Maintenance onus is 50/50
A FREE State father, who believed that a monthly contribution of R1 500 was sufficient for his child, was informed that he earned enough to provide a higher contribution towards his son’s maintenance.
The father and his wife are currently in the middle of a divorce and they have a 14-year-old son who lives with the mother.
The mother brought a Rule 43 application seeking interim maintenance from her estranged partner until their divorce is finalised.
She wanted the father to pay R7 500 monthly maintenance towards their teenage son and a further R4 345 for school fees.
She also wanted him to contribute 50% towards the school fees and the house bond.
She further submitted that she works at the Department of Health and earns a monthly salary of R28 637 86. She said it was not enough to cover all her expenses because her expenses amount to a total of R46 064 every month.
In response, the husband said he works at Transnet and earns R33 171 every month.
He said he pays R1 500 towards his son’s maintenance, adding that he also contributes towards his stationery and pocket money.
In addition, he said he pays R6 000 rent every month and also has funeral and investment policies where he pays almost R5 000 every month.
He accused the wife of being dishonest in her application and said for 2023, he used his stokvel funds to provide his wife with an amount ranging from R15 000 to R18 000 for the school fees.
Regarding the bond, he said his wife failed to mention that the bond repayments had been reduced after a re-negotiation and he submitted proof that from R8 300, the repayments were reduced to R4 188.
Acting judge Melissa Jordaan said the duty to maintain a child rests on both parents.
When calculated, the son’s monthly expenses were R8 975. The judge said both parents should contribute equally to towards the amount.
Jordaan said the wife didn’t submit proof of lesser bond payment because she submitted her affidavit in court in October 2023 and the husband’s affidavit said that the new payment started in November 2023.
Therefore, there was no proof of when she started paying the lesser amounts and it can’t be concluded that she was dishonest in her application.
Moreover, the judge said father cannot pay for funeral and investment policies when maintenance obligations for daily living have to be met.
Jordaan ordered the father to contribute R2 094 which is 50% towards the bond repayments. The father was also ordered to pay R4 487 every month towards the child’s maintenance.