The Mpumalanga High Court has ruled a will signed in haste during the Covid-19 pandemic invalid due to non-compliance with legal requirements. The will, signed by Patrick Reniers from his hospital bed before he died from the virus, was not signed in the presence of two witnesses, as required by South African law.

Judge Takalani Ratshibvumo, in delivering the judgment, said the case brought back the “devastating impact and sad memories” of the pandemic. Reniers and his wife, Francina Reniers, who were both ill with Covid-19 at the time, had decided to urgently draft a joint will, fearing they might not survive.

Francina asked their financial advisor to deliver the will to her husband at Mediclinic Mbombela, where he was isolated under oxygen treatment. The advisor witnessed the signing alone, and his wife added her signature later—not in the deceased’s presence. The Master’s Office had initially accepted the will.

However, the deceased’s daughter from a previous marriage contested it, claiming the new will excluded her and all the deceased’s children, contrary to his previous will. She also flagged inconsistencies in the document, including incorrect marital property details and misspelled names of grandchildren, which the widow dismissed as typing errors.

Judge Ratshibvumo found that the will did not meet the legal standard of being signed in the presence of two competent witnesses at the same time, and therefore could not be considered valid.

“This leaves the will non-compliant with the formalities,” he concluded.

As a result, the will was declared invalid, leaving the deceased’s earlier will or intestate succession to determine how his estate will be distributed.