Case Law[2023] ZAGPJHC 1279South Africa
F.P.K v A.K (2023-055679) [2023] ZAGPJHC 1279 (9 November 2023)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)
9 November 2023
Headnotes
the view that the contact tendered was too limited and accepted and exercised the contact tendered under protest.
Judgment
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# South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
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## F.P.K v A.K (2023-055679) [2023] ZAGPJHC 1279 (9 November 2023)
F.P.K v A.K (2023-055679) [2023] ZAGPJHC 1279 (9 November 2023)
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sino date 9 November 2023
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IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
LOCAL DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
CASE NUMBER: 2023 –
055679
NOT REPORTABLE
NOT OF INTEREST TO OTHER
JUDGES
REVISED
09/11/23
In the matter between:
K,
F P
APPLICANT
and
K,
A
RESPONDENT
JUDGEMENT
DE WET AJ:
1.
The applicant brought an application in
terms of rule 43 of the Uniform Rules of Court in which he
inter
alia
seeks defined rights of contact
with the child born of the marriage between the parties. The
respondent opposed the relief sought
and brought a counter
application for a contribution towards her maintenance, a
contribution towards the maintenance of the child
as well as a
contribution towards her legal costs. Both parties seek an order that
the other pay the costs of the application.
BACKGROUND
2.
The parties were married to one another on
2 October 2016 which marriage is out of community of property and
subject to the accrual
system as envisaged in Chapter 1 of the
Matrimonial Property Act, 88 of 1984
.
3.
One child, a son,
E.K
,
was born from the marriage on 2 November 2019 (“the child”).
He is four years old.
4.
As a consequence of the breakdown of the
marriage between the parties, cohabitation between them came to an
end during or about
October 2022, since when the child has lived with
the respondent whilst the applicant has had irregular contact with
him.
5.
It is common cause that the child’s
primary residence should vest in the respondent.
6.
It is further common cause that the issue
pertaining to the best interests of the child with reference to the
contact that the applicant
should have with him should be referred to
the Family Advocate for investigation and upon finalization of the
investigation, a
report that contains the findings and
recommendations of that office should be made available to the
parties. Such a referral has
been included in the court order below.
7.
The first dispute that the Court is herein
called upon to determine is the interim contact that the applicant
should have with the
child.
8.
The applicant herein seeks an order in the
following terms:
8.1.
That the primary residence of the child
vests in the respondent;
8.2.
that he has contact with the child as
follows:
8.2.1.
every Wednesday after school until Thursday
morning when he will return the child to school;
8.2.2.
every alternative weekend from after school
on the Friday until Monday morning when he will return the child to
school;
8.2.3.
on Father’s Day from 17h00 from the
day preceding Father’s Day until 17h00 on Father's Day;
8.2.4.
reasonable daily telephone contact, video
calling, webcam and skype;
8.2.5.
every alternate public holiday from 17h00
on the day preceding the public holiday until 17h00 on the public
holiday;
8.2.6.
on the child’s birthday for a minimum
period of 3 hours should his birthday fall on a weekday,
alternatively 5 hours if his
birthday falls on a weekend, as agreed
between the parties;
8.2.7.
on his, the applicant’s birthday,
from 17h00 on the day preceding his birthday until 17h00 on his
birthday;
8.2.8.
every alternate short school holiday and
alternate mid- and half-term breaks as well as one half of every long
school holiday provided
that Christmas and Easter shall alternate
between the parties. Neither party shall be entitled to have contact
with the child on
both Easter and Christmas during any calendar year.
9.
The respondent opposed the relief sought in
respect of contact between the applicant and the child, both in her
papers as well as
at the hearing of the application and only tendered
supervised contact between the child and the applicant.
THE APPLICANT’S
CLAIM FOR DEFINED CONTACT
10.
Following upon termination of cohabitation,
and numerous letters having been addressed to the respondent’s
attorneys of record
to arrange contact between the applicant and the
respondent, the respondent on 9 December 2022 tendered contact
between the applicant
and the child each alternate weekend from the
Friday until the Sunday as well as midweek contact on a Wednesday at
the former matrimonial
home. The applicant held the view that
the contact tendered was too limited and accepted and exercised the
contact tendered
under protest.
11.
The respondent recorded that initially, and
whilst the applicant resided with his mother, the child was properly
cared for. She
contended that the applicant now lives with his
girlfriend and has no true interest in the child and fails to
properly care for
him during contact time.
12.
The applicant’s case is that there
was a change in the state of affairs as a consequence of the
relationship between the parties
becoming strained and acrimonious.
