Harper and Others v Crawford NO and Others (9581/2015)
Harper and Others v Crawford NO and Others (9581/2015) [2017] ZAWCHC 78; 2018 (1) SA 589 (WCC) (30 June 2017)
The court held that the Trust Deed must be interpreted according to the intention of the donor at the time of execution, and the language used—'children', 'descendants', 'issue', and 'legal descendants'—refers to biological descendants only. The donor was aware of adoption as an option but did not expressly include adopted children, indicating an intention to exclude them. The court found that the constitutional right to equality does not override the freedom of testation in private trusts, especially where the exclusion is not arbitrary but based on the donor's intention. Section 13 of the T…
Source excerpt
- Trust Deed Interpretation
- Adopted Children Rights
- Freedom Of Testation
- Section 13 Trust Property Control Act
- Constitutional Equality
- Public Policy