- High Court orders Plaintiff to transfer 40 percent of his estate to Defendant, recognising decades of unpaid domestic and emotional contributions.
- The court grants 12 months’ maintenance of R20 000 per month and allows Defendant to retain her property, rejecting Plaintiff’s argument that she should walk away with nothing.
- Judgment underscores that traditional duties in long marriages indirectly support the growth of a spouse’s estate and merit financial recognition.
For more than 30 years, the wife dedicated her life to her husband, their home, and his child. She ran the household, cared for the child, supported her husband’s hobbies, and ensured the smooth running of his life, all while receiving little to no personal income.
When the marriage ended, she faced the frightening possibility of walking away with nothing, despite decades of devotion and labour that had helped her husband build his wealth. However, the Pietermaritzburg High Court has recognised the full weight of the wife’s contributions, ordering the husband to transfer 40 percent of his estate to her.
The wife told the court, “I did not receive anything for myself. He informed me that there was money in his account and if I needed something, he would buy it, but he did not want me to have cash.”
Judge PC Bezuidenhout said that such work “by necessity contributes indirectly to the maintenance or increase of the husband’s estate” and deserved financial recognition.
The husband, an attorney and businessman, admitted his wife’s help, saying, “She would make coffee for me, pour me a whisky, if there was a garment that needed mending, she would repair it. With skydiving, she helped me, and she enjoyed going there, and she packed my parachute.”
Yet he argued that she had earned a salary and should have prepared for her own future. The court rejected this, noting it was impossible to expect decades of devoted partnership to end with nothing.
A life of intertwined contributions
The couple had lived together as husband and wife since 1993 and married in 1999 out of community of property without accrual. The wife’s work was woven into every aspect of their life together. She cared for the child, managed the household, and supported her husband’s career and personal interests. “We were together 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at work and at home,” she told the court.
Judge Bezuidenhout highlighted that under Section 7(3) of the Divorce Act, a spouse’s contributions do not need to exceed ordinary marital duties to justify redistribution. What matters is whether those contributions indirectly maintained or grew the other spouse’s estate.
The court found that the wife’s decades of unpaid domestic and emotional work met this threshold, making her entitled to a substantial share of the marital estate.
Justice and fairness in long marriages
The court considered the vast disparity in asset growth during the marriage. The husband’s estate had grown significantly, while the wife had minimal assets, no pension, and no insurance. At 58, she faced age-related barriers to employment and limited skills, making it nearly impossible to secure reasonable income independently.
Judge Bezuidenhout observed, “It is difficult to understand on what basis, after being together for 30 years, the husband expects the wife to just walk away from the marriage with nothing.” The judgment emphasised fairness and equity, awarding rehabilitative maintenance for a period of 12 months while ensuring she received a significant redistribution of assets to reflect decades of invisible labour.
The court concluded that the wife’s work over 30 years contributed directly and indirectly to the growth of her husband’s estate, and she was entitled to financial recognition.
By granting her 40 percent of the net value of the estate, along with temporary maintenance and retention of her property in Leisure Bay, the judgment sets a precedent for long marriages where one spouse’s contribution has been largely invisible or undervalued.
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