A High Court judge ordered the widow and eldest daughter of Dr Khoo Boo Kwee to give an account of the money and to repay the amount found due to the estate. – The Straits Times/ANN
SINGAPORE: The wife and four children of a doctor who died in 2021 tussled in court over his life savings of S$4 million, even though he made a will in 2012 stating that the money held in two bank accounts should be equally divided among his four children.
The widow and eldest daughter of Dr Khoo Boo Kwee argued that he had changed his mind when he added the two of them as co-account holders in November 2019, following his liver cancer diagnosis.
Evelyn Ng and eldest daughter Patricia Khoo, who is the wife of former presidential candidate Tan Jee Say, argued that as the surviving account holders, they now own the entire sum.
However, in a written judgment issued on Tuesday (Oct 31), a High Court judge dismissed their arguments.
Justice Lee Seiu Kin agreed with Dr Khoo’s three other children that their father had intended for the money to be distributed according to the terms of his will.
Therefore, Ng and Patricia Khoo were holding the money on trust for the beneficiaries of Dr Khoo’s will, the judge said.
Justice Lee said it was within the realm of possibilities that Dr Khoo had added the two as joint account holders to ensure that someone would be able to withdraw the funds to pay for his medical bills.
The judge ordered Ng and Patricia Khoo to give an account of the money and to repay the amount found due to the estate.
The money had been withdrawn and deposited into other bank accounts owned by Ng and Patricia Khoo.
Dr Khoo, a general practitioner who ran his own clinic until he retired, had a son and three daughters with Ng.
In August 2012, he made a will stating that if Ng chooses to move out of his Siglap house, the property should be sold and the proceeds equally divided among her and their children.
Dr Khoo bequeathed his remaining assets to his four children in equal shares. They comprised shares, a car, cash in his room drawer, a UOB account and a POSB account.
He was diagnosed with cancer in October 2019.
On Nov 7, 2019, Dr Khoo added the names of Ng and Patricia Khoo to the accounts.
On Nov 18, 2019, he made several amendments to his will. The only changes related to the accounts were instructions for S$80,000 to be paid to Ng as a cash gift, and an update of the POSB branch address.
Dr Khoo died in hospital on Jan 21, 2021 after he suffered an accidental fall at home. He was 90.
Patricia Khoo, one of the executors of the will, said the money in the joint accounts should not be included in the assets to be distributed among the four children. Her youngest sister Katherine, the other executor of the will, disagreed.
In 2022, Katherine Khoo and her second sister Joyce sued their mother and eldest sister. They sought a court declaration that the money was held by Ng and Patricia Khoo on trust for Dr Khoo’s estate.
Ng and Patricia Khoo filed a counterclaim against the two sisters and their brother Teng Jin, seeking a declaration they were the legal and beneficial owners of the money.
They contended that by adding their names as joint account holders, Dr Khoo had showed his intention to gift the money to them.
In his judgment, Justice Lee said the adding of Ng and Patricia Khoo as joint account holders was, by itself, a neutral factor.
While this could be consistent with an intention to gift the money to the co-account holders, it could also be equally consistent with Dr Khoo’s intention for the co-account holders to help him in the administration of his medical expenses.
The judge said the amendments to Dr Khoo’s will - made just 11 days after Ng and Patricia Khoo were added as joint account holders - made it plain that the doctor continued to treat the money as his funds to be bequeathed to his beneficiaries.
He said it was significant that Dr Khoo did not amend the will to remove the bank accounts from the list of assets to be equally divided among his children.
Dr Khoo was organised and meticulous in the way he handled the distribution of his assets, and it was significant that he made no mention that the money should be gifted to Ng and Patricia Khoo, said the judge. – The Straits Times/ANN