Such acrimony impacted on their parental relationship. The respondent
started to restrict, frustrate
and deny the applicant’s contact
with the child. She supervised the midweek contact at her home, which
was rife with tension
and often culminated in acrimonious arguments
between the parties and or the applicant terminating the contact
session earlier
than the allocated time, due to the hostility between
the parties during the contact. The acrimony between the parties made
contact
under such circumstances untenable with the result that the
applicant declined to continue exercising midweek contact.
13.
The applicant experienced further
difficulties in exercising contact, which includes being denied
telephone contact, not being granted
access to the child on spurious
grounds that he was ill, without any medical proof being provided
that the child was indeed ill.
He was denied the full extent of
contact with the child over the 2023 Easter weekend, to which the
applicant contends he was entitled.
Handovers became
problematic and the parties agreed that handovers of the child for
purposes of contact should take place at a
neutral public venue and
not at the child’s home.
14.
It is common cause that on or about 2 June
2023 the respondent addressed a WhatsApp message to the applicant in
which she unilaterally
informed him that he would no longer have
sleepover contact with the child and that he would only have day
visits on alternate
Sundays. The respondent’s unilateral
curtailing the applicant’s contact with the child precipitated
this application.
The applicant thereafter, for reasons that are not
clear, elected not to accept the limited contact directed by the
respondent,
but refrained from exercising the restricted contact
pending finalization of this application. He has not had physical
contact
with the child for in excess of five months.
15.
The respondent, when she curtailed the
applicant’s contact with the child, did not advance any cogent
reasons for doing so.
In her opposing affidavit to the relief sought
by the applicant the respondent relies on vague and unsubstantiated
allegations
that
inter alia
include that the applicant no longer lives with his mother in
Alberton but rather with his girlfriend at an unknown address, that
he fails to properly take care of the child during contact, fails to
wash the child’s clothes when he has contact, exposes
the child
to unknown older male persons who consume alcohol. At no stage prior
to filling her opposing affidavit did she raise
any such concerns and
or objections against the applicant’s parenting and contact
with the child.
16.
The respondent further for the first time
in her opposing affidavit contended that there is no bond between the
applicant and the
child, and that contact should be supervised. She
alleged that the child made it clear that he is not happy in the
circumstances
or the treatment of him by the applicant. She provides
no facts to substantiate these bald allegations. The respondent’s
position at the hearing of the application remained steadfast that
the applicant should only have supervised contact with the child
and
that the child could have contact with the applicant on alternative
weekends, but only upon him reaching school going age,
which is in
excess of two years away.
17.
On considering the facts and circumstances
of this matter, the Court finds that there is no cogent evidence
before the Court to
support the respondent’s contentions that
the applicant is not committed to the child, cannot and does not take
proper care
of the child, or that he has failed to demonstrate any
true interests in the child.
18.
The applicant placed evidence before the
Court which confirms that he resides with his mother and stepfather
in Alberton, in a cottage
on their property, and not with his
girlfriend as contended by the respondent. The applicant informs that
he has contact with the
child at his mother’s home. He
furthermore contends that, to the knowledge of the respondent, he
very rarely consumes alcohol
as a consequence of some medical
complaint. He denies the contentions of the respondent that he
exposes the child to persons who
uses alcohol and confirms that he
takes care of the child when the child is with him, keeps to a
structured routine, feeds the
child balanced meals and washes his
clothes.
19.
The respondent has without any justifiable
reason to do so, denied the applicant his parental responsibilities
and rights to care
for the child and have contact with him. In terms
of
inter alia
section 7
of the Children’s Act, 38 of 2005, the child is
entitled to the love and care of both his parents as well as contact
with
his paternal family. It appears that the respondent is piqued by
the applicant’s new relationship such that she does not take
the child’s best interest into account when limiting and
denying the applicant contact with the child. Moreover, the
respondent
is denying the child contact with his father, to which he,
the child, is in law entitled.
20.
The respondent’s tender for
supervised contact only between the applicant and the child and no
sleepover contact until the
child reaches school going age is not
reasonable nor in the child’s best interests. The very limited
contact tendered by
the respondent will not enable the applicant to
nurture and develop his bond with the child. Such limited contact
will compromise
the child’s relationship with his father as
well as his paternal family.
21.
There is no need for supervised contact and
neither any grounds upon which the applicant’s contact should
be limited or restricted.
