Inheritance Victory For Gay Couples In South Africa

In a groundbreaking ruling, South Africa's highest court has ruled that unmarried gay couples in a permanent relationship have a right to inherit from one other.

The case was brought by Rasmus Laubscher, the brother of Daniel Laubscher who died in 2015.

He argued against his brother's estate going to his live-in partner Eric Duplan.

The Constitutional Court said the Civil Union Act created a new category of beneficiaries, namely same-sex partners who had entered into registered civil unions.


 "As a result, the court’s earlier inclusion of permanent same-sex partners within the definition of spouse was still operative,” Judge Boissie Mbha said in a majority judgement.

The Commission for Gender Equality, a statutory body formed after apartheid ended in South Africa in 1994, supported Mr Duplan in his inheritance battle.