Legal Articles and Guides
Master's Office 'not completely collapsed'
Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery says while there is a way to get the Master’s Office running efficiently, he does not believe it has suffered a complete collapse.
Anger over ‘dysfunctional’ Master’s Office
Lawyers say the Master’s Office is causing months of delays for crucial legal administrative procedures that should take weeks, reports GroundUp.
Judge’s father forced to prove he is alive
Michael Mossop (86), father of Judge Rob Mossop, has been forced to appear in the KZN High Court (Durban) to prove that he was alive – in spite of Home Affairs having declared him dead.
Ruling goes against Covid death will
The Western Cape High Court has ruled that there was insufficient evidence to show that a man who died in hospital from Covid-19 had intended to revoke his will and write up a new one in which he left everything to a farming trust instead of his three children.
Excluded son fails to win share of will
A case of two brothers and an inheritance landed up in the Western Cape High Court where one brother, disinherited by his father, asked that the will be declared not executable so that he could inherit from the estate in terms of the rules of intestate succession.
Court 'reluctantly' settles burial dispute
A woman’s dying wish that she should be buried in the Eastern Cape has been honoured by the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg), reports the Pretoria News.
Woman’s bid to secure life partner status fails
A woman’s legal bid for the court to declare her and her now-deceased partner life partners in order to benefit from his estate has failed.
Second wife wins battle of wills
The Eastern Cape High Court (Mthatha) has dismissed a woman's bid to take control of her deceased husband's estate after she tried to wrestle it from his second wife, reports News24.
Trustee decision-making ruling needs fixing
In the recent SCA ruling in Shepstone and Wylie Attorneys v Abraham Johannes de Witt NO & Others, a strong reliance was placed by the court on its interpretation of the trust deed, which, unfortunately, was not well crafted, says Phia van der Spuy, a chartered accountant and tax adviser.
FSCA cancels 6 757 dormant retirement funds
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has cancelled 6 757 inactive retirement funds that were found to have no members, assets or liabilities, with most also not having properly constituted boards in line with the Pension Funds Act.
Regulators focus on trust distributions
SARS found a R58bn gap for the 2015 tax year between distributions and income declared by trusts, reports Moneyweb.
Importance of amending your will after your divorce
The importance of amending your will after your divorce - unless you want your "ex" to still have everything, you must update your will.
Ruling ends control of family trust feud
A dispute over control of a family trust set up in 2007 by an architect who divorced his wife in 2018 and removed her from the trust – leaving two new trustees in control – has been resolved by Western Cape High Court Judge Patrick Gamble.
Time of death central to insurance payout ruling
The exact time of death of a couple who died in a car accident became the focus of a legal wrangle where the wife was the beneficiary of her husband’s life insurance policy.
Partner wins battle over deceased's pension fund
The former wife of a deceased man and their three children turned to court to challenge the fact that a pension fund allocated his entire payout – about R1.2m – to his girlfriend.
