Wife loses pension for infidelity

A WOMAN'S infidelity came at a high cost for her, after the Limpopo High Court, sitting in Polokwane, confirmed an earlier order that she forfeit her half of her husband's Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) in a divorce action.

- ZELDA VENTER

The woman turned to court to appeal an earlier ruling by the lower court which ordered the forfeiture. But Judge Mariska Naude-Odendaal found that the woman (the appellant) had no grounds to stand on and she turned down the appeal.

The appellant submitted that the lower court misdirected itself in law, in respect of making a finding that the infidelity is a ground for forfeiture. She argued that there are many case law findings which state that a spouse who is asking for a forfeiture order must demonstrate financial misconduct committed by the offending party, to sustain forfeiture.