PROGRESS OF DEVELOPMENT OF PROBATE E-SERVICE SYSTEM

For several years now, I had advocated in Parliament that the probate and administration process be modernised. I also asked that the process be technology enabled. In March 2022, the hon 2nd Minister for Law, Mr Edwin Tong, informed the House that a Probate e-service system is being developed. I sought an update of this development through a PQ. In his reply, Minister for Law, Mr K Shanmugam, revealed the key features of the new system which includes automatic population of data through integration with MyInfo, use of guided questions, doing away with the need to file death certificates, etc. Once launched, this will likely to be a gamechanger for Singaporeans and residents here. I look forward to the launch which is scheduled to be in the 1st half of 2023. My PQ and the Minister’s answer may be accessed below.

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Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Law whether he can provide an update on the progress of the development of the Probate e-service system that was announced in Parliament in March 2022.

Mr K Shanmugam: The Family Justice Courts (FJC) have been working on a probate e-service that will make the probate process easier and simpler, for applicants with straightforward probate applications.

As announced in March 2022, key features of the probate e-service will include the automatic population of data through integration with MyInfo, and the use of guided questions. Applicants using the e-service will no longer need to file death certificates if the relevant information can be obtained by the e-service directly from a government agency. The FJC is also studying how the application process can be further streamlined, including by reducing the number of steps that an applicant needs to take before the relevant application is granted. The FJC will also explore whether digital signing capabilities can be added, in future enhancements.

The FJC is engaging stakeholders, including members of the family Bar, on the probate e-service, and will consider their feedback in the final design of the system.

The FJC currently intends to launch the system in the first half of 2023, although this is subject to developmental progress. The system will initially be used for straightforward probate cases, with capacity progressively ramped up over time.