Four law firms share valuable insight into their respective fields of legal expertise.
Bio: Founded in 2014 by Mervyn Vermeulen, Vermeulen Attorneys is a specialist firm in family, divorce, labour, debt, and litigation matters. Co-directed by Cathleen Breedt, who heads the Ballito branch, specialising in commercial law, trust, and estate litigation. She leads a dedicated team committed to delivering clear advice, strong representation, and practical solutions.
Common Trust Disputes
Most of the time, we are requested to assist with trustee disagreements or deadlock. The trustees are essentially the ‘employees’ of a trust; they attend to the management and further the purpose of the trust. When trustees are at odds or a trustee has fallen into neglect of their fiduciary duties, it is necessary to seek legal recourse to resolve the dispute. This can be achieved by dissolving the issue or by removing the trustee who is no longer serving to the benefit of the trust. These disputes are rarely capable of settlement between parties and often require judicial intervention.
Deceased Estate Litigation
The typical deceased estate litigation that arises is the removal of an executor from this role. The executor fills a crucial role in the winding up of the deceased estate, and the usual case is that these trusted individuals are not fulfilling their duties according to the Administration of Estates Act. It is necessary to have regard to the factual matrix of each dispute to decide whether it is advisable to remove an executor; however, the heirs to an estate may gauge the executor’s standard by the amount of time that it takes to wind up the estate and deliver crucial documents in the process. The heirs must be guided accordingly and present ample evidence of the undesirability of the said executor before deciding to launch an application to remove them.
We are often briefed to lodge or dispute claims against a deceased estate. In this regard, potential claims to be lodged would constitute any debt owed by the deceased estate, whether it be contractual or maintenance-related, as well as defending any action against the deceased estate where the heirs are of the view that such a claim should be disallowed.
Recent Legal Developments
Albeit the legislation on both trusts and estates is quite old, the law is consistently developed by our Courts. Therefore, these areas of the law are continually evolving and being refined. It is important to understand that matters are decided on merits being applied to the law, both legislation and case law, and each matter is considered individually.
The most recent developments in trusts relate primarily to Tax and Beneficial ownership components. In terms of deceased estates, specifically potential disputes, the most recent development is the Expanded Rights for Surviving Life Partners.
Recent developments have continued expanding protections for surviving partners in permanent life partnerships (unmarried), including rights to claim against a deceased estate. In particular, regarding maintenance and inheritance. In the past, such claims were considered only in respect of surviving spouses in conventional marriages.
Tel: 010 109 1089
Website: www.vermeulenlaw.co.za
