The Pretoria High Court has reserved judgment in an application bya Gauteng chef to change intestate legislation which prevents him frominheriting his gay partner's estate.

Henley-on-Klip chef Mark Gory sought an order declaring unconstitutionala section of the Intestate Succession Act of 1987, which excludes referenceto same-sex life partners where it refers to "spouse".

He also wanted the court to declare that he and his partner Henry Brookswere partners in a permanent same-sex life partnership in which they hadundertaken reciprocal duties of support and that he was the sole heir toBrooks's estate.

Brooks left no will when he died suddenly in April 2005. He and Goryhad known each other since 2003 and bought the house in 2004. The bondwas registered in Brooks's name.

Counsel for Gory, D I Berger SC, argued that the curator of Brooks'estate, Pretoria attorney Daniel Kolver, should have tried to settle Gory'sclaim against the estate.

Instead, Kolver treated the grieving man with utter contempt, saidBerger. He tried to "bully him into submission" and sold the house threedays after inviting Gory to go to court with his claim.

"He was desperate. He was grieving for a lost partner. He had a curatoragainst him and his partner's parents coming into his house and takingthings. He did not want to lose the home he had built up with his partner."

Berger asked the court not only to remove Kolver as curator of theestate, but to order him and Brooks's parents to pay the costs of the applicationbecause of their "reprehensible" conduct.

Counsel for Kolver and Brooks' parents said Kolver "was only doinghis legal duty" and was not in a position to advise the couple to settlethe matter.

Judge Willie Hartzenberg, however, said it was clear from correspondencethat Kolver did not try to settle the dispute in a sensible manner, ashe should have, but was arrogant and sarcastic.

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