Estate Administration FAQ

The application can be made at any time after the death of the deceased.
Nevertheless, it is advised that the application be made as soon as possible or at least within three (3) months from the date of death of the deceased.
This is to avoid the possibility of beneficiaries dying prior to receiving their inheritance or the risk of losing important documents which can further complicate the application process and/or the administration of the estate of the deceased.

The beneficiary of the deceased or any parties with a vested interest can make the application at AmanahRaya.

No. Only the party making the application needs to be present at AmanahRaya, at any of the branches to fill in the application form and to submit it together with supporting documents for further action.
The application form and the list of supporting documents that are required can be downloaded at www.amanahraya.my

Yes. The applicant can send the completed application form together with copies of the supporting documents to any of our branch.
If the application is sent by post, there is no need for the applicant to be present at AmanahRaya.

An estate consisting only of movable property is estimated to take four (4) to six (6) months.
If it involves immovable property, it is estimated to take approximately 12 months (one year).
It should be remembered that the processing period is also dependent on the feedback and cooperation of the beneficiaries and third parties liaising with AmanahRaya

Yes, provided that the estate has assets in the form of cash/money.

If there are no assets in the form of cash/money and the beneficiaries are reluctant/fail to pay the fees and/or the costs, the file on the estate administration will be closed and the administration of the estate will not resume until the relevant administrative fees and costs are paid.

The Faraid Certificate is required as to determine who is entitled to inherit the estate of the deceased as well as the portion he/she is entitled to receive.

The Faraid Certificate can be obtained from a Shariah Court through an application by the beneficiaries of the deceased.

Determining the rightful beneficiaries will be carried out after the death of the deceased.
If the deceased was a Muslim, the rightful beneficiaries as stated under faraid are the father, mother, wife, husband, sons, daughters, etc.
In the case of non-Muslims, the rightful beneficiaries are stated in the Distribution Act 1958, i.e. the father, mother, husband, wife, children or offspring/issues (descendants), etc.

No. According to Mazhab Shafie, a Muslim cannot inherit the estate of a non-muslim and vice-versa

In the case of Muslims, the estate will be channeled to Baitul-Mal and for non-Muslims, the Distribution Act 1958 provides for the government to be entitled to the estate.

The Faraid Certificate can be exempted if the total value of the estate comprising only movable property is less than RM100,000.00 and there are only first-level beneficiaries.
If the total value of the estate exceeds RM100,000.00 and consists of immovable property, or it exceeds RM100,000.00 but does not consist of immovable property, or even if the estate consists only of immovable property, then a Faraid Certificate is mandatory.

Distribution can be implemented through consensus if all the rightful beneficiaries agree.

The administration of the estate will be administered as usual but the portion to be distributed to the beneficiary who cannot be located will be retained in trust by AmanahRaya until a legal claim is made by the beneficiary.

AmanahRaya will check through the Agency Link-Up System (ALIS) of the National Registration Department to obtain the latest information on the missing beneficiaries of the deceased.

Checking the list of assets of the deceased at AmanahRaya can be done only by the beneficiaries and the information is limited to the assets that are administered by AmanahRaya.

Yes, the beneficiaries can apply to withdraw a part of the cash money from the estate, but it will depend on the settlement of the liabilities first.

Banks and their staffs are subject to secrecy laws especially those related to the exposure and disclosure of information pertaining to the affairs and procedures of a client’s accounts to any parties, including the beneficiaries.
If a client of the bank dies, generally the bank will require a Letter of Administration before any information is disclosed or payment made.
Usually, the bank will ask the beneficiaries to refer to AmanahRaya because it has its own jurisdiction to issue the Letter of Administration in the form of Declaration or Order and also to effect the distribution of the estate.

In Malaysia, three (3) institutions have the power to issue the Letter of Administration, i.e. AmanahRaya, the Small Estate Distribution Unit of the Department of the Director-General of Lands and Mines, and the High Court (Civil).
The jurisdiction of those three institutions are as follows;

Amanah Raya Berhad	Estate which comprises of movable assets worth not more than RM600,000.00.
Small Estates Distribution Unit	Estate which comprises of movable and immovable assets worth not more than RM2,000,000.00
High Court	Estate which comprises of movable and immovable assets worth more than RM2,000,000.00

However, the beneficiaries may appoint AmanahRaya as Administrator for any type and at any value of the properties to be administered completely.

