[2014] SGCA 38

Brief Facts

The Plaintiff suffered severe injuries in a motor vehicle accident and sued the Defendant in the tort of personal injury. He received an offer to settle for the sum of $500,000 excluding costs and disbursements. Unfortunately, the Plaintiff succumbed to his injuries and passed away before accepting the offer to settle.

The mother of the Plaintiff sought to obtain an order from the Court for her to be made party to the proceedings and purported to accept the offer to settle. However, the Defendant said that the offer to settle had been rendered incapable of being accepted upon the Plaintiff’s demise.

The Plaintiff’s mother then obtained judgment in her favour in the state courts and the Defendant then appealed to the High Court and Court of Appeal arguing that the death had changed the circumstances of the offer to settle such that it was no longer capable of being accepted.

No Power to act for the Deceased before obtaining Letters of Administration

1. In allowing the appeal, the court considered whether the Respondent could have accepted the offer on behalf of the Deceased before being granted letters of administration. It was held that the Respondent was not properly authorized to act for the estate because she had not been granted letters of administration. All subsequent acts on behalf of the estate including the acceptance of the offer to settle were nullified.
2. The court also held that plaintiffs who had not obtained grant of administration could not commence an action in the capacity of an administrator of the deceased estate.
3. The correct procedure highlighted by the court would have been for the Respondent to apply for a stay of proceedings pending the grant of letters of administration.

Grant of Probate vs. Letters of Administration

In order to manage the assets of a deceased person in Singapore. One would have to obtain either a Grant of Probate (where the deceased leaves behind a will) or a Grant of Letters of Administration (where the deceased leaves behind no will) from the Court. Both of these documents would authorise a personal representative of the deceased to manage the deceased person’s estate. However, there are several benefits where the deceased person leaves behind a will, such as:

1. Power to decide the executor – Where the deceased has a will appointing executor(s) to act in the event of death, the executor(s) stated in the will would apply to the Court for a Grant of Probate, and thereafter proceed to manage the estate according to the instructions stated in the will.
2. Faster court process – on the other hand, where the deceased leaves behind no will, a next-of-kin of the deceased would have to apply to court to act as the deceased’s administrator in order to administer the estate. Additional documents would need to be filed in court in an application for the Grant of Letters of Administration as opposed to Grant of Probate such as renunciation documents from other beneficiaries entitled to act as administrators. As a result, the process for application of grant of letters of administration is usually slower and incurs more legal fees compared to an application for grant of probate.
3. No provision of security – where the deceased leaves behind no will and there are minor beneficiaries with interests in the deceased’s estate, the court would also require at least 2 administrators to act, and may request for the administrator to provide security to be provided by way of (i) Administration Bond (to an amount equivalent to the value of the deceased’s estate) and (ii) Sureties to guarantee the proper performance of the administrators.
4. Testamentary freedom – In addition, in the event the deceased leaves behind no will, the administrator would have to distribute the deceased’s estate in accordance with applicable distribution principles under the Intestate Succession Act while a deceased with a will would be free to distribute his estate in any manner which he or she wishes.

Application Process for Grant of Probate and Letters of Administration

At Sim Mong Teck & Partners, we highly recommend our clients to have a will in place so as to minimise any potential complications that may arise after death.

We also act for clients in their application to court for both Grant of Probate and Letters of Administration.

Kindly contact us for a discussion with the following documents in order for us to better assist you:

• Original Death Certificate
• Will of the Deceased (if applicable)
• Birth Certificates / Marriage Certificates
• Schedule of the Deceased’s assets

If you are unsure of the nature and scope of the Deceased’s assets, we would be able to write to the various financial institutions / insurance companies and conduct searches on your behalf once the grant of probate or administration has been obtained in your favour.