Lim Julian Frederick Yu v Lim Peng On: Will Interpretation & Beneficiary Qualification

In Lim Julian Frederick Yu v Lim Peng On, the Singapore High Court addressed an originating claim regarding the interpretation of the will of the late Lim Koon Yew. Julian Frederick Yu Lim, the claimant, sought 20% of the estate, arguing he was the sole beneficiary under the will's Grandson Gift Clause. The court, presided over by Philip Jeyaretnam J, found that while Julian was a surviving grandson, he did not meet the codicil's requirement of being in his father's custody, care, and control. Consequently, the court dismissed Julian's claim.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

General Division of the High Court

1.2 Outcome

Claim Dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Probate

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Singapore High Court case concerning will interpretation. Court held claimant was not a qualifying beneficiary due to not meeting custody requirements.

1.7 Decision Date

26 February 2024

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Julian Frederick Yu Lim	Claimant	Individual	Claim Dismissed	Lost	Seah Yong Quan Terence of JWS Asia Law Corporation Wong Ying Joleen of JWS Asia Law Corporation Joavan Christopher Pereira of JWS Asia Law Corporation
Lim Peng On	Defendant	Individual	Neutral	Neutral
Lim Toong Cheng Thomas	Defendant	Individual	Won	Won	Tng Soon Chye of Tng Soon Chye & Co

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Philip Jeyaretnam	Judge of the High Court	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Seah Yong Quan Terence	JWS Asia Law Corporation
Wong Ying Joleen	JWS Asia Law Corporation
Joavan Christopher Pereira	JWS Asia Law Corporation
Tng Soon Chye	Tng Soon Chye & Co

4. Facts

The testator bequeathed 20% of his estate to grandsons born of his sons, subject to certain conditions.
A codicil added a requirement that the grandson be in the custody, care, and control of his father.
The claimant was born before the testator's death but his parents divorced, with custody granted to his mother.
The claimant's father moved to Singapore while the claimant and his mother remained in Japan.
The testator expressed concern that the inheritance might indirectly benefit the claimant's mother if he was not in his father's custody.
The divorce decree nisi granted custody of Julian to his mother in 1999.
The testator died on 21 October 1992.

5. Formal Citations

Lim Julian Frederick YuvLim Peng On (as executor and trustee of the estate of Lim Koon Yew (alias Lim Kuen Yew), deceased) and another, Originating Claim No 233 of 2022, [2024] SGHC 53

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1992-01-01	Peng On moved to Singapore from Japan.
1992-02-01	The Testator arranged a lunch meeting in February 1992.
1992-03-01	The Testator had a cardiothoracic aneurysm.
1992-06-09	The Testator signed the Will.
1992-10-20	The Testator signed the Codicil at the hospital.
1992-10-21	The Testator passed away at the hospital.
1993-02-12	The High Court granted probate of the Estate to Peng On and Thomas.
1993-12-01	Julian’s mother left Japan to live in Hong Kong while Julian remained behind in Japan.
1999-05-10	Julian’s mother filed a petition for divorce against Peng On in the Hong Kong District Court.
1999-10-22	The Judge of the Hong Kong District Court granted a divorce decree nisi which ordered that Julian would be in the custody of his mother, with reasonable access granted to Peng On.
1999-12-09	That decree nisi was made absolute.
2022-08-31	Julian instituted his suit in HC/OC 233/2022 against the executors of the Estate, Peng On and Thomas.
2023-01-17	Julian filed an application for summary judgment against Thomas in HC/SUM 147/2023.
2023-04-03	I granted Thomas unconditional leave to defend OC 233 with costs of HC/SUM 147/2023 to be in the cause (see the order in HC/ORC 1595/2023).
2024-01-23	Hearing Transcript for HC/OC 233/2022 dated 23 January 2024
2024-01-24	Hearing Transcript for HC/OC 233/2022 dated 24 January 2024
2024-01-25	Hearing Transcript for HC/OC 233/2022 dated 25 January 2024
2024-01-30	Hearing Transcript for HC/OC 233/2022 dated 30 January 2024
2024-01-30	Julian’s counsel made an oral application to amend the statement of claim by including a prayer for declaratory relief to the effect that Julian is a qualifying beneficiary under the Will.
2024-02-01	Hearing Transcript for HC/OC 233/2022 dated 1 February 2024
2024-02-27	Judgment reserved.

