Hi all,

My father passed away in 1987 and did not have a will. I recently found out that he was the co-owner of a house in KL with 3 of his siblings (3 of my uncles).

Question: Can I still do house ownership transfer from my father to me? Can the other 3 co-owners sell the house / delete my father name as the co-owner of the house?

What should I do now?

Thank you for reading and any advice is welcomed.

Dear TS,
Your case is gonna be very complicated and you should consult a Lawyer but I will try to give you some general advice.

Your dad died without a Will and hence, his share of the property (1/4) will be divided in accordance to the Distribution Act. Please read some of the links below for some general guidance.

http://www.hba.org.my/articles/lawyers/2006/when.htm

http://ironwills.com.my/how-your-estate-is...-intestate.html

http://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/mal134802.pdf

Now, the case is gonna get very complicated if the following scenario happens.

Assuming that your Mum was still alive when your Dad passed away and you and your siblings were all alive, your Dad share would have gone to your Mother and you / your siblings.

Now if any of your mum passed away or your siblings (touch wood) passed away, your Dad share will be further sub-divided amongst their beneficiaries (regardless if they had a will or not).

So it’s a real mess and you need a Lawyer to advice you. I shall summon one of our legal adviser in lowyat bearbearwong for his expert advice

Now as far as the Law is concerned, unless your uncles used some sneaky / illegal ways, they cannot remove your late Dad name from the Property. This is provided that the Title was actually registered under his Joint Name.

If for some reason, your late dad name was registered and now has been removed, as so many years have passed, your case has been time barred under the Limitation Act, which is 6-years. So, just hope your uncles did not pull a fast one on you.

http://vpnathan-partners.com.my/pdf2/LIMIT...0ACT%201953.pdf

What you need to do is to talk to your uncles about this land. If your uncles have also passed away, then this case gets even more complicated as their share will also be sub-divided amongst their beneficiaries

Moral of story, never buy property under joint name – save for spouse and only if really have to. Else, the Will is a better way to safeguard this mess when one party dies.

PS - Ultimately, you will need to find a Lawyer for this.

vp nathan do accident nia... lol.. expert lai de..

this should be an inherited properties from older generations...

TS can step into the shoes of your parents by getting an LA just for the 1/4 share in the property in KL

but it is not convenient to do so... normally ppl will do all the stages together inclusive of your uncles shares in the property...

so the decision is to sell or buy over by any uncles or yourgoodselves... need to be decided... keeping the property under so many names will cause more problems if the uncles passed away..

I am assuming the said property one of the uncles are staying in.. so it will be hard to sell...maybe ask the other uncles to buy off the shares of the rest.. (if you are ok with cash division)

to do this you really would need a lawyer to do the said case..

first thing first... got consensus to sell or buy over by any uncles
second thing to agree who to become the administrator of the said property... more than 1 also can (if not in good terms)
third ting find a lawyer get the price shopping list on..
fourth how much is the property? if more than 2 million go court.. if less than that division via land office (cheaper)

my 2 kicimiao cents

we can summons higher power individuals (which can cause turbulence in the Court of appeal and Federal court with confirm reversal of decision without the need of any locus standii and will do it pro bono (free)

a) aromachong
b) Edyek highest honour in LYN for its jurisprudential point of views

Thanks for the reply. Yes it is an inherited properties from my grandparents. I no longer stay in touch with the other 3 co-owners and last time we met was around 15 years ago. Recently I found out that they wish to sell the property. However, The other 3 co-owners sounded suspicious and refuse to talk much.

My mother and siblings agreed that the 1/4 shares owned by my father should be given be me alone. Is it possible to have the 1/4 ownership changed to me after this many years? How long is the process takes and what is the cost (including lawyer fees)?

Apologize for the number of questions as I was given contradict information by difference lawyers as they seems to confuse on KL land law and it is inconvenient for me to go KL multiple times.

p/s: 2 of my uncles are still alive while the other 1 has passed away and his 1/4 shares has been given to his eldest son.

it is totally possible.. it is your rights.. but limited to 1/4 shares (provided ur mom and other siblings agrees so to the extend to sign the waiver form as they are entitled under the law).. the case can take within 2 months to settle .. that is provided consensus to sell/ or buy over offer is made...

all the uncles or their next of kin agrees to sell... or someone to buy over.. so if your 2 uncles (living ones) and the other who hold 1/4 shares uncle and your goodselves agrees.. then easy sell/buy over

regarding the cost.. it depends.. on whether other uncles are finding lawyers or not and complicated or not... but as a general rule 5k minimum and above.. but this cost (can discuss with other uncles to deduct from the sale of land if they all agree to sell)

so,

1) you have consensus among family members i.e ur mom and siblings to give you all the shares 1/4
2) then 2 of the uncles, you and another 1/4 shares must come to consensus to sell/someone to buy over

no.2 will post the most headache if no consensus... they cannot proceed to sell off the land by ur uncles untill and unless and administrator is appointed.... this however if they do the backdoor way... they can get grant of administrator.. but still liable to pay you the 1/4 share if they sell..
how they bypass.. land office punya letter of waiver..

Thank you very much for the reply and clarification. I have much better idea on how to deal with such situation. Cheers!

ok..

Don't forget to post the outcome here if you don't mine.

It would be wise to consult a lawyer on this matter and also discussion with your family member.

Which is why it's important to have estate planning. I always advise my customer to do so but seems to go to the walls. Now things will get complicated and will take awhile to resolve the issue.

Hope you'll get your outcome soon

Helo, boss… long time no see…summon me ah…. way… u reply all question like a pro.. still need me this half tong come comment ah?

your cents mana ada kicimiao… ur opinion is besar mcm bear bear…

http://www.kptg.gov.my/ms/content/pembahagian-harta-pusaka
I think you can go to this channel. Last time I also face this kind of problem. My late father co-owned a land under master title.

Thanks for the information. I already sent the documents to the office around a month ago. Last time in your case, how long did you wait until they ask you to go for the bicara?