Estranged Wife Denied Access to Husband’s R3.5m Estate As Girlfriend Gets 15% Share

• The Financial Services Tribunal prioritizes financial dependency over marital status in death benefit allocations
• Nomsa Ndlangamandla's claims of support were dismissed due to lack of financial proof
• The ruling reinforces legal precedent for provident fund distributions based on verified dependency status

SOUTH AFRICA— The Financial Services Tribunal ruled that a marriage certificate and lobola letter do not guarantee a share of a deceased spouse's R3.5 million death benefit without proof of financial dependency. The decision finalized the exclusion of an estranged wife from the Becsa Provident Fund payout.

According to TimesLIVE, Nomsa Ndlangamandla challenged the fund's decision to allocate the money to the deceased's children and girlfriend. Isack Bafana Ndlangamandla died on September 7, 2023. The fund allocated 15% to his girlfriend, who provided bank statements proving they shared a common household since June 2022.

This strict legal emphasis on factual dependency over marital status reflects socioeconomic vulnerabilities like the Malawian plight, where informal cross-border financial arrangements lack formal documentation required for legal protection. Nomsa argued she received cash and groceries, but she could not produce bank statements to verify her claims.

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Girlfriend qualifies as factual dependant

The Pension Fund Adjudicator and the tribunal both dismissed Nomsa's application for reconsideration. The tribunal found that in the absence of proof, the fund could not alter its allocation decision. The deceased’s children received the remaining allocations, with two daughters receiving 15% and 22.5%, and two sons receiving 22.5% and 25%.

While Nomsa maintained she visited her husband on weekends when off from work, the fund upheld that the girlfriend was the factual dependant. The ruling solidifies the legal precedent that provident funds must prioritize verified financial dependency over the existence of a marriage certificate when distributing benefits to beneficiaries.

Source: Briefly News