The High Court in Pretoria has upheld the last will and testament of the late Robert Stanton, marking a crucial legal victory for his fiancée. File Photo: Pexels
Image: Pexels
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has upheld the last will and testament of the late Robert Stanton, marking a crucial legal victory for his fiancée, Alana Berenice Perumal.
The decision reinforces Stanton’s intentions documented in his amended will, despite its unsigned status at the time of his passing.
Stanton passed away in April 2023 while he was engaged to Perumal, with their wedding set for December 2023.
The couple's relationship blossomed in January 2021, following the end of Stanton's previous relationship with Claudia Louise van der Colf, whom he shares a child with.
The case intricately revolved around the amended will Stanton wrote in July 2022. The pivotal date came shortly after he underwent hip replacement surgery, during which his health began to decline.
With Perumal present, Stanton made significant revisions to his will on his laptop, intending to designate her as his life partner and beneficiary.
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The executor, Abraham Jacobus Janse van Rensburg confirmed receiving the updated will from Stanton, returning it with the necessary changes documented in August 2022. However, the will remained unsigned until Stanton passed, leading Van der Colf to contest its validity.
She argued that Stanton had no intention to have the document as his last will and testament because he had changed his mind, hence it remained unsigned.
Despite the contention surrounding the unsigned document, Judge Noluntu Nelisa Bam said Van der Colf 's argument was completely destroyed by the indisputable fact that exactly one month before Stanton passed on, in March 2023, he sent a voice message to the executor, urging for an update regarding his amended will.
The judge said it was worth noting that Stanton emphasised that that he had not seen his amended will.
In addition, Judge Bam said the March 2023 voice message cannot be seen as conduct of a man who had changed his mind about his will. Instead, it can be interpreted that Stanton intended to make the documents his last will and testament.
"One may go so far as adding that there was even a sense of urgency in his words," said the judge.
Regarding costs, the judge said Van der Colf chose to oppose the application without legal grounds other than to frustrate and hurl insults at Perumal.
"It was not reasonable of the second respondent (Van der Colf) to come to court offering that there are disputes of fact based on her speculation about what the deceased had intended. It is only appropriate that the second respondent be ordered to pay the applicant’s costs," read the judgment.
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IOL News
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