recognized by Malaysian laws. If you have any legal questions about inheritance distribution, you can contact us via WhatsApp: https://wa.link/q3kmv5
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Also, if you want to know what charges need to be paid by foreign beneficiaries when inheriting a Malaysian property, you can read our article https://www.yeolaw.my/can-a-foreigner-inherits-property-in-malaysia/
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