key to the study guide - Name

Maintenance =
support
Meaning of ``reciprocal''
When does duty
arise?
FEEDBACK
(1) The concept consortium is described in Grobbelaar v Havenga as: ``... an
abstraction comprising the totality of a number of rights, duties and
advantages accruing to the spouses of a marriage.''
(2) Peter v Minister of Law and Order.
4 SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE
4.1 The reciprocal duty of support between spouses
First of all you should note that ``support'' and ``maintenance'' is the same
thing. The two words can be used interchangeably.
Your textbook contains a detailed discussion on pages 52±65 of the
reciprocal duty of support between spouses. The duty is reciprocal in that
the spouses must maintain or support each other; the one supports the
other and vice versa. The same position applies to both spouses Ð the
rules for the husband are the same as those for the wife and vice versa.
It is stated in your textbook on page 52 that the duty of support arises at
the beginning of the marriage, that is, as soon as the marriage has been
solemnised. As a general rule, the duty lasts until termination of the
marriage. However, there are circumstances in which the duty can end
before termination of the marriage. These circumstances will be dealt with
below.
Requirements Page 52 of your prescribed textbook deals with the requirements for the
duty of support between the spouses. These are
On whom does duty
rest?
What does support
include?
78
(1) There must be a valid marriage between the parties.
(2) The person claiming support must be in need of support.
(3) The person from whom the support is claimed must be able to provide
it.
In respect of the third requirement, see the reference to the case of Reyneke
v Reyneke on pages 52±53 of the textbook. You need only read the
discussion of the Reyneke case.
It was pointed out above that the ``reciprocal'' duty of support means that
the spouses must support each other. Not only must the husband support
his wife, but she must support him. In this respect, you must study the
paragraph just before the heading ``(b) Liability as against third
parties'' on page 53 of your textbook.
You must know what is included in support and how the extent of the duty
of support is determined. This is explained in the second paragraph under
the heading ``(a) General'' on page 52.