XBW v XBX & Anor
Catchwords
Practice Areas
Judges (1)
Counsel (11)
Parties (3)
Case Significance
XBW v XBX and another [2024] SGHCF 30 was decided by Choo Han Teck J in the General Division of the High Court (Family Division), heard on 28 August 2024 with judgment reserved and delivered on 30 August 2024, in Originating Summons (Probate) No 11 of 2023. The case concerned special and limited grants of administration under the Probate and Administration Act 1934. According to the judgment, the Deceased died on 5 May 2023 at the age of 76 and was the widow of SAB, who died in 2017 also at the age of 76; the plaintiff in OSP 11 is their son, and the Deceased had seven siblings, two of whom are the first and second defendants.
The plaintiff had applied in FC/P 3914 of 2023 for the grant of Letters of Administration in the estate of the Deceased, and the first defendant lodged a caveat against that application in HCF/CAVP 16 of 2023. The defendants claim to be the executrices under a will said to have been executed by the Deceased in 2004, but have been unable to find the original will, and on 28 November 2023 they filed a probate action in HCF/S 9 of 2023 to propound the lost will, which the plaintiff contests by seeking an order that the will be declared destroyed with the intention of revoking it. By OSP 11, the plaintiff applied under s 20 of the Probate and Administration Act for an interim order for the grant of Letters of Administration over the movable properties of the Deceased, which include two bank accounts in the joint names of the Deceased and her siblings IG and RG. The plaintiff was represented by counsel from Covenant Chambers LLC and Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, including Gregory Vijayendran, Darryl Lau, Lee Ee Yang, Sara Ng Qian Hui and Tomoyuki Ban, while the defendants were represented by counsel from WongPartnership LLP, including Aw Wen Ni, Darius Tan and Vincent Ho Wei Jie.
Summary
In this probate matter, the plaintiff, a son of the deceased, applied under section 20 of the Probate and Administration Act 1934 for an interim grant of Letters of Administration over the movable property of his late mother's estate, pending the trial of a separate probate action in which the defendants sought to propound a lost 2004 will and the plaintiff contended the will had been destroyed with intent to revoke it. The defendants resisted the appointment, arguing that such a grant pending litigation is discretionary and that the plaintiff, as a party to the contested suit, was not an appropriate person to be appointed. Choo Han Teck J granted an order in terms of the application, finding it a fair representation of an earlier interim agreement reached between the parties, limited to movable assets, and ordered the costs to be borne by the estate.
What did the plaintiff seek in XBW v XBX & Anor [2024] SGHCF 30?
In XBW v XBX & Anor [2024] SGHCF 30, the plaintiff applied under s 20 of the Probate and Administration Act for an interim grant of Letters of Administration over the movable properties of the Deceased, who died on 5 May 2023, pending a contested probate action over a lost will.
Why was there a dispute over the estate in XBW v XBX & Anor [2024] SGHCF 30?
In [2024] SGHCF 30, the defendants claimed to be executrices under a 2004 will but could not find the original and filed HCF/S 9 of 2023 to propound the lost will, while the plaintiff sought a declaration that the will had been destroyed with intention to revoke it.
Statutes Cited
Referenced in
Statutes interpreted in this judgment
Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.
Read on eLitigationSource: eLitigation ([2024] SGHCF 30)