Testamentary rescue: an analysis of the intention requirement in Australia and South Africa

Abstract

This article provides a legal-comparative perspective on the rescue of formally irregular wills through the exercise of judicial dispensing powers in Australia and the comparable exercise of a judicial condonation power in South Africa. The article analyses in particular the requirement that the deceased must have intended the informal instrument in question as his or her will — a requirement common to the Australian and South African testamentary rescue dispensations. The article contextualises the aforementioned analysis through a comparative examination of judicial engagement with testamentary rescue in three scenarios that frequently confront Australian and South African courts, namely, the rescue of (i) instructions for the preparation of wills; (ii) draft wills; and (iii) suicide letters.