Fight for Inheritance

I had an interesting conversation with a friend about Lim Goh Tong's granddaughters as reported in this news article. They had apparently inherited RM900,000.00 and RM100,000.00 respectively, but are fighting for more of the RM1.6 billion estate. Perhaps there are many, many people out there who'd be happy — and thankful — to inherit that kind of money. But I dare say to these people whom were born wealthy, RM1 million is perhaps akin to loose change? 

My friend asked me an interesting question — he said, "Would you fight for a larger inheritance if you were in their shoes?"

That's a difficult question to answer, because I'm not them; I did not have their kind of upbringing, and perhaps there're other back stories that I'm unaware of. However, coincidentally I had a firsthand experience regarding inheritance from my dad, though the amount was a far cry smaller than the RM1 million that Lim's granddaughters got.

Before I talk about my inheritance, let me first give some context for my story. I'm the third child in the family, but I'm also the eldest son. Although I have many siblings, for over 3 decades I was the only one supporting my dad financially. I guess that's the price I had to pay for being the most successful amongst all my siblings. Dad had many siblings too, and he had a small share in a land that he inherited from his mother, i.e. my grandmother. A few years before his passing, he and his siblings decided to sell the land and then divided the proceeds according to the respective shares. He then gave me a portion of his share which I gladly accepted. 

I'm not sure if it was because he felt it was the only way he could repay me for all those years of financial support or because I'm the eldest son. But anyway, the amount in question was far from enough to "pay back". I suppose that was the best he could do, if "paying back" was indeed his intention. Bear in mind that I was the only child that got a portion of his share, and technically speaking, that wasn't really an "inheritance".

Meanwhile, he was also the co-owner of another piece of family property — again through an inheritance from his mother. However, there was no immediate plan to sell that property. A few years before his death, he decided to make a will, and before making that will, he gave me a surprise call to inform me of his intention. He started the conversation by telling me that he's decided to leave his share of that family property to one of my sisters, and nothing else for the rest of us siblings. He was about to explain his decision, but I stopped him. For there was no need to explanation — it was his property and it was entirely up to him what he wanted to do with it. I should not dream of contesting his will even if his estate was worth RM1.6 billion. As a matter of fact, even if no will was made, I would still not fight for the inheritance because my dad made it very clear to me who should get it. But if his intention was for me to inherit the property, then I would have fought tooth and nail for it!

As a matter of principle, I would not fight for something that's not mine to start with. That's because I don't equate being a son as an entitlement to my dad's property upon his demise. He might have given everything to charity, and I would respect his wishes!

Now in the case of Lim's granddaughters, I don't know if the mother had told them how she had planned to deal with her estate upon her death, but which was different from what's eventually content in her will? 

But to answer my friend's question, if the mother did not say anything that's different from what's in her will, then if I were the daughters, I would not contest that will.