Unmarried surviving partners can claim maintenance from a deceased partner's estate if they can prove financial need.
More than two decades ago, the Supreme Court of Appeal decided that the Road Accident Fund had a duty to pay loss of support to a someone whose life partner had been killed in a car accident – even though there is no such thing as a common law marriage.
In that case, which predated same-sex marriages being legally recognised by three years, the couple had lived together for more than 11 years, pooled their finances, named each other as sole heirs in their wills, and held a commitment ceremony.
Du Plessis v Road Accident Fund found that the deceased partner had undertaken a contractual duty to support his partner financially – and that this obligation was worthy of legal protection.
Judge Cloete wrote that the couple’s “marriage” ceremony, witnessed by family and friends, the pooling of income, the shared family responsibilities and the deceased’s express commitment to support his partner all pointed to a tacit, reciprocal duty of support. This judgement was, however, limited to same-sex relationships.
