Faber, James ThomasJanse van Vuren, Louis Theunis2024-08-212024-08-212009Faber, J. T., & Janse van Vuren, L. T. (2009). Change to the age of majority: general impact and some consequences for the interpretation of wills. Journal for Juridical Science, 34(2), 133-141. https://doi.org/10.38140/jjs.v34i2.29970258-252X (print)2415-0517 (online)https://doi.org/10.38140/jjs.v34i2.2997http://hdl.handle.net/11660/12756On 1 July 2008, the age at which a person attains majority was lowered from 21 years to 18 years. Section 17 of the 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘈𝘤𝘵 stipulates that: “A child, whether male or female, becomes a major upon reaching the age of 18 years.” This change is consistent with the Constitution,¹ which defines a child as a person under the age of 18 years.² The department of social development motivated this change as follows: 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 18 𝘢𝘯𝘥 21 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘈𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 2005 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 [𝘪𝘵] 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 28(3) 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 18, 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 18 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵.³ The obvious consequence of this change is that 18-year-olds will now be able to enter into contracts, get married, vote and/or even emigrate without their parents’ permission. However, this change is not without shortcomings. Young adolescents between 18 and 21 years of age are thereby deprived of the protection afforded to them by law,‏⁴ while there are still limitations based on age excluding them from certain juristic acts.⁵ This change also created discrepancies in the South African legal system regarding age as a factor influencing a person’s status. In terms of a “special trust”, an 18-year-old is afforded protection because of his age, but in terms of a “bewind trust”, that same 18-year-old has the capacity to terminate the “protection” created for him, on the basis of his newly acquired majority status.⁶ Such contradictions affect legislation and cause legal uncertainty. Some of the consequences relevant to the law of succession and the administration of estates will be discussed in this article.enArticleAuthor(s)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/