South Africa Case Law

Reed and Others v Master of the High Court and Others (ECJ 002/2005)

Reed and Others v Master of the High Court and Others (ECJ 002/2005) [2005] ZAECHC 5; [2005] 2 All SA 429 (E) (27 January 2005)

Court

High Courts - Eastern Cape

Case number

925/03

Judges

Plasket, Dambuza

The court held that section 35(10) of the Administration of Estates Act does not create an internal remedy as contemplated by section 7(2) of PAJA, and thus the applicants were not required to exhaust internal remedies before seeking judicial review. The bequest to Dominic Niland was subject to a suspensive condition—namely, the assumption of liability for a portion of the estate's debts—which was never fulfilled, and therefore the bequest did not vest in him prior to his death and was not transmissible to his intestate heirs. Clause 6 of the will, properly interpreted in the context of the e…

Source excerpt

• Administration Of Estates Act
• Promotion Of Administrative Justice Act
• Interpretation Of Wills
• Vesting Of Bequests
• Fideicommissary Substitution
• Internal Remedies

Webb v Davis NO and Others (311/96)

Webb v Davis NO and Others (311/96) [1998] ZASCA 10; 1998 (2) SA 975 (SCA); [1998] 2 All SA 584 (A) (17 March 1998)

Court

Supreme Court of Appeal

Case number

311/96

Judges

Mahomed, Marais, Zulman, Plewman, Melunsky

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that a testamentary bequest vested immediately, with payment and bond-registration terms treated as a modus, not suspensive conditions.

• Testamentary Interpretation
• Vesting Of Bequests
• Transmissibility Of Rights
• Suspensive And Resolutive Conditions
• Testamentary-interpretation
• Vesting-of-bequests