Judge sets standard on remarriage prospects

To determine the prospects of a widow to remarry has in the past proved to be a legal pickle for the courts as age, health, appearance and the circumstances of the widow had to be taken into account. According to a report on the IoL site, a Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) judge overturned that law on Monday last week, calling it outdated and extremely offensive to women. Judge Ronel Tolmay dealt with the case of Lelanie Esterhuizen, whose husband Pieter died in a car accident on 5 March, 2013. Her husband was the sole breadwinner and his wife and two children depended on him for financial support, so Lelanie claimed maintenance from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) for herself as mother to look after the two children. The exact amount she was claiming was not stated in the recent judgment by Tolmay, but a court earlier found the RAF 100% liable for all damages she could prove she had suffered due to her husband’s death and the loss of financial support. Tolmay remarked that the possibility of remarrying was usually taken into account when the claim for loss of support was considered in law. In those cases, the courts calculated the percentage it deemed possible for remarriage, and then subtracted that amount from the total amount the RAF would pay. In determining the prospects of remarriage, Tolmay took into account that Esterhuizen was relatively young. ‘I think one can accept that a younger woman might be more inclined to remarry, not based on appearance or desirability, but rather based on the fact that one might be more inclined when you are younger to take another chance.’ In this case, the judge ordered a contingency fee of 27%.