The Distribution Of A Deceased Estate In The Absence Of Without A Will

English Version

介绍
INTRODUCTION

《1958分配法》管理无遗嘱的情况下死亡的人的财产分配, 无遗嘱者指的就是一个人在不留遗嘱的情况下去世的时候。 该法规定了继承死者遗产的方法, 将其家庭成员的三主要类别,主要是配偶、子女和父母列为优先事项。首先, 必须指出该法只适用于马来西亚半岛和砂拉越管辖区的非穆斯林。

The Distribution Act 1958 governs the distribution of estates of a person who dies intestate, which is a person who passes away without leaving a Will.  The Act lays down the method of  inheritance to the deceased’s estates that prioritizes the three main categories of his or her family members, mainly the spouse, issues and parent(s). First and foremost, it has to be noted that this Act applies only to non-Muslims in the Peninsular Malaysia and the Sarawak jurisdictions.

根据《1958分配法》的规定，无遗嘱者还包括“在其财产上留下遗嘱但未有任何人得到利益” , 而《1958分配法》第3条将子女定义为 “子女和已故的后裔”。 该法第3条将子女定义为”合法子女, 凡死者由其个人法律允许, 则多个妻子包括任何此类妻子的子女, 但不包括收养的子女除了孩子根据1952收养法被收养。在《1958分配法》第3条中, 父母的定义是 “子女的亲生母亲或父亲, 或根据《1952收养法》是子女的合法母亲或父亲”。

Intestate also includes “any person who leaves a will but dies intestate as to some beneficial interest in his property” under the Distribution Act 1958, whereas an issue is defined in Section 3 of the Distribution Act 1958 as the “children and the descendants of deceased children”.  Child is defined in Section 3 of the Act as “a legitimate child and where the deceased is permitted by his personal law a plurality of wives includes a child by any of such wives, but does not include an adopted child other than a child adopted under the provisions of the Adoption Act 1952″. In Section 3 of the Distribution Act 1958, a parent(s) is defined as the “natural mother or father of a child, or the lawful mother or father of a child under the Adoption Act 1952″.

唯一幸存的家庭成员是配偶、子女或父母的情况
INSTANCES WHERE THE SOLE SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBER IS A SPOUSE, ISSUE OR PARENT(S)

根据《1958分配法》 6 (1) (a) 条, 如果死者的唯一幸存家庭成员是配偶, 则他或她将完全有权享有属于死者的全部遗产。同一法律适用于死者中唯一幸存的家庭成

Under Section 6(1)(a) of the Distribution Act 1958, in the event that the sole surviving family member of the deceased is the spouse, then he or she shall be fully entitled to the entire estate belonging to the deceased. The same law applies where the only surviving family member of the deceased is the issue [See Section 6(1)(c)] or the parent(s) [See Section 6(1)(d)].员的子女[见 6 (1) (c) 条] 或父母 。[见第 6 (1) (d) 条]

幸存的家庭成员是子女和配偶 (没有父母) 或子女和父母 (没有配偶) 的情况

INSTANCES WHERE THE SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS ARE THE ISSUE AND SPOUSE (WITHOUT A PARENT(S)) OR AN ISSUE AND PARENT(S) (WITHOUT A SPOUSE)

这一点可以在《1958分配法》 6 (1) (e) 条中说明, 如死者去世后留下一个子女及配偶, 则该子女将有权获得三分之二（ 2/3） 的遗产, 而配偶只有权获得三分之一 （1/3） 的遗产。如果无遗嘱者只留下一个子女和其中一个（或一对）父母, 而该法将子女列为优先事项 [见 6 (1) (f) 条]。值得注意的是, 从总额的角度而言， 在三主要类别的家庭成员中, 子女是优先事项。

This can be illustrated in Section 6(1)(e) of the Distribution Act 1958 that, if it is the case that the deceased dies leaving behind an issue and spouse, the issue will be entitled to two-thirds (2/3) of the estates while the spouse is only entitled to one-third (1/3) of the estates. The same distribution applies if the intestate leaves behind only an issue and a parent(s), where the Act will seek to prioritize the issue [See Section 6(1)(f)]. It is interesting to note that the issue is prioritized in terms of sum amongst the three main categories of family members.

幸存的家庭成员是配偶和父母 (没有子女) 的情况
INSTANCES WHERE THE SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS ARE A SPOUSE AND PARENT(S) (WITHOUT AN ISSUE)

另一方面, 如死者去世后不留下任何子女, 则配偶及父母在编配遗产时应享有同等的地位。根据 6 (1) (b) 条的规定, 配偶有权享有一半的遗产, 而父母则有权享有剩下的一半。
On the other hand, should the deceased dies without leaving behind an issue, the spouse and the parent(s) shall have an equal footing in the allocation of the estates. It is stated under Section 6(1)(b) that the spouse shall be entitled to one-half of the estates, while the parent(s) is entitled to the remaining half.

幸存的家庭成员是子女, 配偶和父母的情况
INSTANCES WHERE THE SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS ARE THE ISSUE, SPOUSE AND PARENT(S)

根据《1958分配法》 6 (1) (g) 条, 这项规定是, 如果子女、配偶和父母是死者的遗属, 则该子女将有权获得一半的遗产, 而配偶和父母则分别获得四分之一。这再次强调, 即《1958分配法》的规定, 子女应获得更多的遗产, 而配偶和父母对死者的遗产拥有相同的取得比例。

According to Section 6(1)(g) of the Distribution Act 1958, it is laid down that should the issue, the spouse and the parent(s) be the surviving family members of the deceased, the issue will be entitled to one-half of the estates, while the spouse and parent(s) one-quarter respectively. This again bring us back to statement that the Distribution Act 1958 designates that the issue should acquire more of the estates, while the spouse and parent(s) have an equal percentage of acquirement as to the deceased’s estates.

