The Mercury

Divorcee gives no evidence for R54 000 increase in maintenanc­e

- CHEVON BOOYSEN chevon.booysen@inl.co.za

A DIVORCEE was dealt a major blow in the Western High Court when it dismissed her applicatio­n to have her monthly maintenanc­e increased from R71 000 to R125 000 – with no evidence of why the increase was needed.

The woman – whose name is withheld due to it being divorce action where three minor children are involved – further sought among other costs R56 000 to be paid to her legal counsel for each day the matter remains on trial.

Legal costs would amount to R935 000 for preparatio­n and imminent pending divorce action.

The separated couple, who were married for five years from 2009 to 2014 out of community of property, parted ways after the woman allegedly engaged in a “clandestin­e extramarit­al affair with another man”.

In his judgment, Judge Derek Wille said the woman, who instituted divorce action in November 2014, initially sought the sum of R60 000 per month, in the form of cash maintenanc­e for and on behalf of the children; an annual 10% escalation thereon, all the schooling and tertiary educationa­l costs of the minor children; the medical and dental costs of the minor children (plus all the extras not covered by medical aid); spousal maintenanc­e in the sum of R40 000 per month to increase by 10% annually; the medical and dental costs of herself (plus all extras not covered by medical aid) and, finally, the reasonable costs of an overseas trip annually for the minor children and herself.

She also further sought an order that the defendant transfer into her name the ownership of a Ferrari Alonso 599.

“The plaintiff now contends that her monthly expenses for her and her children amount to the sum of R103 775. Notably, this sum includes legal fees, support of her mother and beauty care in the sum of R5 000 per month. This amount is claimed for each of these items, per month. Notably, she also claims a bond repayment of R13 000 per month, building expenses of R4 000 per month and miscellane­ous expenses of R9 300 monthly,” court documents say.

The judge said the woman had failed to show that any increase in interim maintenanc­e for herself and her children was justified.

“The court’s task has been made even more difficult by the following: I do not have any ‘evidence’ of the plaintiff’s budget apart from her table of her alleged expenses (while I accept that an interim budget is not necessary in every claim), it would in my view have been helpful to have some understand­ing of the evidential basis for the sums that she now seeks. “Her ‘evidence’ in terms of the actual expenses incurred by her is at best for her, confusing; she fails to put up any proof (at all) of the alleged loan amounts that she is repaying. The plaintiff seeks to support her brother and her mother from a portion of these now claimed increased maintenanc­e payments, no explanatio­n whatsoever is advanced by the plaintiff why she waited for almost seven years to apply for this increase and why this has been done on the eve of the trial,” said Judge Wille.

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