ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES: RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES IN ACHIEVING SUSTAINABILITY AMONG THE DECEASED’S FAMILY

Abstract

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) provides for seventeen universal objectives in which three of which are related to the administration of estate namely no poverty, zero hunger and gender equality. Issues on sustainability in estate administration are commonly associated with problems that occur during the management of the deceased’s estate. Issues such as disputes among family members and mismanagement of asset by the personal representative or senior family members often lead to delays in the estate administration. Over the years, inefficiency in the administration of the estate process has led to financial instability such as poverty and in an extreme situation, hunger of the deceased’s family members as their entitlement over the asset was jeopardised by the mismanagement and unfair distribution of the estate. This paper addresses the sustainability issues in estate administration where the focus of the discussion is the issues of disputes among the family members. This paper also suggests a resolution of the dispute by way of mediation process, which is capable of maintaining sustainability in estate administration. Employing a qualitative approach, the paper adopts a research method through a library-based study by examining materials including statutory provisions, case laws, textbooks, journal articles, newspapers, conference proceedings and seminar papers. The research found that preserving a good relationship between the family members is one of the keys to ensure smoothness and consistency in estate administration, hence contributing to the sustainability of the deceased’s family members as well as adhering to the SDG.