Charanjeet Kaur a/p Sukhbir Singh v Zhao Jingkun

Appellant(s): Charanjeet Kaur A/P Sukhbir Singh

Respondent(s): Zhao Jingkun

• YA Datuk Mohamed Zaini Bin Mazlan
• YA Datuk Ismail Bin Brahim
• YA Tuan Muniandy a/l Kannyappan

• A married couple with no children executed simultaneous wills in 2007, each bequeathing their half-share in the matrimonial home to their beloved niece; the appellant, an advocate and solicitor, was appointed executor in both wills.
• After the first wife's death in 2008, the deceased remarried the respondent in 2012 and subsequently executed a new will in 2014 bequeathing all his property, including the matrimonial home, to the respondent instead.
• Upon the deceased's death in 2019, the appellant (as executor of the 2007 will) and the respondent (as beneficiary under the 2014 will) each sought probate of their respective wills; the High Court found no credible evidence of mutual wills and upheld the 2014 will.

• Whether the High Court erred in law in its application of the doctrine of mutual wills in concluding that the 2007 wills were not mutual wills.
• Whether the High Court misdirected itself by requiring express language of irrevocability in the wills, thereby failing to give proper weight to extrinsic evidence in determining whether a binding agreement existed between the deceased and the first wife.

• The Court held that the absence of the word "irrevocable" in the wills is not determinative; what is paramount is the intention of the parties at the time of execution, which may be established through extrinsic evidence including oral testimony.
• The Court found that the High Court erred in discounting the evidence of the appellant and two independent witnesses (who had no beneficial interest under the wills) who testified that the deceased and the first wife had specifically instructed that mutual wills be prepared and understood their binding effect.
• The Court allowed both appeals, set aside the High Court's decision, and held that upon the first wife's death a constructive trust arose over the matrimonial home, binding the deceased to the terms of the 2007 mutual wills and rendering the 2014 will ineffective to defeat the niece's interest in the property.