Rights of action of personal representative
Subject to any other written law, a personal representative has the same powers to sue in respect of all causes of action that survive the deceased, and may exercise the same power for the recovery of debts due to him at the time of his death as the deceased had when living.
Power of personal representative to dispose of property
(1) In dealing with the property of the deceased his personal representative shall comply with this section. (2) Unless the Court otherwise directs, no sale, transfer, conveyance or assent in respect of immovable property shall be made without the concurrence of all the personal representatives of the deceased; and subject as aforesaid, where there are several personal representatives the powers of all may, in the absence of any direction to the contrary in the will or grant of administration, be exercised by any one of them. (3) A personal representative may charge, mortgage or otherwise dispose of all or any property vested in him, as he may think proper, subject to any restriction which may be imposed in this behalf by the will of the deceased, and subject to this section: Provided that an executor may dispose of any property notwithstanding any restriction so imposed, if he does so in accordance with an order of the Court. (4) An administrator may not, without the previous permission of the Court— (a) mortgage, charge or transfer by sale, gift, exchange or otherwise any immovable property situate in any State and for the time being vested in him; or (b) lease any such property for a term exceeding five years. (5) Nothing in this section shall affect subsection 15(2) of the Trustees Act 1949 [Act 208]. (6) The disposal of property by a personal representative in contravention of this section shall be voidable at the instance of any other person interested in the property.
Purchase by personal representative of deceased’s property
If a personal representative purchases, either directly or indirectly, any part of the property of the deceased, the sale is voidable at the instance of any other person interested in the property sold.
Duty of personal representative as to inventory
The personal representative of a deceased person shall, when lawfully required so to do, exhibit, by affidavit filed in the Court, a true and perfect inventory and account of the movable and immovable property of the deceased, and the Court shall have power to require personal representatives to bring in inventories.
Transfer of assets to personal representative in country of domicile of deceased for distribution
Where— (a) a person not having his domicile in Malaysia has died leaving assets both in Malaysia and in the country in which he had his domicile at the time of his death; and (b) there has been a grant of representation in Malaysia with respect to the assets there and a grant of representation in the country of domicile with respect to assets in that country, the personal representative in Malaysia, after having given due notice and after having discharged at the expiration of the time stated in the notice all lawful claims of which he has had notice, may, instead of himself distributing any surplus or residue of the deceased’s property to persons residing out of Malaysia who are entitled thereto, transfer, with the consent of the personal representative in the country of domicile, the surplus or residue to him for distribution to those persons.
Protection of persons acting on probate or administration
(1) Every person making or permitting to be made any payment or disposition in good faith under probate or letters of administration shall be indemnified and protected in so doing, notwithstanding any defect or circumstances whatsoever affecting the validity of the probate and letters of administration. (2) Where a grant of representation is revoked, all payments and dispositions made in good faith to a personal representative under the grant before the revocation thereof are a valid discharge to the person making the same; and the personal representative who acted under the revoked representation may retain and reimburse himself in respect of any payments or dispositions made by him which the person to whom representation is afterwards granted might have properly made. (3) All transfers and conveyances of any interest in movable and immovable property made to a purchaser either before or after the commencement of this Act by a person to whom probate or letters of administration have been granted are valid, notwithstanding any subsequent revocation or variation, either before or after the commencement of this Act, of the probate or administration. (4) This section takes effect without prejudice to any order of the Court made before the commencement of this Act and applies whether the testator or intestate died before or after the commencement.
Liability of a person fraudulently obtaining or retaining estate of deceased
If any person, to the defrauding of creditors or without full valuable consideration, obtains, receives or holds any movable or immovable property of a deceased person or effects the release of any debt or liability due to the estate of the deceased, he shall be charged as executor in his own wrong to the extent of the property received or coming into his hands, or the debt or liability released, after deducting— (a) any debt for valuable consideration and without fraud due to him from the deceased person at the time of his death; and (b) any payment made by him which might properly be made by a personal representative.
Liability of estate of personal representative
Where a person as personal representative of a deceased person (including the executor in his own wrong) wastes or converts to his own use any part of the movable or immovable property of the deceased, and dies, his personal representative shall, to the extent of the available assets of the defaulter, be liable and chargeable in respect of the waste or conversion, in the same manner as the defaulter would have been if living.
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Text as at 1 January 2006 (LOM reprint); amendments made after that date may not be incorporated. Read the official text ↗
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).