PVL2602 MCQ EXAM Law of Succession

Practice flashcards covering key legal terms, doctrines, and statutory references for the Law of Succession (PVL2602) exam.

Rectification

The process where a court adds, deletes, or changes something in a will because the testator made a mistake and the will does not reflect his intention correctly.

cy prs doctrine

A principle where a court allows a charitable trust that is impossible to carry out to the letter to be carried out for a purpose as near as possible to the original purpose.

Power of assumption

The capacity given to an existing trustee to appoint an additional trustee.

Male primogeniture

The rule that provides that only male persons may inherit in terms of customary law.

Collation

The principle according to which the executor of an estate must take benefits given to certain heirs by the deceased during his or her lifetime into account when distributing the estate.

Armchair evidence

Evidence used when a court places itself in the position the testator was in by paying attention to relevant facts and circumstances known to the testator at the time of making the will.

Pactum sucessorium

An agreement between two parties purporting to regulate the devolution of the estate of one or both of them after the death of such a party.

Animus testandi

The testator's intention to make a will.

Legatee

A person who inherits a specific asset from the testator.

Absolute bequest

An unconditional bequest or a bequest to one person only.

Bewind trust

A trust where the beneficiary is the owner of the trust property.

Repudiation

The refusal of a beneficiary to accept a benefit from a deceased's estate.

Pre-legacy

A bequest (such as a specific sum of money) that a beneficiary must receive before any other benefit is paid out.

Joinder re et verbis

A form of joinder where the same thing is bequeathed to two or more people in the same clause, such as "I bequeath my farm to John and Peter."

Nudum praeceptum

A bequest that is subject to a condition or restriction (such as never leaving the farm) but which fails to specify a consequence or a third party to benefit from a breach.

Direct substitution

A provision where the testator names a substitute beneficiary to inherit if the first beneficiary cannot or does not inherit.

Doctrine of election

The rule where a beneficiary who is left a benefit but also burdened in the same will must choose whether to accept both or repudiate both.

Lex loci actus

The law of the country where a will was executed, which may determine the validity of the formalities for a will made outside South Africa.

Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990

The law providing for maintenance claims by a surviving spouse, which includes partners in monogamous or polygamous Muslim marriages and civil unions.

Wills Act 7 of 1953

The legislation governing the execution and amendment of wills, including formalities and exemptions like section $2(1)(a)(v)$ or section $2C(2)$.

Estate Massing

The consolidation of the estates of two or more testators into a single mass for the purpose of joint disposition.

Commorientes

A situation where people are killed in the same accident, such as a car crash, which affects the devolution of their estates if it is unclear who died first.

Threshold for dispensing with an executor

The Master may dispense with the appointment of an executor if the value of the estate is less than $R125\,000$.

Intestate share for a surviving spouse

In an estate of $R2\,000\,000$ where the marriage was in community of property, the spouse inherits half of the joint estate plus at least a statutory amount of $R250\,000$ or a child's share.