In ''Volks NO v Robinson and Others'', an important case in South African
family and
succession
Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence.
Governance and politics
*Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...
law, a Mrs. Robinson had been in a permanent
life partnership with one Mr. Shandling. They had lived together as husband and wife from 1985 until Mr Shandling's death in 2001. Mr. Shandling had supported Mrs. Robinson. When. Mr Shandling died— Volks was his
executor
An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used.
Overview
An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...
— he left Mrs. Robinson a small
legacy
In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property.
Legacy or legacies may refer ...
, but Mrs. Robinson
sued additionally for
maintenance.
Robinson's claim was rejected because she did not fall within the definition of a “
spouse
A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. In certain contexts, it can also apply to a civil union or common-law marriage. Although a spouse is a form of significant other, the latter term also includes non-marital partners who play a social ...
” in th
Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990 On appeal to the
High Court, the court held that the
Act was unfairly
discriminatory on the grounds of
equality and dignity.
On appeal to the
Constitutional Court, the court held that the purpose of the Act was to provide for the maintenance of the surviving spouse, and that the ultimate aim was to extend an invariable consequence of marriage (i.e., support) beyond the death of either of the parties. The court further held that the Act was incapable of an interpretation including permanent life partners in the definition of a “spouse,” as
marriage is an important
social institution
Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...
, and the law is allowed to distinguish between married and
unmarried persons and accord benefits to the married.
The court held, accordingly, that there was a differentiation in the Act, but that it did not amount to an infringement of the right to equality. This decision was based on the fact that, during a marriage, the parties have a reciprocal duty of support, but there is no such duty accorded to the unmarried. The aim of the
legislation was not to encompass the unmarried. Accordingly, the court could not require the imposition of an obligation on a deceased person's
estate
Estate or The Estate may refer to:
Law
* Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations
* Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries.
** The Estates, representat ...
where there is no such obligation on the deceased when he is alive.
References
* ''Volks NO v Robinson and Others'' 2005 (5)
BCLR 446 (CC).
Notes
South African case law
2005 in case law
2005 in South African law
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