The man previously supported the child and mother with part of the rental cottage proceeds he owned with his wife.
In another matter concerning maintenance disputes between spouses in divorce proceedings, the Johannesburg High Court heard a case in which a man sought maintenance from his wife.
The parties were married on 20 April 2022 in community of property. At the time, the husband was 30 years old, and the wife was 46.
The couple never had children together; however, according to court papers, the husband fathered a child with another woman. The child was born on 12 June 2025.
The wife filed for divorce on 17 September 2025, citing the husband’s extramarital affair that led to the birth of the child.
As divorce proceedings continue, the husband still lives on their marital property and also eats food purchased by the wife.
He is unemployed, has no income and has a maintenance duty to his child. He told the court that his maintenance needs are R2 500 per month for food and nappies for the child, and R2 000 per month for his and the child’s transport.
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Before the divorce proceedings, he supported the minor child and the child’s mother with a portion of the proceeds from the rental cottages.
The wife is also unemployed and gets her income from the cottages. When she initiated divorce proceedings, she also notified the tenants that they should pay rent to her personal account from 1 October 2025.
The property in Germiston is registered in the wife’s name, and she owned it before their marriage. There are eight cottages on the property. When fully occupied, the cottages could make R24 500 per month. However, they currently make only R7 200 a month.
Man wants wife to support child
The husband approached the court to obtain support from his wife so that he could support his child. He produced proof of payment to the mother of his child, but it stopped after the wife instructed the tenants to pay their rent into her private account.
“The husband also submits that the relief he seeks is necessary and urgent to secure the infant’s maintenance and to prevent unilateral diversion of the ‘joint rental income’ pending the trial,” reads the court papers.
“Thus, on a conspectus of his pleadings, and given the fact that he still lives and eats at the matrimonial home, the conclusion is inescapable that the primary – if not the sole – purpose of his application is to secure maintenance for his minor child (whom the wife views as a child born out of wedlock). Insofar as his own need for transport money is mentioned, it is entirely devoid of detail or quantification.”
Ruling
No evidence was presented before the court of the wife undertaking to support the child.
“In these circumstances, she has no inherent duty to support the child born to her husband outside the marriage,” commented acting judge DJ Smit.
“Our law no longer considers it against public policy to afford a spouse maintenance after divorce, even though that spouse has been cohabiting with another person as a romantic couple before divorce. But our law also does not recognise a minor child’s claim for support against a person married to their biological parent unless such a person has explicitly undertaken duties of support.”
The judge found that the husband had not made a case for maintenance pending litigation in the matter because his needs for shelter and food are already being taken care of by the joint estate.
The application was dismissed in a judgment delivered on 31 March 2026.
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