Taking into account further that the
respondent averred that the child was well cared for whilst in the
care of his paternal grandmother,
as well as that the applicant
exercises contact with the child as his mother’s home, the
respondent should be comforted that
the child will be properly cared
for during contact between the applicant and the child such as to
enable her to prioritize the
child’s best interests and
facilitate proper structured and predictable contact between the
applicant and the child.
22.
The Court concludes that there is no reason
why the child should not have proper contact with the applicant, his
father. As a consequence
of the interruption of contact between the
applicant and the child between at least June 2023 to date of the
hearing, the Court
finds that it is in the best interest of the child
that contact between him and the applicant be restored forthwith,
albeit by
phasing in contact over a short period to assist the child
with transitioning between no contact with the applicant to the
contact
directed hereunder. It is in the best interests of the child
that the handovers are harmonious. In the short term the handovers
will take place at the respondent’s residence until the contact
period, as in the order, is extended to sleepover contact
and it is
practical that handover take place in a neutral manner and at a
neutral venue.
THE RESPONDENT’S
MAINTENANCE CLAIMS
Maintenance for the
child
23.
The applicant in his founding
statement tendered maintenance in respect of the child as follows:
23.1.
a cash contribution in the amount of
R1 500,00 per month;
23.2.
50% of the medical expenses not covered by
the respondent’s medical aid scheme of which the child is a
registered dependent;
23.3.
payment of R1 600,00 per month
in respect of 50% of the child's school fees and other ancillary
charges raised on the
school invoices;
23.4.
50% of the costs of the child’s extra
mural activities including the costs of the apparel and equipment.
24.
The respondent in her counter application
claims maintenance
pendente lite
for
the child in the amount of R10 000 per month.
25.
The applicant opposes the relief sought by
the respondent in respect of the maintenance for the child
inter
alia
on the following grounds:
25.1.
during co-habitation the parties shared the
child’s expenses;
25.2.
the respondent has inflated the expenses of
the child;
25.3.
the respondent incorrectly allocated
expenses to the child, both in respect of certain items as well as
the portion of the expense
ascribed to the child;
25.4.
he cannot afford to pay the maintenance
claimed by the respondent in respect of the child.
26.
In
TS v TS
2018 (3) SA 572
GP the Court stressed that in matters of this nature
the actual maintenance needs and
expenses of the child need to be established. This is not possible on
the facts before the Court.
27.
The financial information placed before the
court by both parties is less than satisfactory. Furthermore, the
Financial Disclosure
Forms (“FDF”) delivered by both
parties appear to have been completed with less care than required as
both contain
errors, including computation errors and misstatements.
Neither party has made a clear and precise disclosure of their income
in
their FDF which necessitated further computations and explanations
at the hearing. It is not possible to determine from the evidence
before court what the exact income of the parties is.
28.
The FDF’s evidence that both parties
have limited means.
29.
The applicant has assets to the value of
approximately R758 355.23. His liabilities total approximately
R454 346,00. Included
in his liabilities is the balance owing on
his Toyota Installment Sale Agreement which necessitates monthly
repayments on his motor
vehicle in the amount of R7 106,04. The
applicant’s net asset value is approximately R304 009,00.
He has no liquid
assets.
30.
The respondent has assets to the value of
approximately R501 948,59. Her liabilities total R80 000,00.
The respondent’s
net asset value is approximately R421 948,59.
She has not disclosed any liquid assets.
31.
The applicant criticized the respondent’s
FDF as being incomplete. There seems to be merit in such criticism in
that it appears
from the respondent’s disclosed bank statements
that there is a further undisclosed bank account from which and to
which
regular transfers are affected by the respondent. The
respondent did not disclose any information about her personal loan
in the
amount of R80 000,00. In addition, she contends that she
has utilized the entire amount of approximately R138 983,71
received by her from the proceeds of the sale of the matrimonial home
to sustain herself and the child. She does not provide any
evidence
in support of such contention.
32.
The absence of a full and frank disclosure
by parties of their financial position in their respective FDFs has a
very detrimental
effect on the Court’s ability to determine the
true means and true income of parties. It further undermines a proper
and
just adjudication of the issues in
rule 43
applications. As a
consequence of the lack of full and frank disclosure by the parties
herein, the Court is not able to determine
with any precision the
issues raised by both parties in respect of the financial position of
the other.
33.
The Court, for purposes of determining the
maintenance contribution by the applicant to the needs of the child,
concludes that the
applicant earns a fixed disposable income of
R22 750,00 per month, that he earned a bonus of R2 750,00
during the past
financial year and that he earned commission in
certain months. Ms. Rodrigues, counsel for the applicant, submitted
that the average
income of the applicant over the period November
2022 to October 2023, including his commission and the bonus, was
R23 455,55
per month.
