What happens when a person dies without a will in Malaysia?

If a person dies without a will in Malaysia, the law calls it intestacy. In practical terms, everything the deceased owns is frozen until someone gets legal authority to gather, settle, and distribute the estate. That authority is called Letters of Administration, and it is granted by the civil High Court for larger or more complex estates, or through the small estates track where eligible. Because there is no named executor, the family must nominate an administrator, prove who the heirs are, and then follow a fixed formula of distribution set by law. Compared to probate with a valid will, intestacy usually takes longer and involves extra steps such as administrator bonds and, in many cases, a court hearing. Independent practitioners commonly note that probate can complete in a few months, while Letters of Administration can take twice as long, depending on complexity.

Malaysia does not apply a single set of intestacy rules to everyone. For non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, the Distribution Act 1958 sets out who inherits and in what proportions. Muslims are governed by Islamic inheritance principles known as Faraid, administered by the Syariah Courts. Sabah uses its own Intestate Succession Ordinance 1960 for non-Muslims. The result is that your faith and where you are domiciled matter. A helpful way to remember this is that the Distribution Act covers non-Muslims in West Malaysia and Sarawak, Faraid is exclusive to Muslims everywhere, and Sabah’s ordinance covers non-Muslim intestacy in that state.

For non-Muslims under the Distribution Act 1958, the formula is mechanical. If there is a spouse and children, the spouse receives one quarter and the children share one half. If parents are also alive, they take the remaining one quarter. If there is a spouse and parents but no children, the spouse takes one half and the parents take one half. If there are children but no spouse, the children share two thirds and the parents receive one third. If only the spouse survives, the spouse receives the whole estate, and the same principle applies to parents or children where they are the sole class. These proportions come directly from the Act’s schedule and have been widely summarised by the Malaysian Bar and legal practitioners.

Sabah’s ordinance has its own set of rules that resemble, but do not replicate, the Distribution Act. In Sabah, if there is no spouse, descendants, or parents, the law looks to siblings and their issue, then ascends to grandparents, then uncles and aunts, and in default the estate goes to the government of Sabah. Families with roots in Sabah should be aware that this is a separate statute and that its order of entitlement can differ in important ways from Peninsular practice.

For Muslims, Faraid applies fixed shares to eligible heirs under Islamic law, administered by the Syariah Court. Before assets are released, heirs generally obtain a Faraid certificate that lists all eligible beneficiaries and their fractions. This certificate is used to guide distribution and, where necessary, to coordinate with civil processes when particular assets require dealings in the land office or bank. The point is that even without a will, there is a formal route for identifying beneficiaries and their proportions under Islamic law.

The next layer is process. If there is no will, the family must appoint an administrator and apply for Letters of Administration. The administrator’s main tasks are to locate assets, pay debts and expenses, and only then distribute according to the applicable law. In practice, the administrator files to the High Court with supporting affidavits, asset schedules, and usually an administration bond if the estate exceeds a modest threshold. Because there is no named executor to prove a will, the court takes additional care in verifying the proper person to manage the estate and may require sureties. This is why applications for Letters of Administration often take longer than probate when a valid will exists.

Not every intestate estate goes straight to the High Court. Malaysia maintains a dedicated “small estates” track with the Estate Distribution office. In July 2024, the Small Estates (Distribution) (Amendment) Act 2022 came into force. Among other changes, it raised the threshold for small estates to any property, movable or immovable, up to a total of RM5 million and removed the previous requirement that the estate must include land to qualify. That reform expanded the number of estates that can be handled within the small estate system, which is designed to be more accessible and to consolidate distribution steps. Families can now initiate matters online through the MyLand portal for eligible estates.

This small estate route matters because it can reduce cost and time where the estate falls under the threshold. The Estate Distribution Officer can hear claims, determine heirs, and make distribution orders. The amendment also empowers limited Letters of Administration for specific purposes under that track. Where estates exceed the threshold, contain unusual assets, or require broader powers, the High Court route remains the norm. The point for families is that the intake door is not always the same. Getting the threshold and forum right can prevent delays.

