Singapore legislation
Section 4
Section 4
Time within which application must be made
(1)
Except as provided by this section or section 6, an order under this Act shall not be made save on an application made within 6 months from the date on which representation in regard to the deceased’s estate is first taken out.
(2)
If it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the limitation to the said period of 6 months would operate unfairly —
in consequence of the discovery of a will or codicil involving a substantial change in the disposition of the deceased’s estate (whether or not involving a further grant of representation);
in consequence of a question whether a person had an interest in the estate; or as to the nature of an interest in the estate, not having been determined at the time when representation was first taken out; or
in consequence of some other circumstances affecting the administration or distribution of the estate,the court may extend that period.
(3)
The provisions of this Act shall not render the personal representatives of the deceased liable for having distributed any part of the estate of the deceased after the expiration of the said period of 6 months on the ground that they ought to have taken into account the possibility that the court might exercise its power to extend that period, but this subsection shall be without prejudice to any power to recover any part of the estate so distributed arising by virtue of the making of an order under this Act.
(4)
In considering under this section the question when representation was first taken out, a grant limited to trust property shall be left out of account unless a grant limited to the remainder of the estate has previously been made or is made at the same time.
(5)
For the purposes of sections 18(2) and 39 of the Probate and Administration Act 1934 a dependant of a deceased person by whom or on whose behalf an application made under this Act is proposed to be made shall be deemed to be a person interested in his estate.