34.
Ms. Rodriques submitted that upon totaling
the credits in the respondent’s bank account identified as
“salary”,
her average monthly income is R17 046,00
per month. Mr. Khaba, the respondent’s counsel, did not contend
differently.
35.
The applicant has disclosed monthly
expenses in the amount of R24 202,00. He contends that he has a
monthly shortfall.
36.
The
respondent, whilst living with her parents, has disclosed her and the
child’s monthly expenses to be R39 310,00.
This amount is
R1 191,55 short of the parties’ combined income and does
not take into account any expenditure by the
applicant to meet his
personal maintenance requirements. The applicant’s
expenditure is clearly overstated, and the
Court cannot accept the
respondent’s case in this regard.
37.
In
Taute v
Taute
1974 (2) SA 675
(E) at 676 the
Court held that:
“
A
claim supported by reasonable and moderate details carries more
weight than one which includes extravagant or extortionate demands
-
similarly more weight will be attached to the affidavit of a
respondent who evinces a willingness to implement his lawful
obligations
than to one who is obviously, albeit on paper, seeking to
evade them.”
38.
In
Du Preez v
Du Preez
32009 (6) SA 28 (T) the Court
frowned upon the tendency of parties to misstate the true nature of
their financial affairs in
rule 43
applications. Parties are required
to act with the utmost good faith and to disclose fully and
accurately all
material information
regarding their financial affairs.
39.
The applicant contends that he has a
monthly shortfall and is not able to increase his monthly cash
contribution of R1 500,00
per month. Notwithstanding the
respondent’s overstatement of her and the child’s monthly
expenses, the applicant’s
tender of a cash contribution to the
maintenance requirements of the child in the amount of R1 500,00
per month is inappropriate.
40.
The child’s primary residence is with
the respondent who earns less than the applicant. She cannot be left
to bear the more
substantial maintenance burden in respect of the
child. The applicant will of necessity have to reduce his unnecessary
expenditure
on non-essential items as appears from his bank
statements in order to ensure that he makes a larger contribution to
the maintenance
needs of the child.
41.
Both parties reside with parents and both
parties receive indirect support from their parents. The respondent
pays an amount of
R3 000,00 to her mother in lieu of
accommodation for her and the child, as evidenced by a written
agreement between them.
The applicant contends that he pays R6 000,00
per month to his mother in respect of his accommodation. There is no
evidence
of a monthly payment of R6 000,00 by the applicant to
his mother. His affidavit and his bank statements record a single
large
payment of R55 000,00 to his mother and further
ad
hoc
transfers on his bank statements
between him and his mother. These transfers and the inconsistency
thereof are not explained.
42.
On considering the list of expenses set out
in the respondent’s amended FDF dated 20 October 2023, and
upon excluding
from the list of expenses such direct expenses of the
child in respect whereof the applicant has made a tender, the Court
finds
that the needs of the child will be met upon the applicant
contributing a cash amount of R3 750,00 per month in respect of
the child’s maintenance needs.
43.
In addition to the above, the applicant’s
tender is incorporated in the order below.
Maintenance for the
respondent
44.
The respondent claims maintenance for
herself,
pendente lite
,
in the amount of R5 000,00 per month.
45.
The applicant opposes the respondent’s
claim for maintenance
inter alia
on the grounds that:
45.1.
at no stage during the marriage and
cohabitation between the parties did he contribute to the personal
maintenance needs of the
respondent;
45.2.
at all material times the respondent was
self-sufficient and used her personal income derived from her
employment with the Ekurhuleni
Metropolitan Municipality to provide
for all her maintenance requirements;
45.3.
he is not able to afford the respondent’s
claim for maintenance, including her claim for costs.
46.
It is trite that a maintenance claim, be it
pendente lite
or on divorce, is determined by considering the reasonable and
necessary maintenance needs of the party claiming maintenance and
the
ability of the other party to pay the maintenance sought.
47.
The respondent does not dispute that she
provided for her own maintenance requirements from her personal
income during the marriage.
Even in the event that the respondent has
proved a true need, it is clear that the applicant does not have the
means with which
to make a contribution to her maintenance in
addition to the maintenance contribution to be made by the applicant
to the needs
of the child.
48.
The Court finds that the respondent has not
made out a case for personal maintenance from the applicant
pendente
lite
.
