Hours before she committed suicide by hanging herself, Aspen Pharmacare executive Caz de Villiers wrote a poignant amendment to her will, specifying that R2-million of her R8.5-million estate should be split between her life partner Sandy Wren and close friend Yolandi Mynhardt.
“Love (you) all … Life is too hard. Take care I will be watching you,” she wrote. The note included a request to her father, Ian Mitchell and brother Barry: “There will be enogh (sic) for you … please grant my dieing (sic) wish.”
But Mitchell, the executor of his daughter’s estate, disputed the validity of the amended will on the grounds she had drafted a second note which excluded the cash bequest to Wren.
Following a courtroom battle between the two beneficiaries and the dead woman’s family, the Port Elizabeth High Court has now ruled that one note was a valid amendment to the will and must be honoured by Mitchell and the master of the high court.
De Villiers, who was head girl of Westering High School when she matriculated in 1994, died in 2012.
Shortly before her death on the weekend of June 9, she wrote two notes, one of which contained details of a R1-million bequest to be made to Wren, her partner of one year. De Villiers also specified a similar amount for Mynhardt, her close friend for 12 years and with whom she exchanged cellphone messages on the night she died.
In the same note, apart from the million rand cash bequests to the two women, De Villiers bequeathed to Wren the contents of their home.
The second note only mentioned the cash bequest to Mynhardt and the home contents to Wren.
De Villiers was a finance executive at Aspen in Port Elizabeth at the time of her death. She had amassed an estate worth R8.5-million by the time of her death, including cash of R2-million and a share portfolio of R5-million.
Judge Elna Revelas ruled that De Villiers regarded Wren as “a good wife” whom she “would have wanted to include” in her will. The original will had been drafted around the time that De Villiers and Wren started living together but did not include Wren.
However, the judge noted that it was significant that there was R2-million cash on hand to make good the two additional bequests to Wren and Mynhardt. She said De Villiers had assured her father and brother that “there would still be enough for them to inherit.” There was no indication, said the judge, De Villiers wished to exclude Wren from inheriting.
Wren said yesterday the judgment had restored her faith in the justice system by rectifying wrongs which had been committed.
Judge Jannie Eksteen concurred with the ruling by Revelas. — rayh@dispatch.co.za
Court rules on ‘suicide’ will
“Love (you) all … Life is too hard. Take care I will be watching you,” she wrote. The note included a request to her father, Ian Mitchell and brother Barry: “There will be enogh (sic) for you … please grant my dieing (sic) wish.”
But Mitchell, the executor of his daughter’s estate, disputed the validity of the amended will on the grounds she had drafted a second note which excluded the cash bequest to Wren.
Following a courtroom battle between the two beneficiaries and the dead woman’s family, the Port Elizabeth High Court has now ruled that one note was a valid amendment to the will and must be honoured by Mitchell and the master of the high court.
De Villiers, who was head girl of Westering High School when she matriculated in 1994, died in 2012.
Shortly before her death on the weekend of June 9, she wrote two notes, one of which contained details of a R1-million bequest to be made to Wren, her partner of one year. De Villiers also specified a similar amount for Mynhardt, her close friend for 12 years and with whom she exchanged cellphone messages on the night she died.
In the same note, apart from the million rand cash bequests to the two women, De Villiers bequeathed to Wren the contents of their home.
The second note only mentioned the cash bequest to Mynhardt and the home contents to Wren.
De Villiers was a finance executive at Aspen in Port Elizabeth at the time of her death. She had amassed an estate worth R8.5-million by the time of her death, including cash of R2-million and a share portfolio of R5-million.
Judge Elna Revelas ruled that De Villiers regarded Wren as “a good wife” whom she “would have wanted to include” in her will. The original will had been drafted around the time that De Villiers and Wren started living together but did not include Wren.
However, the judge noted that it was significant that there was R2-million cash on hand to make good the two additional bequests to Wren and Mynhardt. She said De Villiers had assured her father and brother that “there would still be enough for them to inherit.” There was no indication, said the judge, De Villiers wished to exclude Wren from inheriting.
Wren said yesterday the judgment had restored her faith in the justice system by rectifying wrongs which had been committed.
Judge Jannie Eksteen concurred with the ruling by Revelas. — rayh@dispatch.co.za
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