Barry Botha Breytenbach

Ensuring your healthcare wishes are honoured: The essential guide to living wills

In our current society, where the unforeseen has become a central concern for many, the relevance of a Living Will has surged. A Living Will serves as a vital legal instrument that captures an individual’s healthcare preferences for a time when they may no longer be in a position to make or communicate their medical […]

Properly executing a will is extremely important

I gave instructions to my attorney to prepare a last will and testament for me as my will no longer reflected my wishes. At my request, my attorney emailed the will to me with clear instructions as to how I should go about signing it. I asked my neighbours to act and sign as witnesses. […]

Life partners now qualify for intestate succession

The Constitutional Court recently confirmed the October 2020 ruling of the Western Cape High Court that section 1(1) of the Intestate Succession Act is unconstitutional in so far as it excludes life partners in a relationship intended to be permanent, as per the definition of “spouse”. The Court ordered parliament to amend two laws to […]

Permanent life partnership and the difficulty of maintenance claims

“Should a person who has shared her home and life with her deceased partner, born and raised children with him, cared for him in health and in sickness, and dedicated her life to support the family they created together, be treated as a legal stranger to his estate, with no claim for subsistence because they […]

Getting this wrong might have your loved ones end up in court

I gave instructions to my attorney to prepare a Will for me as my most recent Will no longer reflected my wishes. My attorney emailed the Will to me with clear instructions as to how I should go about signing the Will. I asked my neighbours to act and sign as witnesses. My neighbours signed the Will on all the pages and […]