Usually, the purchase of a vehicle is through a hire purchase contract with a banking institution. According to legal provisions, unless the vehicle has been fully paid for as provided under the hire purchase contract, the owner of the vehicle is the banking institution and the deceased is only the hirer.

Therefore, AmanahRaya can administer the asset in the form of vehicles only if there are other assets of the deceased that have sufficient value to settle the balance of the payment due. In such a situation, AmanahRaya will liaise with the relevant banking institution to settle the outstanding balance on the vehicle.

As an alternative, the beneficiaries may have the option of second-hand vehicle financing or selling the vehicle to a third party, but both these options are subject to written consent from the relevant banking institution.

Since the deceased was still indebted to the bank, the process of transfer of the house/land to the beneficiaries cannot be effected until the debt is settled. After the Letter of Administration is issued, the administrator will need to settle the outstanding sum first through other assets of the deceased that can be used to offset the debt.
If the debt/loan on the asset is protected by Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA)/ Mortgage Reducing Term Takaful (MRTT), then it can be used to settle the debt subject to the amount covered by the protection clause.

If the assets of the deceased/MRTA/MRTT are insufficient to settle the debt in its entirety, the creditor/mortgage holder has the right to foreclose/auction off the asset. The auction proceeds after deducting the debt of the deceased if any will be surrendered to the administrator for distribution to the rightful beneficiaries

The creditor can claim the debt from the estate of the deceased during the administration of the estate of the deceased. However, the creditor must provide solid proof to make such a claim.

Payment is made directly to the nominee.

The nominee in the estate of a Muslim acts as the executor or trustee and is responsible for conducting the distribution of the property to the rightful beneficiaries in accordance with Faraid after all debts of the deceased have been discharged.

No. However, the nominee has the option of surrendering the payment received to Amanah Raya to be administered and to be distributed to the legal beneficiaries after all the debts of the deceased have been settled.

Pensions received by the pensioner will end from the date of his/her death. The pension received throughout his/her life is part of the estate and the pension received after death is the property of the government of Malaysia.

If the deceased left property in a valid will and it contains the procedure for the distribution of the estate among the beneficiaries, it is termed as testate.
In the case of non-Muslims, the will is valid as long as it complies with all the requirements contained in the Wills Act 1959 and the authenticity of the will is not challenged by any beneficiary/party.
In the case of Muslims, the deceased could bequeath no more than 1/3 of his/her estate to parties other than the beneficiaries (with or without the consent of the beneficiaries).

A person who died without a will describing distribution of his/her estate is said to be intestate.

For a testate administration, the process of inheritance is easier and faster because the executor has been appointed by the deceased in accordance with a valid will.
Compared to intestate administration, the appointment of an administrator is subject to agreement by all the beneficiaries/ determination of the courts and this can lead to the risk of conflict among the beneficiaries resulting the process of administration being extended further.
Moreover, there is a requirement of two sureties in order to obtain the Letter of Administration for intestate administration.
Each surety must possess assets that are roughly equal in value to the estate of the deceased.
This will definitely complicate and delay the process of administering the estate.
AmanahRaya, however, is exempted by law from the requirement to provide the sureties for the administration of the estate.

This question does not arise with regard to the estate of a Muslim.
It is because the deceased can bequeath 1/3 of his/her estate to a party that is not a beneficiary and the remainder distributed to the rightful beneficiaries in accordance with faraid.
For a non-Muslim, given that there is no limit on the amount that can be bequeathed, the deceased may leave the entire estate to a party to the exclusion of his/her rightful beneficiaries.
In such a situation, the law provides for any interested beneficiary under Section 3(1) of the Inheritance (Family Provision) Act 1971 or his/her representative to make an application to the court for a reasonable allocation from the net estate of the deceased for the maintenance of the beneficiary subject to other requirements in the same act.