Litigation: Court orders payment of spousal maintenance for life

A Northern Cape High Court (Kimberley) judge has ordered the former husband of a woman, who had hardly worked and had few qualifications, to pay spousal maintenance to her for as long as she lived or until she marries again. Pretoria News reports that during the divorce proceedings, the wife told the court she had applied for at least 45 jobs but had not been invited to a single interview. Judge JW Eksteen said by no fault of her own it was unlikely – given her age and working experience – she would ever find work. The couple was married out of community of property with the accrual system for nearly two decades.

It was agreed that when they divorced the wife would receive about R1.5m from her husband’s pension fund, but the woman said this would not be enough to make ends meet each month. While she had worked for a short period during their marriage, it had been agreed she would stay home and look after their children. The wife said throughout the marriage she had dedicated herself to housekeeping, homemaking and cooking, most of the time without domestic assistance. Thus, she was entitled to spousal maintenance to make up the shortfall she would face in her monthly expenses. Eksteen said the divorce legislation did provide for spousal maintenance in certain cases. He said the court could make an order for the payment of maintenance by one party to the other for any period until the death or remarriage of the party in whose favour the order is given, whichever event occurs first.