.png)
The financial demands of a mother of two children on her estranged husband, which included R2 600 a month for new clothes, did not sit well with a Mpumalanga High Court judge, according to a Pretoria News report. While the applicant’s lawyer argued that his client’s demand for R2 600 a month for clothing was not unreasonable, the judge strongly disagreed. ‘I do not agree with that notion and I find it to be unreasonable and untrue that the applicant is spending R2 600 a month on clothing,’ the judge said. The applicant and her husband are divorcing but she is demanding the bulk of his salary to maintain herself and their two children. She is staying with the children in the matrimonial home. The woman told the judge that her monthly expenses were R31 407.70. She indicated that every month she had a shortfall of R15 134.26.
The respondent, a businessman and a director of a company, told the court he earned R50 824.53 per month. The wife is employed as a general administrator and bookkeeper, and she earns R16 273.44 per month. The husband accused his wife of not only having inflated her expenses, but also for being dishonest about her true expenses. He indicated that he already paid R24 928.67 towards a home loan, electricity and levies, groceries, school fees, aftercare and medical aid for the children and the applicant. He told the court that he was not going to cough up more, especially to cover her clothing expenses. The judge said the husband did not strike her as a rich man who created a certain standard of living for his family. He was ordered to pay R3 500 a month towards the children and nothing for the wife.