A Limpopo woman has lost her appeal against a divorce ruling that denied her claim for forfeiture of matrimonial benefits, including her ex-husband’s pension claim, at the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane. The court reaffirmed that such claims must be clearly pleaded and supported by detailed evidence, as outlined in the Department of Justice guidelines.
Pension Fund Claim Dismissed
The judgment stems from a long-running divorce dispute between a couple who had been married in community of property for 35 years before their separation. The husband initiated divorce proceedings in 2019, seeking the dissolution of the marriage, division of the joint estate, and 50% of his wife’s pension interest through the Government Employees Pension Fund.
The wife opposed this, filing a counterclaim asking the court to order a total forfeiture of benefits in her favour, arguing that her husband should not benefit from the joint estate due to the circumstances surrounding the breakdown of the marriage. However, the Makhado Regional Court dismissed her forfeiture claim in December 2022 and granted the divorce, ordering that the husband was entitled to half of the wife’s pension interest.
Forfeiture Claims Require Detailed Evidence
At the appeal hearing, the wife failed to provide detailed evidence of the assets in the joint estate, including their values, as required by section 9(1) of the Divorce Act. The court noted that she should have listed the relevant assets, such as property, pension interests, or household goods, and provided evidence of their worth.
Key factors to consider in forfeiture claims include:
- Duration of the marriage
- Reasons for the breakdown of the marriage
- Any misconduct by either party
The High Court emphasised that forfeiture claims require a structured, two-step analysis, and the wife failed at the first hurdle due to vague and lacking pleadings.