7. Legal Issues

Will Interpretation
- Outcome: The court interpreted the will to include grandsons born before and after the testator's death but found the claimant did not meet the custody requirements.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Construction of 'surviving grandsons'
  - Meaning of 'custody, care and control'
  - Conditions for grandsons to qualify as beneficiaries
Beneficiary Qualification
- Outcome: The court held that the claimant did not satisfy the custody, care, and control requirement as of 21 years after the testator's death.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Satisfaction of custody, care and control requirement
  - Date for determining beneficiary qualification
Admissibility of Evidence
- Outcome: The court ruled that the out-of-court statements of the claimant's mother were inadmissible due to non-compliance with notice requirements.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Hearsay evidence
  - Compliance with Rules of Court
  - Application of Evidence Act

8. Remedies Sought

Transfer of properties representing 20% of the estate
Account of the administration of the estate
Equitable compensation for breaches of fiduciary duty

9. Cause of Actions

Claim for share of estate under will

10. Practice Areas

Probate Litigation
Trust Litigation

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Perrin and others v Morgan and others	N/A	Yes	[1943] AC 399	N/A	Cited for the cardinal rule of construction that a will should be construed to give effect to the testator's intention.
Foo Jee Seng and others v Foo Jhee Tuang and another	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2012] 4 SLR 339	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the testator’s intention must predominantly be derived from the wording of the will itself.
Goh Nellie v Goh Lian Teck and others	N/A	Yes	[2007] 1 SLR(R) 453	N/A	Cited for the principle that the court should compare and contrast identical words used in different parts of the will.
Chan Yun Cheong (trustee of the will of the testator) v Chan Chi Cheong (trustee of the will of the testator)	N/A	Yes	[2021] 2 SLR 67	N/A	Cited for the principle that wills should be construed purposively and not literally and pedantically.
Roy S Selvarajah v Public Prosecutor	N/A	Yes	[1998] 3 SLR(R) 119	N/A	Cited regarding the admissibility of evidence under the Evidence Act.
Lee Chez Kee v Public Prosecutor	N/A	Yes	[2008] 3 SLR(R) 447	N/A	Cited regarding the admissibility of evidence under the Evidence Act.
Keimfarben GmbH & Co KG v Soo Nam Yuen	N/A	Yes	[2004] 3 SLR(R) 534	N/A	Cited regarding the admissibility of evidence under the Evidence Act.
Haw Wan Sin David and another v Kwek Siang Ling Wendy and others	High Court	Yes	[2023] SGHC 171	Singapore	Cited regarding the admissibility of evidence under the Evidence Act.
CX v CY (minor: custody and access)	N/A	Yes	[2005] 3 SLR(R) 690	N/A	Cited for the definition of custody and care and control.
AQL v AQM	N/A	Yes	[2012] 1 SLR 840	N/A	Cited for the definition of care and control.
TAU v TAT	N/A	Yes	[2018] 5 SLR 1089	N/A	Cited for the definition of care and control.
VJM v VJL and another appeal	N/A	Yes	[2021] 5 SLR 1233	N/A	Cited for the principle that custody and care and control are legal constructs.
VET v VEU	N/A	Yes	[2020] 4 SLR 1120	N/A	Cited for the principle that custody and care and control are legal constructs.
Gimpex Ltd v Unity Holdings Business Ltd and others and another appeal	N/A	Yes	[2015] 2 SLR 686	N/A	Cited regarding non-compliance with rules of court.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
Rules of Court 2021

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Evidence Act 1893	Singapore
Wills Act 1838	N/A

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Will
Codicil
Grandson Gift Clause
Custody Care and Control Requirement
Beneficiary
Testator
Estate
Probate

15.2 Keywords

Will interpretation
Beneficiary qualification
Custody
Care and control
Estate
Probate
Singapore High Court

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Wills and Probate	95
Succession Law	90
Will Interpretation	80
Codicils	70
Trust Law	40
Property Law	15

16. Subjects

Wills and Estates
Trusts
Family Law
Civil Procedure