Durban - A man accused of being a “deadbeat dad”, who has forced his ex-wife to go to court 63 times because of his attempts to avoid paying maintenance, has now accused her of “dragging me into court at least three times a month” to get him to pay for a luxurious lifestyle he cannot afford.
And, as a defence to her most recent “unusual” application in the Durban High Court to have a property he owns transferred into a trust for the benefit of the two children, he says it must be refused, arguing that he recently got married again, in community of property, and his new wife has not been named as party to the application.
The Mercury reported on the extraordinary high court application last week, citing from an affidavit from the woman, who is an attorney, who detailed her three-year battle at a local maintenance court to get, what she claims, her children are entitled to.
She said her ex-husband had gone to extreme lengths - including resigning from his high-paid job - to avoid his obligations. He had also “dissipated” his pension money and, she alleged, since March this year he had stopped paying maintenance altogether.
She said she had discovered that he had set up a trust with him and his new wife being the trustees, but she believed this was a “sham trust”.
She also alleged that after one court hearing he had posted on a social media profile: “My God is awesome - today the Demon was defeated nd (sic) will again be defeated on 6 August 2013. Claiming victory in Jesus name.”
In his affidavit opposing the application, the man confirms he remarried in May this year and his new wife was now a co-owner of the property in question.
His ex-wife knew this and had deliberately not cited her as a party to the application.
He claims that he always paid maintenance while he was employed, but his ex-wife was claiming a “grossly inflated amount”, the children were at a private school, she lived in La Lucia and he could not afford it.
He says he had to resign from work because she made his life a “living hell” and he was under incredible stress.
“She has dragged me to court 150 times. She has published my name in a local newspaper. And she intimidated a female colleague into signing an admission that she was having an affair with me.”
He said: “She wants to cripple me financially.”
He admits that he has no bank account because of a court order obtained last year, instructing the attachment of money in any account in his name.
In reply, the woman says he has made “broad-ranging denials” but, in essence, he has not denied that if the order is granted, it will benefit the children.
“While he has raised disputes of fact, these do not need to be resolved,” she said.
The matter was adjourned until next month for the new wife’s name to be added to the application.
The Mercury