Re Will and Codicil of Tan Tye, deceased (No 2)

Re Will and Codicil of Tan Tye, deceased (No 2)

The phrase "male issue (not including adopted male) as shall then be living" in the 1896 will means male descendants in the exclusively male line alive on the distribution date (11 January 2003); adopted males and descendants tracing through female lines are excluded; a predeceased male beneficiary did not take a vested share that passed to his estate at distribution.

Citation
[2004] SGHC 103
Parties
Applicant/trustee: Trustees (applicants); Claimants: Claimants (various); Deceased/testator: Tan Tye
Court
General Division of the High Court
Jurisdiction
Singapore
Judgment Date
21 May 2004
Case Number
OS 1210/1992
Procedural Posture
Originating Summons Construction of Will (succession) / Final Determination on Construction of Will; Judgment Delivered; Costs Reserved
Outcome
Application granted in part: distribution of corpus limited to male-line male descendants living on the distribution date; other classes excluded; costs to be assessed after submissions.
Legal Topics
Will Construction, Perpetuity, Meaning of "male Issue", Adoption and Inheritance, En Ventre Sa Mere, Issue Estoppel
Source Language
English
Succession and Wills Res Judicata Will Construction Perpetuity Meaning of "male Issue" Adoption and Inheritance En Ventre Sa Mere Issue Estoppel

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Parties

Trustees (applicants)

Applicant/trustee

Claimants (various)

Claimants

Tan Tye

Deceased/testator

Procedural Posture

Originating Summons Construction of Will (succession) / Final Determination on Construction of Will; Judgment Delivered; Costs Reserved

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether earlier judgment (1926) precluded further determination (res judicata/issue estoppel)
  2. 2 True meaning of the phrase "male issue (not including adopted male) as shall then be living" in the 1896 will
  3. 3 Whether male descendants through female line, adopted lines, predeceased son's estate or persons en ventre sa mere are entitled to share in the corpus on the distribution date

Ratio Decidendi

The phrase "male issue (not including adopted male) as shall then be living" in the 1896 will means male descendants in the exclusively male line alive on the distribution date (11 January 2003); adopted males and descendants tracing through female lines are excluded; a predeceased male beneficiary did not take a vested share that passed to his estate at distribution.

Court Disposition

Application granted in part: distribution of corpus limited to male-line male descendants living on the distribution date; other classes excluded; costs to be assessed after submissions.

Orders

  • Trustees declared entitled to distribute corpus to male issue in the exclusively male line who were living on the distribution date (11 January 2003).
  • Persons in classes (b),(c) and (d) (male issue tracing from adopted son Tan Kiok Poh; male issue through daughters; male descendants of adopted lines) are not entitled to share in the corpus.