Legal Question in Family Law in South Africa

Morning

I am a divorced man and pay maintenance monthly to my Ex-wife. At the end of Dec she also gets a 10% of my leave bonus per child for school books for the next year.

My daughter is 12 years old and my son is 19. I can understand that I need to pay for my daughter but my son finished school and started at a plumbing school in Pretoria.

My son started with his plumbing career and stays at the Plumbing School in Pretoria. They give him 3 meals a day plus accommodation. He does not stay at my Ex-wife's premises any longer. We both pay for his studies at the Plumbing school, that includes accommodation, food etc. This is paid well in advance and not on a monthly basis. He might visit the ex-wife once or twice a month.

My question is - do I still need to pay my son's maintenance and especially the 10% at the end of the year of my leave bonus.

Another question � when we were married in COP we took out a loan on my pension fund to do some alterations on our house. After the divorce the house was sold and the Ex-wife needed to settle all outstanding accounts. When I received my salary slip the month after the amount was still deducted from my salary. When I asked her about this she mentioned there was no money. At the end I am paying this on a monthly basis and I still need to pay this for the next few years. When I asked her to please pay half she said she has no money.

Both her and her new husband are working currently.

I would really appreciate your response.

Kind regards

Heinrich Schneider


Asked on 4/02/12, 3:12 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Melcom Smit Smit and Associates

Good afternoon Mr. Schneider,

That would depend on what the court order was when the divorce was finalised. Normally it indicates when maintenance would terminate. Either way, it would be wise to consult with the maintenance officer at the Magistrates Court for more information.

Your son is still studying, and as such you still legally owe him a legal duty of support up to the age of 21. So normally maintenance will continue up to the age of 21. On the question of the loan, when the divorce decree was issued all debt MUST have been settled. If she did not do so, you may ask a court for an order compelling her to settle the debt.

I would recommend consulting with a good attorney in your area to determine what course of action to take in that regard.

Kind Regards,

M Smit, L.LD (UCT)

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Answered on 4/02/12, 3:57 am


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