WHR & Anor v WHT & 13 Ors

[2023] SGHCF 32 High Court (Family Division) 19 July 2023 HCF/S 4/2019 18 min read

1 cases cited Cited by 1 case

Key facts

Court	High Court (Family Division)
Decided	19 July 2023
Judge	Choo Han Teck
Charges / claim	Succession and Wills—Codicils, Succession and Wills—Testamentary Capacity
Counsel	Allen & Gledhill LLP, De Souza Lim & Goh LLP, Harry Elias Partnership LLP, Selvam LLC, Tan, Oei & Oei LLC, UniLegal LLC, Wong Tan & Molly Lim LLC, Alfred Li, Anna Oei Ai Hoea, Cherrilynn Chia, Christine Chuah Hui Fen, Goh Kok Yeow, Hee Theng Fong, Loh Li Qin, Loh Weijie Leonard, Philip Ling, Poon Pui Yee, Racheal Wong Shu Yi, Sarbjit Singh Chopra, Tan Teng Muan, Tan Xeauwei, William Ong

Source: [2023] SGHCF 32, High Court (Family Division), decided 19 July 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Succession and Wills—Codicils Succession and Wills—Testamentary Capacity

Practice Areas

Succession and Wills—Codicils Succession and Wills—Testamentary Capacity

Judges (1)

Choo Han Teck Delivered

Counsel (22)

Parties (16)

WHR Plaintiff WHS Plaintiff WHT Defendant WHU Defendant WHV Defendant WHW Defendant WHX Defendant WHY Defendant WHZ Defendant WIA Defendant WIB Defendant WIC Defendant WID Defendant WIF Defendant WIG Defendant WIH Defendant

Case Significance

WHR and another v WHT and others [2023] SGHCF 32 is a reserved judgment of Choo Han Teck J in the General Division of the High Court (Family Division), delivered on 19 July 2023 in Suit No 4 of 2019. The plaintiffs, WHR and WHS, sued as executors of the Last Will and Testament dated 25 March 1999 and Codicil dated 6 August 2008 of LLT, deceased, against fourteen defendants; LLT was born in China on 3 March 1917, emigrated to Singapore in 1935 aged 18, built a wholesale luxury watch business, and died on 13 March 2009 aged 92 leaving a large estate and seven children. After his estate remained unadministered for about five years, the first and second defendants filed caveats against the grant of probate on 9 October 2014; the catchwords address succession and wills questions of codicils and testamentary capacity.

[2023] SGHCF 32 explained

WHR & Anor v WHT & 13 Ors ([2023] SGHCF 32) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (Family Division) on 19 July 2023. It is categorised under Succession and Wills—Codicils and Succession and Wills—Testamentary Capacity. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 1 other reported Singapore judgment, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2023] SGHCF 32 about?

WHR & Anor v WHT & 13 Ors ([2023] SGHCF 32) is a High Court (Family Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Succession and Wills—Codicils” and “Succession and Wills—Testamentary Capacity”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

How influential is [2023] SGHCF 32?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHCF 32 has been cited by 1 later reported Singapore judgment. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

Summary

This was a probate suit in which the executors of the estate of a deceased businessman sought to prove his Will and Codicil in solemn form against a group of family members who opposed their validity, raising issues of testamentary capacity. As no witnesses were called for the opposing defendants and no contrary evidence was adduced, Choo Han Teck J found the Will and Codicil validly executed and declared them proved in solemn form. The court ordered that each party bear its own costs.

What was WHR v WHT [2023] SGHCF 32 about?

It was a succession dispute before Choo Han Teck J in the Family Division, delivered on 19 July 2023, in which WHR and WHS sued as executors of the Will dated 25 March 1999 and Codicil dated 6 August 2008 of LLT against fourteen defendants.

Who was LLT in WHR v WHT [2023] SGHCF 32?

LLT was born in China on 3 March 1917, emigrated to Singapore in 1935 aged 18, built a wholesale luxury watch business and died on 13 March 2009 aged 92, leaving a large estate and seven children; caveats against probate were filed on 9 October 2014.