A woman who says her ‘husband’ gave her the impression that they were legally married for several years now has the go-ahead to attach some of his assets, the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) has ordered. According to a Beeld report, Michelle van Tonder, from Secunda, obtained a final order against former lover Patrick John Fann. The court authorised the sheriff to attach money in Fann’s Absa account to the value of R345 000 and pay it over to Van Tonder.

A second part of the application – to get access to 50% of Fann’s pension fund benefits – will be heard at a later stage. The couple met in 2009 and Van Tonder said in court papers they held a wedding ceremony where she believed a legal marriage had been confirmed. However, Fann was still married. The couple held a second ‘marriage’ ceremony later that year when Fann said there was a technical problem with the first ceremony because they had married outdoors. Van Tonder says her lover and a marriage official ‘conspired’ to convince her they were legally married. The couple lived together for several years, but the relationship broke down. Van Tonder only became aware of the true state of affairs when she attempted to sue him for a divorce.

Full Beeld report