Western Cape High Court settles family feud over R22 million inheritance.
A family dispute over the distribution of a deceased mother's estate worth nearly R22 million has ended in the Western Cape High Court, with the judge ruling that one son cannot be excluded from sharing in the residuary estate despite wording in the will that appeared to favour only three of the deceased's four children.
The case centred on the estate of the late JER Orlik, who died in March 2022, leaving assets valued at just under R22 million. Her will, signed in October 2021, made several specific bequests to family members, including her children, grandchildren, and a niece.
The daughter, M, received all of her mother's jewellery along with R200,000. The first son, R, received R750,000. Another son, S, received his mother's loan account in the RSA & M Trust, including all assets related to that trust, and he was additionally designated as the follow-up trustee of the RSA & M Trust. Meanwhile, the last son, A, received R950,000.
However, a dispute arose over a clause dealing with the remainder of the estate after those bequests had been distributed.
