Legal documents no longer needed for small claims on a deceased's CDP assets

Relatives of those who die without having made a will now do not need to obtain legal documentation to claim a deceased person’s assets held with the Central Depository (CDP), if the assets are valued at not more than S$5,000.

The change in the claims process, which takes effect on Tuesday (Nov 19), means that relatives of those with assets of S$5,000 and below need not incur legal costs that could exceed the value of the claim, said Loh Boon Chye, the chief executive officer of Singapore Exchange (SGX) Group.

The change is also expected to reduce the processing time for such claims.

CDP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SGX, provides clearing, settlement and depository services for products in the Singapore securities market. SGX Group worked with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Public Trustee’s Office, which is under the Law Ministry, to simplify the claims process.

To minimise the risk of disputes on claims, applicants must fulfil certain conditions before submitting an application for their claims to CDP, said the group.

For example, they have to obtain signed letters of consent from all other beneficiaries to ensure there are no competing claims on the assets under the rules for distributing the estate of someone who dies without a will.

If the applicant is not the deceased person’s nearest living relative, the applicant must obtain consent from the deceased person’s nearest living relative for CDP’s disclosure of the deceased person’s personal data to the applicant.

Francis Ng, the public trustee at the Ministry of Law, said: “With this new procedure, we hope to relieve the administrative burden on family members of deceased persons, which will particularly benefit those facing difficult financial circumstances.”

Source: Business Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.

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