A judge in Johannesburg’s South Gauteng High Court recently turned down a woman’s request for temporary financial support during her ongoing divorce. She was asking for help with child care costs, her own living expenses, and some money toward her legal bills while the divorce gets sorted out.
This kind of request is meant to provide quick, temporary help for spouses and kids when a marriage is ending, keeping things fair and affordable in the meantime.
The judge decided she hadn’t been completely open about her money situation. It turned out she had overstated how much she needed and downplayed the help her husband was already giving.
The couple got married in 2012 without sharing property, but with a system where they’d split any growth in assets later. They have two young kids, ages nine and four. Things fell apart, and they separated in December 2023. The kids are mostly with the mom right now, and the dad sees them regularly but not as much as he’d like.
The dad asked the court for more time with the kids and even shared living arrangements. They talked about adding some extra overnight visits during the hearing, but the judge didn’t change anything yet, saying there wasn’t enough info to decide.
Instead, the judge sent the parenting issues to a family advocate for a proper look and report. This neutral expert will help figure out what’s best for the kids. Until that’s done, the current setup stays the same.
The woman wanted R20,000 a month for the kids, R30,000 for herself, and R80,000 for lawyer fees. She said she quit her job at her husband’s suggestion to focus on raising the family, and he’d been the main earner.
But the husband showed he was already covering close to R38,000 a month for her and the kids’ needs, like cash, school, medical stuff, and more. He also questioned her claims about his earnings and said she could support herself.
After checking everything, the judge saw that she hadn’t mentioned all the support he was providing or her own income fully.
The judge pointed out that these requests require total honesty and full details about finances. Hiding stuff or misleading can sink the whole claim.
She claimed she had no money, but didn’t share the full picture.
The judge also said no to the legal cost help, because she didn’t prove she really needed it, that he could afford it, or that it was essential for her case.
In the end, the judge made her pay his legal costs and dismissed her entire request.
The main divorce case is still going, and the family advocate’s report will likely shape decisions about the kids moving forward.