In Van Zyl v Esterhuyse, an important case in the South African law of succession, the applicant applied for the rectification of a joint will executed by herself and her deceased husband. The will appointed her as the sole heir subject to the conditions
The Master was of the opinion that the applicant would only inherit if the bequest to Mr and Mrs Liebenberg and the children failed.
The applicant submitted that the will had been drawn up by a bank official, and that she and her husband had signed it hastily and without guidance.
She testified that their intention was that the survivor of them would inherit the whole estate and that their children would inherit only in the event of their dying simultaneously.
The court accordingly held that the will had to be rectified by the insertion of words which made the appointment of the children as heirs, the bequest to Mr and Mrs Liebenberg and the appointment of the latter as guardians conditional upon the simultaneous death of the testators.