Baby shower post leads to pension forfeiture in divorce case

A FACEBOOK post by a man’s estranged wife about her baby shower has cost her half of his R2.3m pension fund benefits.

- ZELDA VENTER

The man asked the court to order the forfeiture of her portion of his pension payout upon divorce after it emerged that the wife had another child—her third—with another partner, following a romantic relationship that also involved a friend of her husband. It is not clear from the court judgment who the father of the child is.

While the husband kicked her out of the house because she had an affair, he said the news of the baby shower still came as a shock. When the matter came before the court, both parties agreed to the divorce. The only issue to be decided was whether the wife should forfeit the R2.3 million benefit arising from the husband’s pension fund. The parties were married in community of property in January 2011. In August 2024, the wife issued a divorce summons seeking a division of the joint estate. They agreed that the joint estate be divided equally amongst them, apart from the husband's pension. He asked for an order that the wife forfeit this benefit, citing substantial misconduct on her part.