Daughter claims father has dementia after failing to pay him agreed amount for property

The Cape Town High Court has ordered the cancellation of a deed of sale concluded between a father and daughter after she breached their agreement.

On 15 February 2022, Reginald Norman Fredericks, a 77-year-old pensioner and sole registered owner of the property in Cape Town, and his daughter, Lauren Lee Fredericks, concluded a written deed of sale in which Reginald undertook to sell the property to her for R650 000. The two had agreed that Lauren would pay the stipulated price upon registration of the transfer of the property into her name.

On 18 May 2022, the deed of transfer was registered in Lauren’s name. However, Reginald said in his court papers that his daughter failed to pay the agreed purchase price, breaching the agreement. Reginald then elected to cancel the agreement and approached the Cape Town High Court to have the deed of sale declared null and void on the grounds that it was induced by fraud.

In court papers, Reginald said he had no intention of transferring the property free of charge, an argument his daughter disputed, claiming that her father intended to transfer ownership to her for fear of being taken advantage of by his sons. Following the parties’ signing of the agreement, Reginald also signed a power of attorney authorising the transfer of the property.

On 17 June 2025, Reginald’s attorneys caused a letter of cancellation of the agreement to be served to his daughter’s attorneys due to her breach of the agreement.

‘Father suffers from dementia’

Advocate R Kies, for the daughter, contended that Reginald suffers from dementia and lacks the necessary understanding of the consequences of the proceedings, submitting that a curator be appointed by the court to assist him in managing his financial affairs. The advocate relied on documents from Dr Bosman, whom the daughter had approached on suspicion that her father may be suffering from dementia, citing behavioural changes.

However, Advocate B Prinsloo, for the father, denied that the father had been diagnosed with dementia. He submitted a report from Dr Fortuin, a specialist psychiatrist, saying the father had no history of mental illness. The doctor’s assessment further confirmed that the father’s cognition was intact, with no clinical signs of Alzheimer’s.

‘No diagnosis’

The court found that the medical practitioners the daughter approached did not diagnose the father with dementia themselves; it was the daughter who informed them he had dementia.

“The alleged dementia upon which the first respondent seeks to rely was not independently diagnosed by any of the doctors concerned. On the contrary, the evidence demonstrates that it was the first respondent herself who conveyed her suspicions, which proved unfounded. In the absence of any definitive medical diagnosis, the first respondent’s reliance on these referrals cannot, in law, displace the applicant’s standing,” commented Acting Judge Siviwe Yake.

“The applicant, by contrast, has placed before the court conclusive evidence in the form of the specialist psychiatric report of Dr Fortuin. That report expressly rules out any possibility of dementia, recording that the applicant’s cognition is intact and that he has no history of mental illness.”

The judge ruled that the deed of sale concluded by the two parties be cancelled and the transfer of the property be set aside. The daughter was ordered to pay the costs of transferring the property back into her father’s name and the costs of her father’s application in the High Court.