Maintenance Claim Gets Nasty

Commissioner Louis Conradie had a nasty fight on his hands when fireman Johan Conradie (not related) took his former wife Elizabeth Lamprechts to the Small Claims Court in a maintenance dispute.

Mr Conradie had paid monthly maintenance for the children via a bank stop order, but believed she was not entitled to the money while he had had custody of their two children. However, she had received R1488 nevertheless, and refused to refund it to him. She told the court the children attended a creche whilst in her care, costing her R720 a month.

The children had stopped attending the creche for the month that they were with their father, but she had failed to give the creche the required month’s notice. For this reason the creche had refused to refund her the R720 she had paid in advance. She alleged Mr Conradie was also in arrears with the maintenance, for which criminal proceedings were pending, and she believed she was entitled to keep the R768 balance to offset the arrears.

She had already spent the R768 on the children in any event. Mr Conradie said the maintenance court had in separate proceedings refused him a reduction of maintence, and his appeal against the refusal was also pending. Mr Conradie added: “The point is she should not have received that maintenance, as the children were with me.”

She responded: “The point is the money has already been spent on the children.” Commissioner Conradie replied: “I’m talking about the law – the creche fees are paid in advance, and if you don’t give the required notice you have to pay whether the children are there or not.”

The commisisoner said Mrs Lamprecht would have to repay her former husband R768 (the R1488 claim less the creche fees).

She responded: “I will give him R100 a month.”

He replied: “I won’t accept that – I want R350 at the end of the month.”

Mrs Lamprechts retorted: “I’m not cutting off my throat for him.”

He replied: “I’ve had to cut my throat.”

Commissioner Conradie settled the argument for both of them by ordering Mrs Lamprechts to pay off R220 a month.