Inheritance row settled in court

A SUPREME Court of Appeal judgment highlights how a spat over an inheritance can shatter even close family bonds.

Johannesburg twins Peter and Alfred Christelis were known as the “lucky-packet kings”, rumoured to have created the children’s goodie bags in their sweet factory in Germiston.

They became rich through their business dealings and shared everything.

Yet, with the rest of the world, including their families, they were frugal and secretive about their money. As a result, the questionable existence of a lucrative stash of assets became central to a legal battle. Peter’s family accused Alfred of stealing assets – including diamonds valued at more than R57-million, Krugerrands worth R6.5-million and jewellery – from two safety deposit boxes before his death.

Peter’s widow, Anna, son Nick and daughter Olga Leonard took Alfred’s daughters, Victoria Meyer and Elena Joaquim, and son Emmanuel to court in a bid to retrieve their share of the “stolen” assets. Alfred’s children denied any knowledge of these.

A judgment delivered last week reveals that the family feud split even the judges.

The majority ruled that Peter’s family had failed to prove the existence of the “stolen” as- sets and, if they did, Alfred had no motive to take them.

A minority judgment found that Alfred had taken assets from the safety deposit boxes before his death.

The court ruling tells the story of how things fell apart.

Soon after Peter’s death in 2003 at age 85, the spat between the two sides began and eventually outlasted Alfred who died in 2007, aged 89.

Days after Peter’s death, Alfred said he had been tricked into signing a document given to him by Nick, in which he declined to accept Peter’s will.

In terms of the twins’ wills, each put the other in charge of their combined wealth until the second of them died. Nick later accused Alfred of stealing the assets from safety deposit boxes.

The majority of the court found the main witness supporting the claim – who said he had witnessed Alfred removing the extremely valuable items from the safety deposit boxes – to be unreliable.

The court also found it was implausible that Alfred would try to cheat his brother’s heirs, as the two had shared everything and had agreed that their assets would be divided equally.

But the minority judgment found there was no doubt Alfred had taken assets so that they could not be shared with his brother’s heirs.