Cape Times reports that the customary wife of a deceased man failed in her attempt to claim a death benefit as she had not proved dependency on him and was an estranged spouse.
In her complaint to the Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA), the wife was unhappy that the Becsa Provident Fund distributed the death benefit of R4.5 million to the deceased’s four children and to his girlfriend. The deceased was a member of the fund until he died in September 2023. The complainant submitted that she was married to the deceased and was financially dependent on him. She provided a copy of a lobola letter dated 17 September 2022 and a marriage certificate in support of her submissions. But, the fund submitted that according to its investigation report, the deceased was never married. It also established that the girlfriend qualified as a factual dependent on the basis that she was financially dependent on the deceased, she lived with him, and they shared common household responsibilities. According to the fund, the complainant failed to furnish it with proof of her dependency on the deceased.
In her determination, the PFA noted that the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act provided for the posthumous registration of a marriage. Thus, the complainant, as the customary wife, qualified as a legal dependant. But, she explained that while the customary wife qualified as a legal dependant by virtue of her marriage to the deceased, that did not necessarily entitle her to an allocation of the death benefit, as the death benefit did not form part of the deceased’s estate and was therefore not subject to any matrimonial property regime.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zelda Venter at Cape Times
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