Man ordered to pay more than R2-million for 23-year-old divorce maintenance
A man has been ordered by the court to pay back maintenance to his ex-wife to the value of over R2-million.
People don't kid around when they talk about divorce being a costly affair.
This was clearly displayed recently after a man fell into arrears with his maintenance agreement with his ex-wife.
The two divorced 23-years-ago and she has now obtained a warrant of execution against her ex-husband's property after he failed to pay up consistently.
"According to the warrant and the documents in support of it handed to the high court in Johannesburg, an amount of R2 154 461.81 is due and payable by the husband to his ex-wife in respect of arrears maintenance for their daughter." (MSN)
After being approached by the sheriff to pay off his debt, he explained that he did not have any assets or the money to pay her.
The man shared that he felt that his ex-wife's warrant came at a very opportunistic time, as he had recently inherited some money from his late father.
The judge said that the man's denial of any assets was, in fact, false. After the husband's declaration, he questioned the amount against his property but did not dispute that he was behind in paying the maintenance order.
"He, however, complained that he was kept in the dark as to the incurrence of the expenses claimed by the wife. He said: "Whatever amounts I had to pay after 2010, I have no knowledge of, as I was never contacted, never requested to pay anything, and if either the respondent (wife) or our daughter had any claim against me, I can only assume that they had abandoned such a claim." (MSN)
As much as the man danced around the finer technicalities, the judge was clear in his ruling that the man take responsibility for the amount that he owes.
The ex-wife carried the load of their child for twenty years and it was now time for the man to pay up.
Their daughter, who completed her Bachelor’s degree and thereafter a postgraduate degree, is a qualified and registered psychologist.
Moral of the story - divorce can get ugly, especially if you don't stick to your agreements.
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