Will and status quo orders: testamentary disposition is not a transfer of property and is not barred unless expressly prohibited.

A bequest under a Will does not amount to a transfer of property because a Will operates only on the testator's death and creates no present right or interest during lifetime. A general status quo order over property restrains changes to existing conditions, but it does not, by itself, prohibit testamentary disposition unless it expressly forbids making a Will. Accordingly, a Will executed while such an order is in force is not void or non est merely on that ground. The note also states that the appellant was a necessary party entitled to continue the contest, and the order rejecting impleadment was set aside.

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Issues: (i) Whether a bequest under a Will amounts to a transfer of property. (ii) Whether a direction to maintain status quo in respect of property prohibits testamentary disposition, and whether a Will made during the operation of such an order is void or non est.

Issue (i): Whether a bequest under a Will amounts to a transfer of property.

Analysis: A transfer under property law is a conveyance inter vivos of existing property by a living person to another living person. A Will is governed by the law of succession, operates only after the testator's death, and does not create any present right, title, or interest in favour of the beneficiary during the testator's lifetime. It is revocable and regulates succession rather than effecting a transfer of property.

Conclusion: A bequest under a Will does not amount to a transfer of property.

Issue (ii): Whether a direction to maintain status quo in respect of property prohibits testamentary disposition, and whether a Will made during the operation of such an order is void or non est.

Analysis: A status quo order restrains alteration of the existing state of affairs, but it does not, by itself, prohibit execution of a Will unless the order is expressly directed to that effect. The capacity to make a Will under succession law is controlled by permanent legal incapacity, not by a temporary judicial restraint of this nature. Making a Will does not change possession, title, or the nature of the property during the testator's lifetime, and therefore does not violate a general status quo direction regarding the property.

Conclusion: A status quo order does not bar testamentary disposition, and a Will executed during its operation is not void or non est merely for that reason.

Final Conclusion: The appellant was a necessary party entitled to come on record to continue the contest, and the order rejecting impleadment was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: A Will is not a transfer of property inter vivos, and a general status quo order regarding property does not prohibit a testamentary disposition unless it expressly restrains the making of a Will.

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