Summary PVL1501 – Case summaries

The facts of the case are as follows: The testator left the residue of his estate to his daughter and to the first generation “wat by datum van dood in die lewe is”. The testator’s daughter was pregnant at the time of his (the testator’s) death and subsequently gave birth to Paul Johannes. The executor to the estate sought a declaratory order on the issue of whether only the children born at the time of the testator’s death would inherit or if Paul Johannes, born after the death of the testator, would also be able to inherit. Curator ad litem for Gerda and Daniel Johannes (the two children already born) held that the words “wat by datum van dood in die lewe is” is sufficient enough and without ambiguity to exclude the unborn child from the estate. Curator ad litem for Paul Johannes was of the opposite opinion stating that there is no evidence that the testator wished to exclude the unborn child from his will.