Background to Jacobs v Adams

Kay Priscilla Jacobs was the mother of Ivan Jacobs and the executrix of his deceased estate. Ivan died on 7 July 2021 at the age of 29.

He died intestate, meaning that he had not left a valid will determining who should inherit his estate.

Ivan had no spouse, life partner, children, siblings or dependants. His estate had a net value of R716 070.24.

His surviving biological parents were his mother, Kay Jacobs, and his father, Selwyn Adams.

What Happens When Someone Dies Without a Will?

Where a person dies without leaving a valid will, the distribution of the estate is governed by the Intestate Succession Act.

The identity of the people entitled to inherit depends on which relatives survive the deceased. The Act establishes a statutory order of succession rather than allowing the executor to decide who deserves to inherit.

In Ivan's circumstances, because he was not survived by a spouse or descendant but was survived by both parents, the ordinary operation of the Act meant that his parents would inherit the intestate estate in equal shares.

The Father's Relationship With Ivan

The evidence placed before the Court painted a picture of a biological father who had played an extremely limited role in Ivan's life.

Adams and Jacobs had been in a brief relationship when Jacobs became pregnant. According to the evidence before the Court, Adams made only limited maintenance contributions during Ivan's infancy and had minimal contact with him.

Thereafter, Adams was absent for almost three decades. Ivan was raised by his mother and her extended family.

What Did Ivan's Mother Ask the Court to Do?

Jacobs initially sought a declaratory order that Adams should not be regarded as a "parent" for purposes of the Intestate Succession Act and that she should be regarded as Ivan's sole parent.

Her case relied substantially on the earlier judgment of Wilsnach NO v TM and Others.

That earlier case had adopted a broader approach to the meaning of "parent" in the context of intestate succession.

Snyckers AJ, however, was not prepared to follow that aspect of Wilsnach.

Why the Court Did Not Simply Declare Adams “Not a Parent”

This is one of the most important aspects of the judgment.

The Court distinguished between the concept of parenthood in the Children's Act and the use of the word "parent" in the Intestate Succession Act.

Snyckers AJ concluded that the word "parent" in the Intestate Succession Act could not be redefined according to a case-by-case assessment of whether a biological parent had behaved sufficiently like a parent.

The Doctrine of Unworthiness to Inherit

Finding that Adams remained a parent did not end the enquiry.

South African common law recognises the doctrine of indignus, under which a person who would otherwise be entitled to inherit may be declared unworthy to receive the inheritance.

The doctrine historically includes the principle that a person should not benefit from intentionally causing the death of the deceased. Over time, however, South African courts have recognised other forms of sufficiently reprehensible conduct capable of rendering a beneficiary unworthy.

Unworthiness Is Not Limited to Killing the Deceased

The doctrine has historically been associated with the maxim that a person responsible for the death of the deceased should not benefit from that death.

But the recognised circumstances of unworthiness have developed beyond that obvious example.

South African case law has considered conduct such as seriously harming the deceased, fraudulent conduct relating to an inheritance and interference with testamentary arrangements.

The important issue in Jacobs v Adams was whether the doctrine could extend far enough to encompass extreme parental neglect and abandonment.

Can the Doctrine Develop With Public Policy?

Snyckers AJ considered earlier South African authority dealing with whether the recognised grounds of unworthiness are closed or whether they may develop in accordance with contemporary public policy.

The judgment recognised that there has historically been some judicial tension on this issue.

However, the Court considered the modern trend in the authorities and the reasoning in Wilsnach sufficient to support the application of the doctrine to the extreme circumstances before it.

Why Did the Father's Abandonment Cross the Line?

The Court was careful about extending the doctrine of unworthiness. Snyckers AJ expressly acknowledged hesitation about taking the principle beyond its more traditional applications.

Ultimately, however, the extreme facts of the case were decisive.

What Did the Court Ultimately Order?

The application had originally sought an order declaring Adams not to be Ivan's parent under the Intestate Succession Act.

The Court did not grant that relief.

Instead, relying on the alternative relief sought and the factual allegations already before it, the Court declared Adams unworthy to inherit.

Why This Judgment Matters

Jacobs v Adams is significant because it separates two legal questions that can easily be confused.

The first is whether someone qualifies as a parent and therefore falls within a category of potential intestate heirs under the Intestate Succession Act.

The second is whether that person has engaged in conduct so serious that the common law should prevent him or her from actually receiving the inheritance.

Does an Absent Parent Automatically Lose Inheritance Rights?

No.

The judgment does not establish a general rule that an estranged parent, a parent who failed to pay maintenance on occasion or a parent who had a difficult relationship with a child automatically forfeits an inheritance.

Unworthiness is a serious legal conclusion. Whether conduct reaches the necessary threshold depends on the particular facts and applicable law.

What If You Believe an Heir Is Unworthy to Inherit?

Succession disputes are highly fact-specific. A person seeking to exclude an heir should preserve evidence relevant to both the relationship with the deceased and the alleged conduct giving rise to unworthiness.

The Case Also Highlights the Importance of a Will

The litigation arose because Ivan died intestate. In the absence of a valid will, the Intestate Succession Act determined the starting point for who would inherit his estate.

A properly prepared will allows a person, subject to applicable legal limitations, to make deliberate decisions about the distribution of his or her estate rather than leaving that distribution to the default rules of intestate succession.

The Key Takeaway

Jacobs v Adams did not rewrite the definition of a parent under the Intestate Succession Act.

Instead, it confirmed that a person may qualify as an intestate heir because of a biological family relationship while still being prevented from inheriting where the common-law doctrine of unworthiness applies.

On the exceptional facts before it, the Court concluded that almost three decades of deliberate parental abandonment were sufficient to render the biological father unworthy to benefit from his son's estate.