8 Legal Things To Do When A Loved One Dies in Singapore – PKWA Inheritance Lawyers

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The death of a loved one is an emotional and difficult event. But even while grieving, several things must be done after a loved one’s passing, including hiring a probate lawyer to take care of probate.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to the legal matters you need to do when a family member dies in Singapore.

When a death in the family occurs, there are 8 important legal things you need to do, from reporting the death to managing the estate and dealing with the inheritance.

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1.  Obtain the Certificate of Cause of Death (CCOD) .

When someone dies in Singapore, the family members need to obtain the Certificate of Cause of Death.  You need this document to obtain a Death Certificate, which is required for a burial or cremation.

How you get the Certificate of Cause of Death depends on whether your loved one passed away at home or in the hospital.

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a.   If the death occurred at home

If your loved one passed away at home, you need to call a doctor to certify the death. This can be your family doctor or a neighbourhood GP.  If you cannot find a doctor, you can call the police.

If the death was natural and occurred at home, you can get the doctor to certify the cause of death. The doctor issues the Certificate of Cause of Death. This allows you to apply for a death certificate required for you to carry out the funeral arrangements. If the cause of death was unknown or unnatural, the doctor will not issue the CCOD yet, and will instead refer the matter to the police.

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b.   If the death occurred in the hospital

If death happens in the hospital, the hospital doctor will certify the cause of death and issue the Certificate of Cause of Death.

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2. Register the death

All deaths in Singapore (regardless of citizenship) must be registered within 24 hours.

If the death occurred at a hospital, you can register the death there and obtain the Death Certificate. If it occurred at home, you could register at ICA or any police post.

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3. Arrange for the funeral

Most people will engage a funeral director to help with such arrangements. Your funeral director will find out which Town Council you belong to and get the permit from your Town Council if you wish to hold the funeral at a HDB void deck.

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4.  Inform these organisations

See the paragraphs below on the critical importance of the probate process and how to go about getting probate from a probate lawyer.

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c.   Insurance companies

Inform the insurance companies. Most insurance companies will pay out a small amount upon production of the death certificate. The bulk of the insurance monies will only be paid out upon production of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.

See the paragraphs below on the probate process and how to get probate from a probate lawyer.

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d.   CPF Board

Inform the CPF Board so that the Board can release the CPF monies to the rightful beneficiaries.

If your loved one had made a CPF Nomination, his/her CPF savings would be distributed to the nominees according to the nomination form. The CPF Board will contact the nominees on the distribution of the CPF monies within 15 days from when the Board is notified of the death. However, if no nomination is made, the Public Trustee will handle CPF savings, other monies, or assets and distribute them to the deceased person’s family in accordance with intestacy laws.

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5.   Check whether your loved one left behind a Will

You will need to check whether the deceased person left a will behind.

If the person left a will,  the person named as the Executor would have to apply for a ‘Grant of Probate’ and become the executor of the deceased’s estate.

If the person did not leave behind a will, the closest family member(s) would have to apply for ‘Letters of Administration’ and become the deceased’s estate administrator.

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6.  Apply for Probate

You have now come to an important part of the legal process. Whether or not the deceased has left behind a will, your family needs to take charge of the deceased’s estate and distribute the assets to the lawful beneficiaries.

To do these things, you would need to engage a specialist probate lawyer to help you get probate. Probate is essential if the deceased has left behind assets to be distributed to beneficiaries.

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What is Probate?

When a family member dies, somebody has to deal with their “estate”. In simple terms, a person’s estate is the assets owned by the person. These assets have to be distributed to the beneficiaries.

Assets can be made up of the money, property, and possessions they had at the time of their death.

To deal with his or her estate or assets in Singapore, you must apply for a Grant of Probate (if there was a Will) or Letters of Administration (if there was no Will). To do this, you would need the assistance of a specialist probate lawyer.

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If your loved one left behind a Will – Apply for a Grant of Probate

When a loved one dies, you will first have to check whether the person has left a will.

If there is a will, there will be a person named as an executor in the will. The executor is someone named in the deceased’s will as a nominated person to distribute the deceased’s estate.

If the deceased left a will, the executor(s) will have to apply for a Grant of Probate and distribute the deceased’s assets according to the will.

With the executor having obtained the Grant of Probate, the executor will be able to approach financial institutions, government agencies, banks and other organisations to request access to the deceased’s assets.

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a.   Documents to bring when you see a probate lawyer to apply for a Grant of Probate

Before meeting with the probate lawyer, the executor should prepare and bring along:

• the original death certificate of the deceased
• the original will of the deceased
• the executor’s identification documents (e.g. NRIC or passport)
• a list of all the assets and liabilities owned by the deceased with supporting documents (e.g. bank statements, insurance policies, tax invoices etc.)
• Muslim Inheritance Certificate from the Syariah Court (if applicable)

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b.   The process of applying for a Grant of Probate

The executor named in the will has to apply to the court for a Grant of Probate. The executor will instruct a specialist probate lawyer to help him do this job.

