Subash S.K.H. Ibulmure vs The Public Trustee – CALA 398/2004-2012

In the case between Subash S.K.H. Ibulmure and the Public Trustee (executor of the estate of Jayasena Weerasekera), the court addressed whether fixed deposit monies held at The Finance Company Ltd. and People’s Bank should be included in the estate of the deceased or released directly to the petitioner as nominee, pursuant to Section 544 of the Civil Procedure Code, notwithstanding contrary provisions in the last will. It was held that valid nominations under Section 544 prevail over testamentary dispositions, requiring such nominated sums to be released to the nominee rather than forming part of the probate estate. The decision reaffirmed that express statutory provisions excluding nominees’ funds from an estate must be implemented in probate proceedings and cannot be deferred to separate