Law of Succession (South Africa LLB)

Study content for Law of Succession (South Africa LLB): notes, practice MCQs and flashcards across 8 syllabus topics. This is AI-generated draft content — citations have not yet been independently verified.

Syllabus

• Foundations & General PrinciplesTopic

  Definition and scope of law of succession · Distinction between testate and intestate succession · Capacity to inherit (disqualification: unworthiness, murder rule)

• Intestate SuccessionTopic

  Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987 – distribution formula · Surviving spouse share (child's portion / R250,000 floor — EST; exact figure set by regulation) · Descendants only; spouse only; spouse + descendants; ascendants; collaterals

• Testate Succession – Will FormalitiesTopic

  Wills Act 7 of 1953 – formal requirements (signature, witnesses, attestation) · Testamentary capacity (age 16+; mental capacity) · Amendment and revival of wills

• Testate Succession – Content & InterpretationTopic

  Interpretation of wills (extrinsic evidence; falsa demonstratio rule) · Conditions, modus, and charges · Lapse and accrual

• Administration of Deceased EstatesTopic

  Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965 · Reporting to Master of High Court · Appointment and duties of executor

• Customary Law of SuccessionTopic

  Male primogeniture and constitutional challenge (Bhe v Khayelitsha) · Reform of Customary Law of Succession Act 11 of 2009 · Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 – succession consequences

• Constitutional & Policy IssuesTopic

  Equality clause (s 9 Constitution) and discriminatory testamentary conditions (Syfrets Trust) · Muslim marriages and intestate succession (Hassam v Jacobs) · Same-sex partnerships and intestate succession (Volks v Robinson)

• Trust Law Interface (introductory)Topic

  Testamentary trusts vs inter vivos trusts · Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988 basics · Fideicommissum compared with trust

• Bhe and Others v Khayelitsha Magistrate and Others

  What was the landmark decision that declared male primogeniture under customary law unconstitutional?

  [2004] ZACC 17; 2005 (1) SA 580 (CC); 2005 (1) BCLR 1 (CC) (15 October 2004)
• Hassam v Jacobs NO and Others

  How did the Constitutional Court extend intestate succession rights to Muslim widows in polygynous marriages?

  [2009] ZACC 19; 2009 (11) BCLR 1148 (CC); 2009 (5) SA 572 (CC) (15 July 2009)
• Gory v Kolver NO and Others

  What test did the Constitutional Court establish for same-sex partners to inherit under the Intestate Succession Act?

  [2006] ZACC 20; 2007 (4) SA 97 (CC); 2007 (3) BCLR 249 (CC) (23 November 2006)