CONTRUBUTION TOWARDS
THE RESPONDENT’S LEGAL COSTS
49.
The respondent seeks a contribution to her
legal costs in the amount of R25 000,00.
50.
The
claim for a contribution to legal costs is
sui
generis
.
In
Chamani
v Chamani
1979
(4) SA 804 (W)
at 806 the Court held that it arises out of the
reciprocal duty of support that spouses owe one another. The quantum,
if any, falls
within the judicial discretion of the court.
51. In determining
this issue the Court has regard to
inter alia
the following:
51.1. The nature and
extent of issues to be determined in the divorce action;
51.2. the complexity of
the issues and the extent of evidence and documents required;
51.3. the respondent,
should she require it, is entitled to a contribution to her costs
such as to enable her to adequately present
her case on an equal
footing with the applicant;
51.4. the applicant is
entitled to litigate on a scale commensurate to that on which the
respondent litigates.
52. It is common
cause that both parties shall retain full parental responsibilities
and rights in respect of the child and
that the child’s primary
residence shall vest in the respondent.
53. The limited
issues to be determined at the hearing of the divorce action include:
53.1. the contact that
the applicant should have with the child;
53.2. the extent of the
applicant’s contribution to the child’s maintenance
needs;
53.3. the parties
respective accrual claims against one another;
53.4. which party should
pay the costs of the action.
54. At the hearing
of the application it was common cause that the matter will be
referred to the Family Advocate for an investigation.
The
respondent’s counsel submitted that the issues pertaining to
contact between the applicant and the child may be resolved
upon the
parties having received the recommendations of the Family Advocate.
55. The respondent
failed to take this Court into her confidence in neglecting to make a
complete financial disclosure of
all her bank accounts as well as the
exact manner in which she utilised the capital received from the sale
of the matrimonial home.
56. The respondent
has further not placed any evidence before the Court in regard the
steps that need to be taken by her to
bring the matter to trial
readiness and trial, her estimated future litigation costs, amounts
already expended in the divorce action,
what is required to properly
prepare her case and place it before the Court at the hearing of the
action or the costs incurred
by the applicant in the divorce
litigation.
57. The respondent
contended that she requires a contribution towards her legal costs in
the amount of R25 000,00. She
attached an invoice from her
attorney of record evidencing that an amount of R25 837,58 is
due to her attorneys. Upon considering
the invoice submitted by the
respondent’s attorney of record and attached to the papers it
appears that such amount is due
for professional services rendered in
respect of the
rule 43
application and not for trial.
58. The respondent
has not placed evidence before the Court that the applicant is able
to afford the contribution to her legal
costs sought. Consequently,
the Court finds that the respondent has failed to make out a case for
a contribution towards her costs
in the divorce action as claimed.
COSTS OF THE
APPLICATION
59. The
respondent’s restricting of contact between the applicant and
the child and particularly her suspension of sleepover
contact on
2 June 2023 precipitated this application. The applicant was
well justified in bringing the
rule 43
application.
60. Similarly, the
respondent’s counter application was necessitated by the
applicant’s inadequate contribution
to the child’s
maintenance needs and his inadequate tender for a future contribution
towards the child’s maintenance
requirements.
61. Consequently,
neither party is blameless and in the result each party should pay
its own costs in this application.
In the result, the
following order is made:
1.
Both parties shall retain
full and equal
parental responsibilities and rights in respect of
E.K
(“the child”)
as envisaged in
section
18(2)
of the
Children's Act, 38 of 2005
, as amended;
2.
The primary residence of the child shall
vest in the respondent;
3. The issue pertaining
to the best interests of the child, in relation to the contact that
the applicant should have with him,
is referred to the Family
Advocate for an investigation and a report which shall contain the
findings and recommendations of the
Family Advocate;
4. Upon receipt of the
report by the Family Advocate, both parties shall be entitled to
supplement their papers and approach the
Court for further relief;
5. Pending the report by
the Family Advocate, the applicant shall have contact with the child
as follows:
From 8 November 2023
to 17 December 2023
6. The applicant shall
have unsupervised contact with the child, which shall include the
right to remove the child from respondent’s
home, on the
following dates:
6.1. Saturday 11
November 2023 from 10h00 to 17h00
when the
applicant shall collect the child from the respondent’s home
and return the child to the respondent's home
;
6.2.
Sunday 12 November 2023
from 10h00 to 17h00
when the applicant shall collect the child from the respondent’s
home and return the child to the respondent's
home;
6.3.
