The Constitutional Court recently confirmed the October 2020 ruling of the Western Cape High Court that section 1(1) of the Intestate Succession Act is unconstitutional in so far as it excludes life partners in a relationship intended to be permanent, as per the definition of “spouse”. The Court ordered parliament to amend two laws to recognise the right of a …
The nomination of an executor is an important aspect of a Last Will and Testament. An executor is nominated in a Last Will and Testament and, upon death, he or she administers and distributes the estate in accordance with the testamentary wishes of the deceased. Importantly, although a person can nominate an executor, the executor is appointed by the Master of the High Court through the issuing of Letters of Executorship. The executor is responsible for, amongst other things, interpreting the Last Will and …
There is no provision in the Trust Property Control Act, 1988 that requires the deregistration of trusts. However, this said, it does not mean that a trust can never be terminated, as there are a few events that can occur during the lifetime of the founder, the trustees or the beneficiaries. When considering the termination of the trust, the first …
Daar bestaan heelwat onkunde oor die gebruik van trusts tydens erflatings. Hierdie artikel poog om lig op hierdie belangrike kwessie te werp. ’n Inter vivos trust staan ook bekend as ’n lewende of familietrust omdat dit gedurende jou leeftyd opgerig word. ’n Trust is ’n ideale langtermynstruktuur om bates van geslag tot geslag te beskerm terwyl dit boedelbelasting bespaar. Boedelbelasting …
All the powers of a trustee are ‘fiduciary’, which means that they must be exercised as follows: in the best interests of all the beneficiaries; only for the benefit of the beneficiaries and not for third parties; not for the trustees’ benefit, unless specifically authorised; and not to defeat the terms of the trust, but in compliance with them and …
Trusts are well-known to facilitate effective estate planning and continuity planning strategies. That said, setting up a trust – whether an inter vivos (between the living) or a testamentary (created in a will) − should be carefully considered and not just implemented blindly. The difference between testamentary and inter vivos trusts A testamentary trust is established when a person (the …
This article deals with the questions of who can institute litigation on behalf of a trust, as well as with the question of how jurisdiction is determined with regards to trusts. Who can institute a claim? A trust is not a legal person and cannot litigate in its own name. The trustees play a vital role in any litigation in …
A well-known court case, Land Bank of South Africa vs JL Parker and Two Others (the Parker case) irrevocably changed the requirements for independent trustees to be appointed and placed renewed focus on the duties and responsibilities of all trustees. What is an independent trustee? As a result of the Parker case, most Masters of the High Court now require …
The trustees of a body corporate of a certain sectional title scheme clamped the wheel of the car of one of its homeowners because he did not park on his allocated parking bay. Even though the homeowner did not park on his allocated parking bay, he could not understand why his vehicle got clamped for parking outside of his own …
