Competing rights for burial landed before court with the estranged wife of the deceased who turned to court to have him buried next to where she will one day be buried, while her mother-in-law and his new lover want him to be buried next to his deceased father.
The family and new wife told the Bloemfontein high court that the deceased always wanted to be buried next to his father in Hertzogville, where he grew up.
The wife, despite the fact that they were embroiled in divorce proceedings, turned to court for an order preventing the family from removing his body from the funeral parlour for the purposes of the funeral. She was adamant that she wanted them to be buried next to each other.
She asked the court to allow the body to be released into her care, so that she could proceed with her own funeral arrangements. The applicant contended that she was entitled to bury the deceased and that the burial should take place in Boshof where the deceased stayed and worked during his lifetime.
The mother-in-law (respondent) submitted that although still legally married, the applicant and deceased were on the brink of a divorce, having been staying separately since December 2021.
The court said there can be no doubt that both spouses sought the finalisation of the divorce proceedings. They merely waited for trial dates to be allocated. It is common cause, as is also apparent from the pleadings in the divorce action, that the applicant moved out of the former matrimonial home in December 2021 and that the parties have not been living together as husband and wife ever since.
Serious allegations were made by both parties in respect of the reasons for the breakdown. According to the deceased, he had lost all love and respect for the applicant who abused him emotionally and abandoned the matrimonial home.
On the other hand, the applicant alleged that the deceased physically and emotionally abused her throughout the duration of the marriage, which caused her to depart from the matrimonial home and as a result, she had lost all love and respect for him. The deceased was also accused of entering into numerous extra-marital affairs.
His family, meanwhile, told the court that they have embraced his new partner and that they were to be married after the finalisation of the divorce.
The applicant merely noted the allegations pertaining to the romantic relationship of the deceased and his life partner and the fact that they have been staying together in the deceased’s home, the former matrimonial home.
She did not deny any of the allegations, save to submit that it was far-fetched that the deceased would want to be buried in Hertzogville as he resided and worked in Boshof.
“It is common cause that the deceased clearly distanced himself from the applicant and that she disassociated herself from his family over the last three years. This cannot be disregarded. Although the applicant was lawfully married to the deceased and is also an intestate heir in the absence of a will, it would be preposterous to claim that she wants ‘to be laid closer to him when he is no more,’” the court said.
In turning down the wife’s application, the court said it cannot be found untenable or far-fetched that the deceased expressed the wish to be buried alongside his father in Hertzogville, the town of his birth.
“His wish must be respected…The acrimonious relationship between the deceased and the applicant and the extremely serious allegations made against each other cannot be brushed aside.”
The court concluded that it would be unfair and unreasonable to disregard the wish of the deceased. It was also noted that the applicant and the deceased’s marriage in the end only existed on paper.
Pretoria News