At some point in time, the estate of the deceased needs to be distributed and transferred to beneficiaries. (“The estate” means all the assets the deceased owned.)
Banks, insurance companies, the Singapore Land Authority (“SLA”), Housing Development Board (“HDB”), Singapore Exchange (“SGX”)/ Central Depository, Land Transport Authority (“LTA”), as well as other financial and property related entities, require the Executor to be authorised by the Court and be given a copy of this Court document before they will permit the transfers of assets.
The document issued by the Court that authorises the Executor and is known as the Grant of Probate.
Resealing Grant of Probate for Foreign Assets
If the deceased has assets in other countries besides Singapore then the Grant of Probate has to be also resealed in the Court where the assets are. Resealing of a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration is the process of obtaining the subsequent authorisation by the Court of a second country after the Grant has been obtained in the Court of the first country.
By way of illustration, if a Malaysian died in Malaysia with assets in both Malaysia and Singapore, it is common for the original Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration to be obtained from a Malaysian Court and then resealed in Singapore and vice versa.
It is important for the assets of deceased in the second country to be included in the list of assets of the original Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration of the Court of the first country.
If the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration is to be resealed in Singapore, English translations of some documents are required by Singapore Courts.
