Why Is There A Difference In The Application Process For A Grant Of Letters Of Administration If There Are Minor Beneficiaries?

Introduction

A common question posed by potential clients is why there's such a difference in costs and procedure for a Grant of Letters of Administration whenever there are minor beneficiaries to the estate of a deceased party.

Generally, the application process is easier when no minor beneficiaries are involved, requiring only one administrator, and no need for any sureties to the estate. When minor beneficiaries are involved, the Singapore Court needs to protect the interests of the minors, and the application for a Grant of Letters of Administration becomes more complex.

What Are Minor Beneficiaries?

In Singapore, a person is considered a minor if he/she is below the age of 21. Therefore, a minor beneficary is a person who has not yet reached the age of 21, and who stands to benefit from the distribution of the estate of the deceased person under Singapore’s Intestacy Law.

Minor beneficiaries are unable to access any inheritance left to them by the deceased person, until they reach the majority age of 21.

The assets of the estate of the deceased party meant for the minor beneficiary will be held by the administrators of the estate, and will be distributed appropriately and accordingly to the minor beneficiary when he or she turns 21.

What Is The Difference In The Application Process For A Grant Of Letters Of Administration?

Typically, where there are no minor beneficiaries, the application process for a grant of Letters of Administration is fairly straightforward, requiring a minimum of 1 administrator to handle the distribution of the deceased person’s estate.

However, when there are minor beneficiaries involved, the Singapore Court needs to protect the interests of the minor beneficiaries. In order to do so, the Court requires a minimum of 2 joint-administrators, or one administrator and one co-administrator. Additionally, 2 sureties will also have to be appointed in the application for the Grant whenever minor beneficiaries are involved. A surety's role is similar to that of a guarantor to the estate, He/she is an individual who assumes the duty of paying the minor's share of the estate, in the event the administrator defaults on the obligation.

As such, the application for the Grant of Letters of Administration in Singapore becomes more complex whenever minor beneficiaries are involved. Aside from the occasional difficulty of finding a co-administrator if there is no adult joint administrator, generally, it is quite an onerous task to find 2 sureties who are willing to assume the responsibility of "guaranteeing" the minor's share of the estate.

On many occasions, applicants tend to face great difficulty in finding sureties to do so, particularly when the minor's share of the deceased's estate is substantial. While there are workarounds to this dilemma, these workarounds involve additional applications to the Court, which take up additional time and documentation.

The administrators may wish to apply for a Summons for Dispensation of Sureties, and to provide the details of why they are unable to provide for 2 sureties in their application for the Grant of Letters of Administration.

Generally speaking, due to the reasons listed above, the application process for the Grant of Letters of Administration becomes a lot more complicated once minors are involved, and the time frame for such applications to complete tend to take much longer than applications for a Grant of Letters of Administration when there are no minor beneficiaries involved.

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If you are contemplating your options with respect to applying for a Grant of Letters of Administration with minor beneficiaries, we can assist. Just get in touch with us through our contact form below and we will follow up with you regarding your matter.

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