Court bars absent father from inheriting son's estate
The South Gauteng High Court found that a Johannesburg father who was absent for 29 years is unworthy to benefit from his son's estate. The estate is valued at more than R700,000, and the son died in 2021 without a will.
The court found that the father played virtually no role in his son's upbringing. The father did not oppose the application. The mother had asked the court to declare him a non-parent.
The judge refused that request but agreed that the father should not inherit. Legal practitioner Minenhle Khumalo explained the finding on radio. She said: "The court decided to say, no, he is still a parent, but he's not worthy to benefit from the estate."
Khumalo said such cases are very rare. She also said the ruling was unusual, but not unprecedented.
Key facts
- Who
- Minenhle Khumalo (legal practitioner who spoke to John Perlman on 702); John Perlman (702 presenter)
- What
- The court found the father, who had played virtually no role in his son's upbringing, unworthy to benefit from the intestate estate of the son, who died in 2021. The mother had sought a declaration that the father was a non-parent; the judge refused that but agreed he should not inherit. The father did not oppose the application.
- When
- 29 October 2026
- Where
- Johannesburg, South Gauteng High Court
- Status
- Reported