DFS v NUHS Fund Limited

[2023] SGHC 336 High Court (General Division) 28 November 2023 HC/OA 510/2022

28 cases cited (7 SG, 21 foreign)

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	28 November 2023
Judge	Kwek Mean Luck
Charges / claim	Charities, Succession and Wills, Probate and Administration
Counsel	Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP, Kenneth Tan Partnership, Legal Solutions LLC, TSMP Law Corporation, Lek Siang Pheng, Lui Shi Qi Claudia, Sim Mei Jun Audrey (Shen Meijun), Tan Wee Kheng Kenneth Michael, Tan Yi Xi Joie, Tan Yun Hao, Alson, Tang Hang Wu, Yong Shu Wei Christopher

Source: [2023] SGHC 336, High Court (General Division), decided 28 November 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Charities — Charitable trusts Charities — Charitable purposes — Dissolution Succession and Wills — Lapse — Charitable gifts Succession and Wills — Construction — Charitable gifts Probate and Administration — Distribution of assets — Charitable gifts

Practice Areas

Charities Succession and Wills Probate and Administration

Judges (1)

Kwek Mean Luck Delivered

Counsel (12)

Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP Firm Kenneth Tan Partnership Firm Legal Solutions LLC Firm TSMP Law Corporation Firm

Lek Siang Pheng Counsel for the defendant

Lui Shi Qi Claudia Counsel for the plaintiff

Sim Mei Jun Audrey (Shen Meijun) Counsel for the defendant

Tan Wee Kheng Kenneth Michael Counsel for the plaintiff Tan Yi Xi Joie Counsel for the defendant

Tan Yun Hao, Alson Counsel for the plaintiff

Tang Hang Wu Counsel for the defendant

Yong Shu Wei Christopher Counsel for the plaintiff

Parties (2)

NUHS Fund Limited Defendant

DFS Plaintiff

Case Significance

DFS v NUHS Fund Ltd [2023] SGHC 336 is a judgment of the General Division of the High Court delivered by Kwek Mean Luck J on 28 November 2023. The claimant, the sole surviving executrix and trustee under a Last Will and Testament dated 2 November 2006, sought guidance on when a gift in a will to an unincorporated charity lapses where the charity has been altered since the will's execution. Recognising that these questions raised novel issues not previously ruled on in Singapore, Kwek Mean Luck J set out a framework for analysing when a charity has ceased to exist and the consequences for a charitable gift. The judgment spans charitable trusts, succession, and probate law and has been cited 28 times.

Summary

The sole surviving executrix of a will sought declarations that a charitable gift of a property had lapsed because the intended legatee, an unincorporated charity, did not exist, with NUHS Fund Limited defending as the successor charity. The case raised novel questions on when a charity ceases to exist and whether a gift to it lapses. Kwek Mean Luck J held that on a benignant construction the gift was to charitable purposes that continued through NUHSF as successor, so the gift did not lapse and the property vested in NUHSF.

What novel question did DFS v NUHS Fund Ltd [2023] SGHC 336 address?

It addressed when a testamentary gift to an unincorporated charity lapses if the charity was altered after the will's execution. Kwek Mean Luck J noted the issues were novel in Singapore and set out an analytical framework on 28 November 2023.

Who were the parties in DFS v NUHS Fund Ltd [2023] SGHC 336?

The claimant DFS was the sole surviving executrix and trustee under a will dated 2 November 2006, and the defendant was NUHS Fund Limited, a company registered as a charity, in Originating Application No 510 of 2022.

Statutes Cited

Wills Act Cases on this Act →

s 20

Cases Cited (28)

SG (1)

[2009] SGCA 25

SLR (6)

[1998] 3 SLR(R) 938 [2001] 3 SLR(R) 119 [2001] 3 SLR(R) 335 [2011] 3 SLR 500 [2012] 4 SLR 339 [2014] 2 SLR 1165

UK (18)

[1891] AC 531 [1895] 1 Ch 19 [1912] 2 Ch 488 [1936] 1 Ch 285 [1948] 1 Ch 424 [1954] 1 WLR 238 [1963] 1 WLR 406 [1969] 3 WLR 21 [1971] 3 WLR 786 [1972] 1 Ch 286 [1972] 1 Ch 300 [1972] Ch 300 [1975] 1 WLR 279 [1979] 1 Ch 483 [1985] 3 WLR 765 [2001] EWCA Civ 714 [2010] EWHC 1795 [2018] EWHC 3094

AU (3)

[2006] SASC 286 [2014] NSWSC 154 [2020] NSWSC 1276