没有子女, 配偶或父母作为幸存的家庭成员的情况
INSTANCES WHERE THERE ARE NO ISSUE, SPOUSE OR PARENT(S) AS SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS

然而, 在死者没有留下任何尚存子女、配偶或父母时的情况之下, 可能会产生混淆。遗产将会分配到哪里去, 遗产将会分配给谁？根据《1958分配法》 6 (1) (i) 条的规定, 如果发生这种情况, 则应将整个遗产信托于按该法规定的人。

However, confusion may arise when the deceased does not leave behind any surviving issue, spouse or parent(s). Where will the estates go to, and whom will the estates be distributed to? Under Section 6(1)(i) of the Distribution Act 1958, it is stated that should such a situation occur, the whole of the estate shall be held on trusts for the persons prescribed under the Act.

第一, 无遗嘱者的遗产, 应当根据第七条以相等部分信托于在7条中无遗嘱的兄弟姐妹。此外, 如果死者不留下任何兄弟姐妹, 或者如果这些兄弟姐妹没有根据这种信托获得绝对既得利益, 则该法规定, 有权获得死者遗产的家属顺序是祖父母, 伯父和伯母 (如果没有祖父母尚存), 曾祖父母 (如果伯父和伯母没有在这种信托之下获得绝对既得利益和最后, 曾伯祖父和曾伯祖母 (如果没有这样的曾祖父母幸存)。

Firstly, the estate of the intestate shall be held on trusts set out in section 7 for the brothers and sisters of the intestate in equal shares. Further, if the deceased does not leave behind any siblings or if such siblings do not take an absolutely vested interest under such trusts, then the Act provides that the order of the family members of the deceased that shall be entitled to the estates are the grandparents, the uncles and aunts (if there are no grandparents surviving), the great-grandparents (if the uncles and aunts do not take an absolutely vested interest under such trusts) and lastly, the great-grand uncles and great-grand aunts (if there are no such great grandparents surviving).

如果在死者不留下任何上述其他的家庭成员的情况下, 该家庭成员在信托下没有权益, 6 (1) (j) 条规定, 政府将全权享有属于无遗嘱死亡者的遗产。

If, in the situation that the deceased does not leave behind any of these categories of family members or if such family members do not take an interest under the trusts, it is provided in Section 6(1)(j) that the Government shall be wholly entitled to the estates belonging to the person who died intestate.

由于《1958分配法》的规定, 无遗嘱者遗产的分配是刻板的。 因此, 一个人根据自己的意愿立遗嘱分配遗产是更可取的。

As the distribution of estate of a deceased is laid down with rigidity under the Distribution Act 1958, it is more desirable for a person to write a Will to distribute his or her estate according to their wishes.

根据《1948释义法》及《1967释义法》, 遗嘱的定义为 “任何描述的遗嘱文件, 包括遗嘱的附录”。简单来说, 这是一份法律文件, 一个人表达了他或她有关如何分配财产的意望, 对于被死者指定为受益人的人来说, 这是一份有益而重要的文件。遗产将根据遗嘱人的意愿分配给受益人。然而, 立遗嘱的重要性是什么, 与立遗嘱有关的好处又是什么？

Under the Interpretation Acts 1948 And 1967, a Will is defined as “a testamentary document of any description, including a codicil”. In simpler terms, it is a legal document by which a person expresses his or her wishes on how to distribute their property after their passing. It is a beneficial and important document for those who have been appointed as a beneficiary by the deceased. The estates will be distributed to the beneficiaries according to the wishes of the Testator. However, what is the importance of making a Will and what are the benefits associated with making a Will?

立遗嘱的重要性
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING A WILL

也许一个人应该立遗嘱的其中一个最重要的原因, 是他们可以根据他们的意愿, 选择他们的遗产的受益人。由于我们不能预知明天, 一个明智的做法便是保证在过世后他们的遗产将按照自己的意愿被分配。让国家干预, 可能会违背该人对遗产分配的意愿，这当然是不可取的。
Perhaps one of the most important reasons for a person to have a Will is so that they can select the beneficiaries of their estates according to their intentions. As tomorrow is uncertain, it is wiser for a person to have an assurance of who and how their estates will be distributed after their passing, as it certainly is not desirable to let the state intervene that may go against the wishes of the person regarding the distribution of estates.

结论
CONCLUSION

最后, 未立遗嘱的人的遗产分配受《1958分配法》管理, 但这种分配方法并不可取, 因为这可能违背死者的意图和意愿。因此, 对一个人来说, 立遗嘱比不去立更有利, 因为立遗嘱的确有许多的优点。
To conclude, the distribute of estates of a person who dies intestate is governed by the Distribution Act 1958 but such a distribution method is undesirable as that may go against the deceased’s intentions and wishes. Hence, it is more advantageous for a person to leave a Will than not, as there are indeed numerous advantages associated with having one.

“The Chinese Version is a translation to the best efforts and if there is a conflict between the translation and the English version, please refer to the English version.

中文只是一个翻译，如果中文翻译和英文版本之间有不同之处， 请参阅英文版本.”