There is a maxim that ‘Where there’s a will there’s a relative’’. What happens when a relative who has been left out of the will, challenges it, or disputes a particular clause?
According
to legal cases, the court's role is to understand and fulfil the testator's
intentions as stated in the will, as long as it doesn't contradict the law. The
court uses a method called the "armchair approach," where they put
themselves in the testator's position and consider all relevant facts and
circumstances known to the testator when making the will.
When
interpreting a will, the court focuses on determining the testator's expressed
intention from the language used in the document. They may also consider
external facts and circumstances, but only to the extent that they help
identify the subject or object of a disposition. Evidence that contradicts or
alters the clear intention of the testator as reflected in the will is
generally not admissible. The court's objective is to understand the testator's
intention as expressed in the will, rather than speculating on what the
testator might have meant.
The
interpretative principles described in a landmark case, Natal Joint
Municipal Pension Fund v Endumeni Municipality, emphasize the process of
attributing meaning to the words used in a document. When interpreting any
document, including a will, the court considers the language used in the
context of the entire document, the ordinary rules of grammar and syntax, the
purpose of the provision, and the background of the document's creation.
In
summary, the key principle in interpreting a will is to give effect to the
testator's wishes. Regardless of how clumsily worded a will may be, the court
aims to understand the true intention of the testator from the language used in
the document, ensuring that the testator's wishes are carried out.
See Wills and Deceased Estates | Bregman Moodley Attorneys JHB (bregmans.co.za)
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