{"id":868988,"date":"2026-08-10T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=868988"},"modified":"2026-08-07T16:11:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T14:11:20","slug":"warning-for-divorced-people-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/868988\/warning-for-divorced-people-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning for divorced people in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While many South Africans getting a divorce hope for a quick separation, many neglect their estate planning, which can leave their entire estate to their ex-spouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlize Byrne at Van Deventer Dowlath & Marx Inc warned that many believe that the Master of the High Court will realise that they are divorced. However, they will only look at the will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A valid Will remains legally binding until revoked or amended. Section 2B of the Wills Act 7 of 1953 creates a temporary safeguard for people adjusting to life after divorce,” said Byrne. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But that protection vanishes once the statutory three-month grace period expires.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 2B means that if a person dies within three months of their divorce decree being granted, the law operates under a “statutory fiction\u201d that the former spouse predeceased the deceased for inheritance purposes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This would exclude the ex-spouse from inheriting unless the will states that the testator (the person who signs the will) intended to benefit them regardless of the divorce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, Byrne warned that the statute specifies three months instead of a fixed 90 days; calculating the exact timeline is critical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only after those three months have elapsed does the temporary safeguard disappear, and the will is executed strictly according to the written terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 2B was tested in the Western Cape High Court case\u00a0JW v Williams-Ashman NO and Others (2020)<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the testator passed away within three months of her divorce without updating her pre-marriage will, which named her husband as sole heir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the executor applied Section 2B to disinherit the ex-husband, he challenged the constitutionality of the statute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court would uphold Section 2B as rational and constitutional, which protected her estate during the grace period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite Section 2B offering protection, Byrne warned that the case is a stark warning for anyone who delays updating their estate plan past the statutory deadline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had the deceased in the case died after the three-month grace period expired, her ex-husband would have inherited her entire estate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like a gym contract <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Byrne said that the legal outcome rests on the foundational principle of South African law known as freedom of testation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courts are required to respect a testator\u2019s recorded written instructions and cannot alter or invalidate a will even if the outcome seems unfair, given the marriage’s conclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Like a gym membership, reviewing your estate plan becomes something you tackle tomorrow, then next week, then next month. Life moves quickly,” she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Taking the time to review your will ensures that it continues to reflect your current wishes and not those of a chapter that has already closed. After all, your ex should remain in your past, not in your will.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She gave a host of tips to South Africans getting a divorce, including recording the exact date your divorce decree was granted to monitor the three-month grace period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One should also execute an amendment, with a new will, immediately formally revoking their former spouse’s benefit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviewing one’s life insurance policies, retirement funds, and living annuities is also essential, as they fall outside the scope of a will and must be updated directly. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neglecting estate planning means a divorced South African’s ex could claim their estate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":747972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2086769790908035468","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2172082876945445","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18175771996420178","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[26079],"class_list":["post-868988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-van-deventer-dowlath-marx-inc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868988"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":869001,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868988\/revisions\/869001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/747972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}