Excluding Parents in Cases of Complete Parental Abandonment from Intestate Succession: Different Jurisprudential Approaches in South African Law

This article considers the exclusion of parents to inherit under section 1(1)(d) of the South African Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987 (ISA) in cases of complete abandonment. It is based on a desktop study of the ISA, relevant case law (primarily Wilsnach v TM 2021 (3) SA 568 (GP) (hereafter Wilsnach ) and Jacobs v Adams [2025] 4 All SA 655 (GJ) (hereafter Jacobs )), and academic commentary, with brief reference to foreign parent-bar provisions. The article shows that South African courts have recently followed two different approaches in such cases: The Wilsnach approach, where the meaning of “parent” was interpreted in the light of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , 1996 and the South African Children’s Act 38 of 2005, and the Jacobs approach, where the court retained the ISA’s status-based framework but excluded the abandoning father through the doctrine of unworthiness to inherit. The article argues that, although the Wilsnach approach may appear fair and child-centered, it risks weakening the certainty of the intestate succession system. By contrast, the Jacobs approach fits more comfortably within the structure and purpose of the ISA, even though some uncertainty remains about extending unworthiness on broader public policy grounds. The article ultimately concludes that statutory reform would not easily solve the problem in the South African system of estate administration, and that the judicial application of the doctrine of unworthiness to inherit currently offers a more practical response in clear cases of complete parental abandonment.