On Wednesday 15 November 2023, 22 November 2023 and 29
November 2023 from after school until 17h00 when the
child
shall be collected from school and returned to the respondents home;
6.4.
Saturday 18 November 2023 from 10h00 to
Sunday 19 November 2023 at 17h00 when the applicant shall collect the
child from the respondent’s
home and return the child to the
respondent's home;
6.5.
Friday 30 November 2023 from after school
to Sunday 2 December 2023 at 17h00 when the applicant shall collect
the child from school
and return the child to the respondent's home;
6.6.
Friday 15 December 2023 from 9h00 to Sunday
17 December 2023 at 17h00 when the applicant shall collect the child
from the respondent’s
home and return the child to the
respondent's home;
December 2023 holidays
7.
The applicant shall, subsequent to 17
December 2023, be entitled to have the child with him for two blocks
not exceeding 6 days
and 5 nights, which shall include Christmas Day,
when he shall collect the child from the respondent’s
home at 9h00
on the day that his contact commences and return the
child to the respondent’s home at 17h00 on the day that his
contact
ends.
As from 15 January
2024
8.
8.1.
Every Wednesday from after school until
1700 hours when the child shall be collected from school and returned
to the respondent's
home;
8.2.
every alternate weekend from after school
on the Friday when the child shall be collected from school until
Monday morning when
the child shall be returned to school;
8.3.
every Father’s Day from 9h00 until
17h00 irrespective of in whose care the child is over such weekend,
on the understanding
that the respondent shall be entitled to have
contact with the child on Mother’s Day from 9h00 until 17h00
irrespective of
in whose care the child is over such weekend;
8.4.
every alternate public holiday from 17h00
on the day preceding the public holiday until 17h00 on the public
holiday, on the understanding
that a public holiday/s that
immediately precedes or follows upon a weekend is/are deemed to form
part of the weekend and the party
who is entitled to have the child
with them over that weekend shall be entitled to have the child on
such public holiday/s;
8.5.
on the child's birthday for three hours
should his birthday fall in a school week and half of his birthday,
as agreed between the
parties, should the child's birthday fall on a
weekend during which the respondent has the child in her care, on the
understanding
that the respondent shall be entitled to have similar
contact with the child on the child’s birthday should the child
be
in the applicant’s care;
8.6.
on the applicant's birthday for three hours
should his birthday fall in fall in a school week and for the day
from 9h00 to 17h00
should the applicant’s birthday fall on a
weekend, on the understanding that the respondent shall have similar
contact with
the child on her birthday should the child be in the
applicant’s care;
8.7.
half of the short school holidays and
alternate mid- and half-term breaks;
8.8.
half of every long school holiday in
blocks not exceeding 7 days 6 nights until the child commences with
grade 0, whereafter
the applicant shall be entitled to half the long
school holidays;
8.9.
Christmas and Easter shall alternate
between the parties such that neither party shall be entitled to have
contact with the minor
child on both Easter and Christmas during one
calendar year;
8.10.
telecommunication contact by telephone,
video calling, webcam and Skype between 18h00 and 18h30 on such days
as the applicant does
not have contact with the child on the
understanding that the respondent shall have similar contact with the
child on such days
as she does not have contact with the child;
9.
The applicant shall pay to the respondent
an amount of R3 750,00 per month as a cash contribution to the
child's maintenance
needs, the first payment to be made on or before
1 December 2023 and thereafter on the first day of each and every
succeeding month;
10.
The respondent shall, at her costs, retain
the child as a dependent member on her medical aid scheme;
11.
The plaintiff shall be liable for and pay,
on production of an invoice and where applicable proof of payment,
50% of all medical
expenses of the child not covered by the medical
aid scheme;
12.
The applicant shall be liable for and pay
50% of the child's school fees as well as 50% of any
ad
hoc
ancillary expenses raised by the
school on the school statement;
13.
The applicant shall be liable for and pay
50% of the costs of the child's extramural activities, including but
not limited to outfitting
and equipment.
14.
Each party to pay their own costs.
DE
WET AJ
ACTING JUDGE OF THE
HIGH COURT
GAUTENG
LOCAL DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
Delivered:
This judgment was prepared and authored by the Judge whose name is
reflected and is handed down electronically
by circulation to the
Parties/their legal representatives by email and by uploading it to
the electronic file of this matter on
CaseLines. The date for
hand-down is deemed to be
on
9 November
2023.
Heard
on: 6 November 2023
Delivered
on: 9 November 2023
Appearances:
Ms Rodrigues: for
the Applicant
Mr
Khaba: for the Respondent
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