Kruger v Goss and Another

The respondent and the deceased were married out of community of property and divorced after a short marriage. In the divorce proceedings the respondent claimed only rehabilitative maintenance, which the High Court ordered the deceased to pay for a fixed period. The deceased paid the maintenance until his death, after which a portion of the rehabilitative maintenance period remained unexpired. The respondent lodged a claim against the deceased’s estate for the outstanding maintenance. The executor rejected the claim, but the High Court upheld it, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was upheld with costs. The High Court order was set aside and replaced with an order dismissing the respondent’s application with costs.

The case authoritatively confirms that rehabilitative maintenance orders do not survive the death of the maintenance debtor and are not enforceable against a deceased estate, unless expressly agreed. It clarifies the interaction between the Divorce Act, the common law, and the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act, reinforcing the limits of post-divorce maintenance claims in South African law.