An unemployed woman, who wants to continue living a life of luxury at the expense of her estranged husband, failed to convince the high court that she needed over R257,000 for maintenance.
The estranged couple got married in community of property in 2012 and have a 12-year-old boy from the marriage. They separated towards the end of July 2022.
The 31-year-old wife approached the High Court in Johannesburg and sought an interim maintenance order until their divorce was finalised.
In her affidavit, she mentioned that she would need over R257,000 to cover her monthly costs, these expenses include personal care in relation to nails, lashes, facials, skin care, make-up and perfume totalling R52,620 every month.
She would also need R45,000 for monthly instalments and insurance for her Maserati which she bought in December 2023, as well as R16,000 monthly for lunches and entertainment.
She also mentioned that she buys R12,000 in groceries and needs R15,000 for holidays every month or R180,000 per annum.
The wife described her husband as a man of great wealth while she was just a house wife with Grade 10.
The court heard that the 34-year-old husband used to work as Chief Financial Officer for one of the municipalities in Gauteng and now works for a different company.
According to the wife, they did not live an ordinary life, they have always travelled abroad on first class and they drove expensive vehicles including a Porsche Targa, a 2023 model Porsche 911 Turbo which the husband uses for leisure, a 2023 BMW X6 M50D which he uses for work. Her husband is also the owner of two Range Rovers, two BMW 125i, an older model BMW X6, a Mercedes Benz CLA 45, a Toyota Hilux Single Cab and a brand new Volkswagen Golf 8R.
She said in August 2020, he gifted her a Range Rover Lumma, as a ‘sorry gift’ after fathering a child outside their marriage.
She added that from June 2020 to December 2021, he transferred over R5.6 million into her sister’s bank account and R1.6 million was used to renovate the kitchen of their home and she spent the rest of the money on herself and the funds were now depleted.
For income, she receives money from an apartment in Cedar Acres, which is rented out for R14,000 per month and a property described as Oppi Koppi, which receives rental of R18,500.
In his reply, the husband denied owning all of the cars, he said some belonged to a third party whose name and relation was not mentioned.
The judge also noted that he kept his cards very close to his chest, and gave no indication of what the acquisition of his wealth was.
However, there was evidence that some of the funds were from two trusts, a family trust, which was registered in 2016, and a business trust registered in 2021.
The wife side between January 2019 to January 2024, the husband received over R10.2 million in the family trust referenced as “Rental”, and an aggregate of over R5 million referenced as “Loan”.
In his reply, the husband said the money was not there anymore.
The husband currently lives in a R15 million house in Bryanston, the property was intended to be their common home, but the breakdown of the marriage put an end to that idea.
He said his source of income is his net salary of R123,924 and the extent of his monthly expenses total R169,358 which includes the maintenance contribution towards their child, and other expenses for his wife.
Looking at the evidence, acting Judge Sarita Liebenberg said both parties have presented insufficient evidence to support their claims.
“The wife’s claims are inflated, and the husband is less than frank about his financial affairs, choosing not to make disclosure of the financial affairs of two trusts registered during the subsistence of the marriage, and which house substantial wealth accumulated during the subsistence of the marriage,” said Liebenberg.
Liebenberg added that she won’t accept that money from the trust simply disappeared.
She said because the wife was still receiving rental income from the two properties, the husband would pay her R67,000 every month.
He will be responsible for the estate levy where she was renting, including security, the rates, taxes, costs of water and electricity consumption, and other municipal imposts and levies as invoiced. The costs of maintenance and repairs, including swimming pool maintenance and chemicals.
He also has to also pay the TV license, DSTV subscription, Telkom, ADSL and internet accounts.
He will pay wages and annual bonuses of the domestic worker and gardener.