If the deceased’s estate is valued at $5,000,000 and below, the executor will apply for the Grant of Probate to the Family Courts,

However, if the deceased’s estate’s total value exceeds $5,000,000, the executor will have to apply to the Family Division of the High Court.

It is not simple to apply for a Grant of Probate as the steps involved many documents and are very technical.  Generally, there are 3 main stages in the application for a Grant of Probate.  Your probate lawyer will do the following:

• Applying for a Grant of Probate
• Submission of the supporting documents
• Extracting the Grant of Probate

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c.   Understanding the duties of the Executor

The executor is required by law to perform the following duties:

• Apply for and extract the Grant of Probate.
• Arrange for the funeral of the deceased according to the will.
• Gather an accurate list of all the deceased’s assets.
• Pay off the deceased’s outstanding taxes, loans and debts.
• Distribute the assets to the beneficiaries according to the will.

The executor must act honestly. According to the law, he has to account for the distribution of the deceased’s estate and may be held liable for not fulfilling their duties.

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If there is no Will – Apply for a Grant of Letter of Administration

If the deceased did not leave a will, the deceased’s family member(s) must apply for a ‘Letters of Administration’ to become an ‘administrator’ of the estate.

According to the Intestate Succession Act, the Letters of Administration gives the administrator(s) legal authority to manage and distribute the deceased’s assets. With the Letters of Administration, the administrator(s) will be able to approach various institutions and request access to the deceased’s assets.

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a.   Who can be the Administrator?

Under the Intestate Succession Act, the administrator is appointed by the court to manage and distribute a deceased person’s estate.

Generally, any of the deceased’s immediate family members may apply for the Letters of Administration.

According to the Intestate Succession Act, the following people are entitled to apply for the Letters of Administration, in order of priority:

• spouse
• children
• parents
• brothers and sisters
• nephews and nieces
• grandparents
• uncles and aunts

Based on the order of priority, if the deceased’s children wish to be the administrator(s), the deceased’s surviving spouse must renounce their right to apply for Letters of Administration.

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b.   What are the documents to bring when you see a Probate Lawyer (no Will)

Before meeting with the lawyer, the administrator or the family members should prepare and bring along:

• the original death certificate of the deceased
• the original death certificate of the deceased’s next-of-kin (if applicable)
• the family members’ identification documents (e.g. NRIC or passport)
• a list of all the assets and liabilities owned by the deceased with supporting documents (e.g. bank statements, insurance policies, tax invoices etc.)
• Muslim Inheritance Certificate from Syariah Court (if applicable)

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c.   The process of applying for Letters of Administration

It is not simple to apply for Letters of Administration as there are many steps involved, and the process is very technical.

In general, your probate lawyer will help to apply for Letters of Administration by doing the following:

• Applying Letters of Administration
• Submission of the supporting documents
• Extracting the Grant

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d.   Understanding the duties of the Administrator

The Administrator should carry out the following duties:

• Make an accurate list of all the deceased’s assets.
• Pay off the deceased’s outstanding taxes, loans and debts.
• Distribute the assets to the beneficiaries according to the Intestate Succession Act.

The Administrator must act honestly and has to account for the distribution of the deceased’s estate and may be held liable for not fulfilling their duties.

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e.   What are the Rules of Distribution when there is no Will?

For non-Muslims, the distribution of the estate will be according to the Intestate Succession Act.  The Act states:

• who the eligible beneficiaries are
• the proportion of the estate that each beneficiary will receive.

If there was no will, the Intestate Succession Act states that the estate shall be distributed as follows:

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7.  Manage the estate and distribute the inheritance

Once the Grant of Probate or Letter of Administration has been obtained, the executor has to access the assets, collect them, pay off debts, and distribute the assets to the beneficiaries.  Some of the things the executor might have to do to complete the job include:

• Properties:  Sell or transfer the properties.
• Banks:  Pay bank loans, credit cards and get access to deceased’s accounts.
• Vehicles:  Settle the vehicle ownership.
• Bills:  Settle all bills and taxes.
• Debts: Settle all debts.
• Insurance:  Claim insurance monies.
• Subscriptions:  Close all accounts and cancel subscriptions.
• Utilities:  Terminate or transfer PUB, telephone and all utility services.
• Distribution:  Distribute the assets to the beneficiaries.

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8.   Account to the beneficiaries and close the matter

If you are the Executor or Adminstrator of the estate, you should account to the beneficiaries to show that all assets have been properly distributed.

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About PKWA Wills & Probate Lawyers 

PKWA Law is one of Singapore’s largest family law firms, and we specialise in Wills, Probate and Estate Law.  PKWA Law was recently recognised as a leading family law and inheritance law firm by the Straits Times in the “Singapore’s Best Law Firms 2021” survey.

Whether it is preparing a simple Will or helping you obtain Probate, PKWA Family Lawyers can assist and make the process quick and affordable for you.

CONTACT US NOW

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