If I do not have a Will, are my children who are born out of wedlock (i.e. illegitimate children) entitled to part of my estate?

Based on Singapore’s Intestate Succession Act (ISA), “children” of deceased parent(s) (who do not have a Will) are entitled to part or all of the estate.

However, “children” is also only defined as legitimate children and children adopted by virtue of orders of court in Singapore, Malaysia or Brunei Darussalam. A legitimate child is a child born to parents who are married to each other. A child whose parents married each other after his or her birth is also considered a legitimate child.

This means that if a child is illegitimate (e.g. born out of wedlock), based on ISA’s distribution the child will receive NOTHING from his/her biological father.

While it is the same on the mother’s side, there is ONE exception. Based on section 10 of the Legitimacy Act 1934, if the mother of an illegitimate child dies without any surviving legitimate children, based on ISA the mother’s estate would be distributed as if the illegitimate child is legitimate.

The issue is easily resolved by doing up a Will and allocating the estate to the illegitimate child(ren) accordingly.