J bin T passed away on 24 January 2008, stipulating as his beneficiaries: C binti S (wife and first appellant); J binti J (daughter); A (mother); P binti T (sister); R binti T (brother); T bin T (brothers); and N binti T (sister and fifth respondent).
The Meulaboh Shari'a Court (lower court) declared as joint property of the deceased and first appellant two shophouses, two parcels of land, accumulated social security monies totalling IDR 770 million, the remaining proceeds from the sale of a truck (IDR 70 million), and insurance monies totalling IDR 100,000. As the estate of the deceased alone, the lower court stipulated four separate parcels of land.
The lower court distributed to the first appellant half of what was determined to be the joint property of the first appellant and deceased, while the other half, along with the deceased's personal estate, was distributed among the stipulated beneficiaries.
The Court amended the decision of the lower court, applying the Supreme Court-endorsed principle that, if the deceased had a child/children, his estate was only to be devised/bequeathed to his parents, spouse and children, to the exclusion of all other beneficiaries. Accordingly, as the deceased was survived by his daughter (second appellant), his estate was to be distributed among both appellants and the deceased's mother.
The Court also disagreed with the lower court's finding that the social security monies (IDR 770 million) and the insurance monies (IDR 100,000) were the joint property of the deceased and first appellant, because art 22(1) and (2) of Government Regulation No. 14 of 1993 requires that life insurance be paid to the surviving spouse or child/children, and in the event there is no surviving spouse or child/children, to the closest living blood relative(s). Accordingly, the monies were to be paid to the appellants. As for the insurance policy monies, art 1(1) of Law No. 2 of 1992 on Insurance Companies required that those monies be paid to the parties specified in the deceased's policy.