The appellant, Ms Ruanda Snyman, sustained serious injuries in a motor vehicle accident and successfully sued the Road Accident Fund (RAF). Pursuant to a court order dated 27 February 2015, an inter vivos trust (the Stapelberg Investment Trust) was created to receive and manage the awarded capital and related funds for her benefit. The respondents were appointed as trustees and the appellant was the sole beneficiary. After the trust’s establishment, the appellant raised concerns regarding the trustees’ management of the trust and their failure to provide adequate accounting. Despite requests for detailed financial information, the trustees provided only bank statements and investment reports, later supplemented by unaudited financial statements. Dissatisfied, the appellant applied to the High Court for an order compelling proper accounting, termination of the trust in terms of s 13 of the Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988, and related relief. The court of first instance granted this relief, but the full court overturned the decision. The appellant then appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The appeal was upheld with costs. The order of the full court was set aside and replaced. The trustees were ordered to render a full and properly vouched account of their administration of the trust, detailed procedures for debatement were prescribed, a new inter vivos trust was to be created, and upon its registration the existing trust was terminated in terms of s 13 of the Trust Property Control Act. The respondents were ordered to pay costs de bonis propriis, jointly and severally.
The judgment is significant for clarifying South African trust law by firmly distinguishing between termination of a trust under s 13 of the Trust Property Control Act and removal of trustees under s 20. It reaffirms the stringent fiduciary duty of trustees to keep and render proper accounts and confirms that beneficiaries are entitled to accounting that is intelligible, complete, and properly vouched. The case provides authoritative guidance on the standard of accounting required from trustees and corrects a recurring misconception in trust litigation.