Cohabitation · South Africa
Your partner died and left you with nothing. You may still be able to claim.
If you were in a permanent life partnership and your partner has died without providing for you, South African law now lets you claim maintenance from their estate. It is time-sensitive and the steps are not obvious, so here they are, plainly.
This is general information, not legal advice. South African law and attorney fees change. We cite primary sources so you can verify everything yourself, but for your own situation please confirm with a qualified attorney. See our editorial & sourcing policy.
The short version
- As a surviving permanent life partner, you can claim maintenance from your late partner’s estate under the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act.
- This is for partners who were left out of the will or under-provided for. It is separate from inheriting a share when there is no will.
- The law changed on 3 April 2024: life partners are now written into the Act. Older articles that say you have no claim are out of date.
- It is time-sensitive. Report the estate to the Master quickly, and lodge your claim with the executor. Free help is available if you cannot afford a lawyer.
On this page
The short answer
Losing your partner is hard enough without discovering you have been left financially exposed. But if the two of you were genuinely a permanent life partnership and you cannot support yourself, you are not necessarily without a remedy. South African law lets a surviving life partner claim reasonable maintenancefrom the deceased’s estate. This is not a quick inheritance windfall. It is a claim for support, it has to be proved, and it runs on the estate’s timeline, so moving early matters.
Maintenance vs inheritance: don’t confuse them
Two different claims, often muddled
What changed in 2024
For years the answer to a grieving unmarried partner was a flat no. The Constitutional Court started changing that in 2021 (the Bwanya case), and then it became settled law: the Judicial Matters Amendment Act took effect on 3 April 2024 and wrote permanent life partners into the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act for good. So if you read an article from 2021 or earlier saying you have no claim, it predates the change.
Who can claim
To claim, you generally need to show three things:
- You were in a permanent life partnership with the person who died.
- The two of you had taken on a mutual duty of support, you genuinely supported each other.
- You were left out of the will or under-provided for, and you cannot meet your reasonable needs from your own means and earnings.
What “reasonable maintenance” means
You are not claiming half the estate. You are claiming what you reasonably need to live on, and a court or the executor weighs it against several things: how much is in the estate, what you can earn or provide for yourself, the standard of living you had together, and your age. One point in your favour worth knowing: this claim is ranked alongside a dependent child’s maintenance, ahead of ordinary creditors, not at the back of the queue.
The three steps to claim
Most pages stop at “lodge a claim.” Here is what that actually involves. It is three separate things, in order.
| Step | What it is | The detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Report the estate | Report the death to the Master of the High Court so an executor is appointed. | Done with the death notice (J294), next-of-kin affidavit (J192) and inventory (J243). These appoint the executor; they are NOT the maintenance claim. |
| 2. Prove the partnership | Satisfy the Master that yours was a permanent life partnership. | Done with a sworn affidavit (Form MBU 19) backed by evidence (see the checklist below). |
| 3. Lodge the claim | Submit your actual maintenance claim to the executor. | A separate affidavit setting out your needs and your means, lodged in response to the executor’s call for claims. |
There is no single ‘maintenance claim form’. The claim is a sworn statement of your needs and means, lodged with the executor.
Proving the partnership
This is the part nobody publishes, and it is the part that decides your claim. The Master uses a sworn affidavit (Form MBU 19, from a 2023 directive) and weighs a long list of factors to decide whether you really were permanent life partners. Start gathering proof of as many as you can.
What the Master looks at (gather proof of these)
- How long the relationship lasted, and that it was exclusive.
- That you shared a common home: a joint lease, or the property in both names.
- Your finances: who supported whom, joint accounts, shared expenses and responsibilities.
- Any provision you made for each other: in wills, on medical aid, pension or policy beneficiary forms.
- Whether you have children together, and that you were publicly known as a couple.
- Affidavits from family and friends who can confirm the relationship.
15 factors
The Master weighs around fifteen factors (Chief Master’s Directive 9 of 2023, Form MBU 19) to decide whether you were truly in a permanent life partnership. The stronger your proof of each, the stronger your claim.
The deadline that catches people
This is time-sensitive, which is why we keep saying move early. The estate should be reported to the Master soon after the death. Then, once an executor is appointed, the executor publishes a notice in the Government Gazette and a local newspaper calling on anyone with a claim to come forward, usually within at least 30 days. Watch for that notice and lodge in time.
Where to get help (including free)
You do not have to face this alone, and you do not necessarily have to pay a private attorney:
- