Death claims don’t need ‘I do’

COUPLES are no longer forced to say “I do” in a legal marriage to enable them to claim for loss of support and maintenance in the case of death.

In South Africa, there are many couples who choose to live together in a committed relationship without entering into any formal marriage.

This is according to Gauteng High Court Judge Colleen Collis, who delivered a groundbreaking judgment for unmarried couples.

The judge ruled that courts had to keep up with the times, especially given that relationships and marriages had evolved.

She granted an order in favour of a woman whose partner died in a car accident. The two had lived together, although he was still married to his estranged wife.

The woman claimed maintenance and support from the Road Accident Fund because he had supported her financially. But the RAF refused to pay, because the couple were not legally married.

In granting the order, Judge Collis said: “Cohabitation outside a formal marriage, and dare I say, even where one of the parties is still married, is now widely practised and accepted by many communities.”

Brenda Jacobs turned to court after her partner, Wesley Stevens, died in September 2015 of injuries from a car crash. She said that at the time they had lived together for many years and were engaged, even though he was not yet divorced.

He moved in with her and supported her financially while she was a stay-at-home partner. Jacobs said they were due to get married as soon as his divorce was finalised.