Case Illustration

Case Illustration

1. The deceased, a wealthy man, has a mistress and has been emotionally detached for a long time from his wife whom he had married for 20 years. The deceased does not want to pay a dime of maintenance to his wife and hence never divorced his wife. Instead, he made a will giving all his assets to his mistress. The deceased and the wife are childless.

The wife may apply for maintenance and she has a good chance to be given a substantive share from the estate.

2. The deceased, a wealthy widower, has 3 adult sons, namely, A, B & C. Sons A and B are both highly-educated and highly-paid professionals. Son C, however, is physically handicapped and is earning minimum wages all along. Physically handicapped though he is, Son C has been a loving and caring son to the deceased. The deceased died intestate, meaning that Sons A, B and C are to inherit 1/3 of the estate each under laws of intestacy.

Son C may apply for maintenance and has a good chance to get a larger share than 1/3.

3. The deceased, a wealthy widower, has an adult son. The son dropped out from high school at the age of 16 and has been depending on the deceased financially all along. The son was a big spender and he only talked to the deceased when he asked for money. The deceased therefore made a will giving all his assets to his brother and his 2 nephews instead.

Being an able-bodied adult, the son’s chance of a successful application for maintenance is much lower. More likely than not, his application would either fail or succeed only to a limited extent. 

4. The deceased is a wealthy woman with 2 teenage daughters. She was married 20 years ago but her husband left the family for another woman in the Mainland 15 years ago and has lost contact since then. The deceased raised the daughters by running a small business which turned out to be a big success. Being a traditional Chinese, the deceased has never divorced her husband. Meanwhile, grateful for the deceased’s love and care, the 2 daughters have done very well in school and have been a sweetheart to the deceased. The deceased died intestate recently and her husband emerges out of nowhere asking for his share from the estate (i.e. more than 1/2).

The teenage daughters may apply for maintenance and have a good chance to get more than what they get under intestacy laws.