Wife did nothing to forfeit share of estate
A husband who claimed his wife only married him so that he could take care of her and for him to get her out of her premarital debt, has turned to the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) for an order that she forfeit her portion of their joint estate because they were married in community of property.
According to a Pretoria News report, the husband told Judge Brad Wanless that the marriage was doomed from the start as their problems started on their wedding night.
He claimed his wife made it clear from the beginning that she did not love him.
The husband said that once his money dried up, she took their two children and left the house.
He told the court that if they remained married, he would likely remain the primary and sole breadwinner in their relationship.
The wife had a different story to tell and said he was emotionally and physically abusive towards her and this was the reason why she left him, taking their children with her.
It was not a question of her not wanting to work, she said, but rather that they had decided that she would take care of the children at home as they could not afford a helper.
Wanless commented that while both parties, unsurprisingly, proffered different reasons for the breakdown of the marriage, it was, in fact, a common cause that the relationship was a disaster from the very beginning.
Referring to the fact that the problems started on their wedding night, the judge remarked: ‘It is indeed remarkable, not only that the marriage lasted for as long as it did, but produced two children therefrom.’
According to the Pretoria News report, he said that based on the evidence, the parties should clearly never have married one another.
But, the judge added, they are ‘certainly not the first (or last) couple to come to the realisation that, upon becoming married to one another, they are simply incompatible’.
The court found that there was no wrongdoing on the part of the wife to warrant her to forfeit her share of their estate, which includes his pension money.
She will, however, forfeit three small properties belonging to him, which she said she was not interested in.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
