Methods of Identifying Land Titles and Beneficiaries Relating To Unclaimed

METHODS OF IDENTIFYING LAND TITLES AND BENEFICIARIES RELATING TO UNCLAIMED MUSLIM ESTATES

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohammad Tahir Sabit Haji Mohammad

&

Dr. Robiah Suratman

[Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)]

ABSTRACT

Estate is referred to the property left by a deceased person after his death. An estate is considered unclaimed if the beneficiaries of the deceased do not apply for letters of administration, probate, and distribution order by court  or Land Office. One possible reason is the difficulty to track the owners and their heirs. In addition there is also possibility of various land titles that carries clear identification of the owners but they still remain estates that ought to be distributed which for one or another reason they are not claimed, and lawfully given to the right heirs and beneficiaries. To clear the backlog of the unclaimed titles, identify new estates, and then distribute them, a good practicable method of identification of estates and tracking heirs is needed. This study was undertaken to establish a method to identify land titles and tracking heirs of unclaimed estates. This is a multipartite and multistage research, which requires specific methods. The theoretical part involved a comparative of law found in primary and secondary legal sources. This will consist of the study of old law such as Kelantan Land Settlement Act 1955, Perlis Land Settlement Act 1956, and existing laws and regulations relating to escheat. The second part of research looks at the methods of identification of unclaimed estates and tracking the heirs of deceased from perspective of their effectiveness and efficiency. The empirical part included the refinement of methods and testing them. These methods were used for data analysis, existing in Land Office, National Registration Office, Majlis Agama Islam Johor and Jabatan Agama Islam Johar. The final output of this research is in the form of propose appropriate course of action which could expedite the clearing of backlog of unclaimed estates in Land Office, and other agencies holding unclaimed estates.

(Keywords: Estate, unclaimed, intestate, escheat, inheritance law).