Legal Articles and Guides
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.
Bianca Naidoo appointed executor of Rick's estate
The Home Affairs Department has abandoned its bid to stop the life partner of musician Ricardo ‘Riky Rick’ Makhado from being appointed executor of his estate, reports EWN.
Businessman triumphs in reputation battle
Cape Town businessman Hassen Adams has won a war of reputations between himself and the trustees of the Hout Bay Development Trust, which he co-founded, after a Western Cape High Court ruled in his favour.
Master’s Office backlog cleared by year-end
Justice & Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola is confident the backlog in the Master’s Office – which accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic and as a result of a September 2021 cyberattack – will be cleared by the end of December 2022.
Frustration over delays in registering trusts
Lawyers who are attempting to register special trusts for minors and incapacitated beneficiaries of medical negligence and Road Accident Fund awards are at their wits end as the Master of the High Court is apparently still refusing to register these trusts.
Russian oil tanker enroute to SA despite boycott calls
A tanker loaded with 2m barrels of Russian oil is steaming towards a storage facility in SA amid mounting international pressure to boycott Russian exports.
