A parent can claim maintenance for adult dependent children from the other parent upon divorce, the SCA has ruled.

According to a GroundUp report, the judgment, penned by Acting Judge Pieter Meyer (with four judges concurring), has resolved the question of law – and the proper interpretation of sections of the Divorce Act – which has previously resulted in conflicting High Court decisions.

The issue to be determined by the SCA was whether a parent has legal standing to act on behalf of adult dependent children to claim maintenance on their behalf, or whether the children have to make the claim for themselves.

The matter before the SCA was an appeal by a mother against a ruling in the Eastern Cape High Court in favour of the father.

The father had entered a ‘special plea’ that their two children were now adults, so they should pursue their maintenance claims against him in their own names.

Meyer said the parents of a minor child or an adult dependent child had a duty to support them in accordance with their means, under both common law and statute.

In terms of the Divorce Act, a court would not grant a divorce unless it was satisfied that the welfare of any minor child or dependent child was provided for, and the court could make any order it deemed fit as regards maintenance.

Meyer said that properly contextualised, the words in the Act supported an interpretation that a parent can claim maintenance on behalf of adult dependent children.

The court upheld the appeal with costs and dismissed the father’s special plea.

Full GroundUp report

Judgment