THE UNCLAIMED INHERITANCE ISSUES: A SOLUTION USING BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

Unclaimed inheritance retards the economy as well as the continuity of life, especially for beneficiaries who are less capable. Recorded cases of unclaimed inheritance have seen a yearly rise, and this also has an effect on the Malaysian economy, mainly due to the failure to distribute immoveable property, such as the failure to transfer the ownership of land and houses. This causes the land to become abandoned and underdeveloped. Hence, various measures are needed to solve the unclaimed inheritance problem and contemporary technology should be fully utilised to overcome this problem. This study intended to explore the benefits of blockchain technology for solving the unclaimed inheritance problem. Blockchain technology is a database system that replaces the traditional system with various advantageous, which makes organisational management more effective and systematic. This technology supports the implementation of a smart contract, which acts as a medium for managing inheritance distribution to ensure no beneficiaries is left out and receives the rightful share. A smart contract is an agreement in digital form that uses a certain protocol and only applies to the relevant parties. This study applied the qualitative approach and a descriptive research design. Data collected through document analysis and interview methods. Data from the document analysis method involved primary and secondary sources, while the semi-structured interview method was used for field studies. Findings showed that the blockchain technology is an appropriate solution for solving unclaimed inheritance problems. However, a blockchain based smart contract requires the cooperation between the party authorised to distribute inheritance property and the banks as well as other government agencies in order to ensure that the inheritance distribution process is carried out smoothly. This study benefits the authorities in charge of inheritance management as well as act as a guide for future researchers. This study offers a theoretical solution for solving the distribution of unclaimed inheritance by using blockchain based smart contract.