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Distribution of Estate
for Intestate 
If one dies without leaving a Will

It is not strange to know that many people have not got a will or a valid will. If one dies without a Will, then he/she is said to have died
intestate. The deceased would, unfortunately, had lost his/her rights to distribute the estates according to his/her wishes because the
Distribution of Estate Act 1958 applies.  If a person dies leaving a Will to dispose of his property but part of his property is not disposed
under the Will, then such property not disposed of shall be distributed in the manner provided by the said Act.

C o ns ult at io n
Section 6 of the said Act provides that if a person dies intestate his/her estate shall be distributed in accordance with who is left behind
by the deceased (known as the surviving family members) as follow:-
 

Spouse only
100% of the estate goes to the spouse

Issue Only
100% of the estate goes to the issue (see definition of issue)

Parent(s) Only
100% of the estate goes to the parents, in equal shares, if both parents survived before deceased

Spouse & Issue

Spouse is entitled to 1/3 of the estates
Issue entitled to 2/3 of the estates in equal shares

Spouse & Parent(s)

Spouse is entitled to 1/2 of the estates
Parent(s) entitled to 1/2 of the estates in equal shares, if both parent survived the deceased

Parent(s) and Issue

Parent(s) is entitled to 1/3 of the estates
:
 Parent(s) is entitled to 1/3 of the estates
Issue entitled to 2/3 of the estates in equal shares

Spouse, Parent(s) & Issue

Spouse is entitled to 1/4 of the estates
Issue entitled to 1/2 of the estates in equal shares
Parent(s) is entitled to 1/4 of the estates

Does the distribution of the estate goes to grandchildren?

The word 'issue' includes children and the descendants of the deceased children, therefore distribution of the
estate would go to deceased grandchildren if deceased children died before deceased, as illustrated in the
following chart:-

Explanation of the Above Distribution

:
 Deceased died intestate, leaving no spouse and no parents. He has 3 children but his first child predeceased
him, leaving 2 children, whom is also deceased's grandchildren. Deceased estate shall be distributed in 4 equal
shares (as there are 4 issues) as follow:-
Second Child - 1/4
Third Child - 1/4
The share of the Eldest Child, who had predeceased the Deceased , will go to the Grandchild (also the
children of the Eldest Child. Hence the Grandchild will each receive 1/4 of the estate.

It is important to note that the children of the Second Child & Third Child of Deceased are not entitled to
Deceased's estate as they do not fall within the ambit of Issue (descendants of the deceased children) 

What if one dies leaving behind no spouse, no issue and If a person dies without leaving a spouse, issue or parents, then
no parents?
the following person/body shall be able to claim deceased
estate:-

Brothers and sisters - Equal Shares

Grandparent(s) - Equal Shares
Uncles & Aunts - Equal Shares
Great Grandparent(s) - Equal Shares
Great Uncles & Aunts - Equal Shares
Governement - Whole Estate

If you would like to write a will, speak to us so that we can guide you through the process to build a strong Will
that has taken into all vital considerations so that your loved ones are properly cared after you are gone.

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Expertise Lawyers Locations

Family & Matrimonial Law Dato Chris Chin  Headquarter

Employment & Labour Law Shayne Thum  C-27-1 KL Trillion No.338 Jalan Tun Razak 50400 Kuala
Lumpur Malaysia
Regene Ng 
Commercial & Corporate

Contract Law Harvinderjit Singh +603-27269601

Tan Han Rui
Succession
Uma Rani +6010-2354768
Defamation

Trust & Estate Planning

Real Estate
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Real Estate

Branch
C3-3-15, Solaris Dutamas, No. 1 Jalan Dutamas
1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

+603-6411 8871

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