EPF savings deserve special mention because many families expect these funds to support dependants quickly after death. EPF nominations are not the same for everyone. For non-Muslim members, the nominee is the direct beneficiary who takes the money as of right. For Muslim members, the nominee acts as an administrator or wasi who must distribute the EPF savings according to Faraid rather than keep the funds personally. EPF itself explains this difference clearly, and public statements by Amanah Raya have reinforced that nominees for Muslim accounts are administrators, not personal recipients. Keeping nominations current is therefore a practical step that sits outside your will and can make a major difference to how quickly cash reaches the family.

Other assets can have special rules or practical wrinkles. Insurance and takaful policies follow their own nomination regimes under the Financial Services Act and Islamic principles. Joint bank accounts sometimes operate with survivorship terms in the account mandate, but if there is a dispute, banks may freeze funds until a grant is produced. If there are overseas assets, a Malaysian grant may need to be resealed in that jurisdiction, or a local grant there may have to be resealed in Malaysia before dealings can proceed. These cross-border steps are mechanical but can add months, which is why early identification of foreign holdings helps.

So what actually happens in the first weeks after a death with no will. In practice, families gather the death certificate, list of assets and liabilities, marriage and birth records, and any proof of nominations. One or more family members agree to serve as administrator. If the estate qualifies for the small estate channel, the application is filed with the Estate Distribution office. If not, an Originating Summons for Letters of Administration is filed in the High Court together with supporting affidavits and, where required, sureties for the administration bond. Once a grant is issued, the administrator collects assets, pays funeral and estate expenses and debts, then distributes the balance in the proportions fixed by the applicable law. The timeline varies because banks, land offices, and other institutions have their own compliance steps before releasing assets, and these steps depend on having the correct grant.

It is worth noting that intestacy does not mean the government takes everything by default. The law sets a clear order of relatives who inherit first. Only when there are no entitled relatives left under the statute does an estate eventually default to the government, and even then, that is uncommon. Families sometimes assume that siblings or nieces and nephews will share automatically, but under the Distribution Act that only happens after closer relatives are exhausted. Recent case law has clarified that siblings inherit only in the absence of spouse, issue, and parents. The order is strict, which is why planning matters for blended or more complex families who want to provide for people outside that ladder.

What if part of the estate is covered by a will but other parts are not. The Distribution Act applies to any part for which there is no effective testamentary direction. In other words, a partial will does not avoid intestacy for the rest. Administrators and executors may both be involved, with the court supervising each grant. Careful drafting can avoid this scenario, but if it happens, the law splits the work: probate for the items covered by the will and administration for the residue.

There are a few citizen-facing questions that come up often. If you are a non-Muslim spouse with minor children, your share in an intestacy will be the fraction set by statute, with the children’s share held for them and managed according to guardianship and trust rules. If you are Muslim, the fractions follow Faraid and depend on the composition of your family at the time of death. If you live in Sabah and are a non-Muslim, the Sabah ordinance applies, which can alter the order of priority among siblings and extended relatives. If your estate is largely EPF savings, your EPF nomination will control how quickly those funds reach the named person and, for Muslims, how the wasi will pass them out under the Faraid certificate. If you hold property in different states or countries, expect additional steps such as resealing, which lengthen administration.

The final practical point is administration capacity. Administrators shoulder fiduciary duties and personal risk if they misapply funds. Some families prefer to appoint the Public Trustee, Amanah Raya Berhad, to handle administration, especially where beneficiaries are minors, relationships are strained, or assets are scattered. Others appoint a professional with knowledge of both civil and Syariah processes for mixed issues. The important thing is not the label, but whether the person or institution can gather the assets, complete the compliance steps, and distribute according to the law that applies to your family.

If you prefer to avoid this default route, a valid will can change two things. First, it lets you appoint an executor who can act more quickly under probate than a court-appointed administrator usually can under intestacy. Second, it lets you decide who receives your assets rather than rely on fixed fractions that might not match your family’s needs. Even where nominations sit outside the will, such as EPF for non-Muslims or administrator appointments for Muslim EPF accounts, aligning your will and nominations reduces delays and disputes. Intestacy is a safety net. A will still offers a cleaner way to pass on what you own.