Maybank Singapore Limited v Personal representatives of the estate of Khoo Gek Hwa Christina, deceased [2022] SGHCR 7
Significance: The Assistant Registrar set out practical guidance on the procedure for starting a suit against a deceased’s estate at [98]:
(a) The plaintiff should first ascertain whether a grant of probate or administration has been made in respect of the estate.
(b) Where a grant of probate or administration has been made at the time the action is to be commenced, the action should be brought against the personal representative (i.e. the executor or administrator) directly, albeit, the personal representative is to be sued in a representative capacity and not a personal one. There is no need for the plaintiff to apply for an order under O 15 r 6A(4)(a) for the personal representatives to be appointed to represent the estate for the purpose of the proceedings.
(c) Where a grant of probate or administration has not been made at the time the action is to be commenced, the action should be brought against the estate. The plaintiff must then, during the period of validity of the originating process, apply to the Court for an order appointing a person to represent the estate for the purpose of the proceedings.
(i) Before making an application to Court, the plaintiff should exercise reasonable efforts to ascertain an appropriate person (or persons) who can be appointed to represent the estate. This minimally requires the plaintiff to ascertain whether a grant of probate or administration has been made after the action was commenced, which can be readily done by conducting a cause book search. Where a grant or probate or administration has still not been made, the plaintiff should exercise reasonable efforts to ascertain the identity of persons who have an interest in the estate. These might include potential beneficiaries, family members or friends. The plaintiff should also exercise reasonable efforts to ascertain whether such persons (if any) have objections to being appointed under O 15 r 6A(4)(a) to represent the estate for the purpose of the proceedings, and if so, the reasons.
(ii) Where a grant of probate or administration is made after the action is commenced, the application under O 15 r 6 (4)(a) should be for the personal representative (or personal representatives) to be made party to the proceedings.
(iii) Where a grant of probate or administration has still not been made after the action is commenced, the application should be to appoint an appropriate person (or persons) to represent the estate in the proceedings. In the first instance, when filing the application, the plaintiff has a choice in deciding who it wishes to put forward as the appointee. But regardless of the plaintiff’s choice, the plaintiff should give notice to other persons having an interest in the estate (who they are aware of after making reasonable inquiries), to give them the opportunity to object to the proposed appointment or decide whether they wish to be appointed instead.
(iv) Ordinarily, an application to appoint the PT to represent the estate under O 15 r 6A should not be made in the first instance, especially if the PT consents to only accepting service of the originating process and not to taking further steps in the proceedings. An application to appoint the PT to represent the estate for the limited purpose of accepting service of an originating process should only be made where there are reasons justifying such an application, such as where a limitation period is expiring, which might complicate the extension of the validity of the originating process for service. In any event, if the plaintiff proposes to appoint the PT, the PT’s position should be ascertained before filing the application.