key to the study guide - Name

Recovery of debts
for support
When does duty
terminate?
Relationship between
duty of support
and duty to
contribute to
household necessaries
In the discussion under the heading ``(b) Liability as against thrid
praties'' on page 53 of your textbook it is explained where debts incurred
for maintenance can be recovered from in the case of marriage in
community. In the case of a marriage in community of property, the money
comes, firstly, from the joint estate. The paragraph explains this, as well as
the situation where the joint estate is not big enough to cover the debts. In
the case of a marriage out of community of property, the spouse who
incurred the debt is liable, unless the debt was incurred in respect of
household necessaries, in which case the spouses will be jointly and
severally liable. (In respect of household necessaries see further below.)
In the second paragraph under the heading ``(b) Liability as against
third parties'' it is explained that undue enrichment and negotiorum gestio
may also be invoked by a third party. You must study that explanation.
The duty of support normally lasts until the marriage comes to an end
through divorce or death. However, in terms of the Divorce Act 70 of
1979, the court granting the divorce can grant an order for maintenance to
be paid after divorce. (This matter is discussed in study unit 19.) Similarly,
in terms of the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990, a
surviving spouse can be maintained out of the estate of his or her deceased
spouse. (This Act is discussed in study unit 14.) Where the marriage still
exists, the duty of support may be terminated only if the spouses no longer
live together and if the spouse who claims maintenance is the one who
caused the separation. This is explained in the paragraph of your textbook
which runs from the bottom of page 53 to the top of page 54.
4.2 Household necessaries
On page 54 of the textbook you will see that the duty to contribute to the
purchase of household necessaries is so closely linked to the duty of
support that it is discussed under the duty of support for the sake of
convenience. Make sure that you know in which instances the duty of
support and the duty to contribute to the purchase of household
necessaries overlap and in which instances these duties differ from each
other. The relationship between the duty to contribute to household
necessaries and the duty of support is set out in the following activity:
ACTIVITY
Use circles to draw a diagram which indicates how the duty to contribute
to household necessaries overlaps with the duty of support in certain
instances and differs from it in other instances.
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