The Western Cape High Court ruled that a Cape Town house which was left to six brothers can now be sold after a long-standing dispute regarding the sale of the house.
Alan Roy Louw brought an application against his brothers after he was blocked several times from selling the house.
According to court papers, the deceased Annie Elizabeth Louw, signed a will in February 2013. In terms of the will, Alan was nominated as the executor of the estate, and was appointed by the Master in April 2016.
The will also directed that upon the deceased’s death, the property was to be sold and the proceeds equally divided between the six siblings.
Almost immediately after Alan was appointed as executor, he appointed an agent to sell the house.
As expected, his agent went to the property and sought to gain access to the property in order to market and sell it.
However, John Daniel Louw, who resides in the property, refused to grant the agent access, ultimately obstructing the sale of the property.
He continued to refuse, even after an offer to purchase was obtained.
Alan made numerous efforts to get the Master involved in the matter, but John was resolute.
Another brother, Trevor Keith Louw, supported John in his stance.
A relative, Lorenzo Rudy Louw, was also against the sale of the house and the will thereof.
He wanted the will to be declared null and void on the basis that the deceased was not of sound mind and was suffering from vascular dementia, and attached a medical document as proof.
Lorenzo was in possession of a will signed in November 2010. In the will, the deceased bequeathed her entire estate to him.
In court, Alan argued that access is required to the property, not only for the sworn valuation, but also for purposes of other inspections which include beetle and electrical inspections, and for purposes of obtaining a rates clearance certificate, among other things.
John didn’t provide any substantive arguments, he just mentioned that he looked after the deceased for years, and that one day she had asked for all the siblings’ IDs before being taken ‘somewhere’ by his brothers and sister-in-law.
Judge Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood evaluated the evidence and said Lorenzo attached a medical document which was undated and not signed by any medical personnel.
She said no evidence was provided to establish that the deceased was not of sound mind when she signed the will.
As a result, it cannot be concluded that the deceased was not of sound mind when she signed the 2013 will.
The judge further added that the the general rule of law is that an executor of the estate is the proper person to act in legal proceedings on behalf of a deceased, and normally, a beneficiary in the estate does not have a right to act in legal proceedings unless there are exceptional circumstances.
The judge, therefore, ruled that the house should be sold and ordered the brothers to cooperate with the winding up of the estate.
IOL