In what has been described as a groundbreaking judgment regarding the distribution of pension fund death benefits, the Constitutional Court has ruled that dependency must be assessed based on facts at the date of a fund member’s death.

The Financial Services Tribunal has blocked an estranged husband from benefiting from his late wife’s estate and handed it to her two children.

The court has dismissed an application by two unemployed sisters who are disputing a decision to allocate 100% of their late sister's death benefits to their elderly mother.

A Mpumalanga woman lost out on the benefits of her late “husband” after finding out that being a chief mourner at his funeral did not mean their customary marriage – which the first wife had not consented to – was valid.

The Pretoria high court has ruled that a man who was in a relationship with a woman for 16 years failed to prove that he was entitled to inherit from her estate in terms of the Intestate Succession Act.

The high court in Johannesburg has ruled in favour of a mother (the applicant) and terminated the parental responsibilities and rights of her husband (the respondent) in respect of their two children.

A husband who was married to two wives and kept it a secret until his death resulted in a legal dispute as to who is the legal spouse and stands to benefit from his estate.

The Mahikeng High Court has set aside the controversial auction of a R1.5m house after finding that the auction process was conducted unfairly.

The court has terminated the parental responsibilities and rights of a man in respect of a minor child that was born during his marriage with his ex-wife who cheated on him.

The court has found a husband in contempt of an interim maintenance order and committed him to imprisonment for a period of 30 days, to be served as periodic imprisonment on weekends between 5pm on Fridays and 6am on Mondays.