Accrual Example

A simple example illustrates how this works:
• Husband enters marriage with a net estate worth R2,000,000, wife with R500,000.
• Upon husband’s death his estate is worth R2,500,000 and wife’s R2,000,000.
• Gains (ignore inflation) = husband R500,000 and wife R1,500,000
• Difference between gains = R1,500,000 – R500,000= R1,000,000
• Wife has gained more, therefore husband can claim one-half of the difference of R1,000,000 from wife = R500 000.
The husband would have a claim against the wife’s estate for R500,000 which would be due to him before the heirs in terms of the wife’s Will (e.g. children from a previous marriage) receive their inheritances
What about the kids?
There are some particular dangers in overlooking an Accrual claim where (step)/children are also heirs…..
Example 1
A husband dies and, having intended to leave his estate in equal shares to his wife and a child from his previous marriage, made provision for this in his Will. If he hadn’t allowed for his wife’s accrual claim against his estate, she will receive, in addition to her accrual claim, half of the balance too—potentially more than was intended, leaving the child less.
Example 2
A wife dies leaving her estate to her children from her previous marriage, having thought that her husband had sufficient assets of his own. However, she overlooked her Accrual claim against her husband’s estate and he would have to pay the amount of the claim into the estate to be inherited by his stepchildren.