An Introduction to Wills and Trusts

Estate planning is the essential process of preparing for the management and transfer of your assets after your death or incapacitation, and the two most common legal tools used to accomplish this are a Will and a Trust. While both documents serve the ultimate goal of directing how property should be distributed, they operate in fundamentally different ways.
 

A Last Will and Testament is a legal document that only takes effect upon your death. Its primary functions are to nominate an Executor (or Personal Representative) to manage your final affairs, specify who inherits your property (your beneficiaries), and, critically, name a guardian for any minor children. The main drawback of a Will is that the assets it covers must generally go through probate, which is the public, court-supervised process of validating the Will, paying debts, and distributing the estate, which can often be time-consuming and expensive. If you die without a valid Will, your estate is considered intestate, and state law dictates the distribution of your assets, often leading to unintended results and family disputes.
 

A Trust, by contrast, is a fiduciary arrangement that can take effect immediately upon creation and funding (transferring asset titles into the name of the Trust). It involves three key parties: the Grantor (you, who creates the Trust), the Trustee (the person or entity who manages the assets according to the Trust's terms), and the Beneficiary (who receives the assets). The core advantage of a Trust is that assets held within it typically avoid probate, offering greater privacy, faster distribution to heirs, and ongoing control over how and when assets are disbursed, even long after the Grantor has passed away. Trusts can be Revocable (meaning you can change or cancel them while alive, like a Living Trust) or Irrevocable (meaning they generally cannot be changed and are often used for advanced tax savings or asset protection).
 

In comprehensive estate planning, these documents often work together. Many individuals who create a Trust will still execute a Pour-Over Will. This Will acts as a safety net, ensuring that any assets inadvertently left outside of the Trust at the time of death are legally "poured over" into the Trust to be managed according to its private, probate-avoiding terms.

Unclamined Money

Saturday, 17 May 2025 5:32 PM MYT

BATU PAHAT, May 17 — A total of RM13.3 billion in Unclaimed Money (WTD) was recorded by the Accountant General’s Department (JANM) until last April.

Accountant General Nor Yati Ahmad revealed that since the establishment of the unclaimed money (WTD) system in 1977, only about RM4 billion has been successfully claimed by rightful owners or their heirs.

She said this situation likely occurred because many individuals or their heirs were either unaware that they had unclaimed money records or had never taken the initiative to check with the Accountant General’s Department of Malaysia (JANM).

“They can actually check or submit a claim application via the official portal or eGumis application and go to JANM branches in each state.

“We will also continue to intensify promotions and field activities to publicise the existence of this WTD because it can only be issued by the owner or heir,” she told reporters after opening the Kampung Angkat Madani (KAM) and Santuni Madani Programme at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Minyak Beku, here, today.

Meanwhile, speaking about the KAM programme, she said that various activities were organised to support the local community and implement development projects, particularly those involving infrastructure improvements.
 

He explained that in addition to the WTD counter, opened in collaboration with Bank Rakyat for the opening of children’s savings accounts with a RM20 incentive per account, several other community-focused activities were also carried out.

“Among the physical development projects were upgrading water supply pipelines, repairing Islamic halls, constructing cemetery fences, enhancing funeral management facilities, and handing over a funeral van,” she said.

She said the KAM programme aims to bridge the development gap between rural and urban areas by improving essential infrastructure, community facilities, and ensuring internet access is not overlooked.

She noted that the implementation of KAM in Johor marks the second such initiative after its successful rollout in Kampung Lubuk Antu, Sarawak, last year. — Bernama