Legal battle leads to attorney's removal from managing R8.48 million estate.
A Cape Town attorney has been removed as the executrix of her late sister’s estate, valued at approximately R8.48 million, after the High Court found that she used estate funds to finance legal proceedings brought against her in her personal capacity.
The Western Cape High Court in Cape Town also barred the attorney from being appointed as trustee of a testamentary trust intended to benefit her late sister’s minor twin children, finding that her personal interests had become entangled with her fiduciary responsibilities.
Acting Judge M Louw ordered the attorney’s removal after an application was brought by the father of the twins, who sought to protect their interests as the principal beneficiaries of the estate.
The attorney was the deceased’s identical twin sister, maternal aunt and godmother of the children, as well as a beneficiary of the estate. She had been nominated in her sister’s will to serve as trustee of the testamentary trust established for the twins and was later appointed executrix of the estate.
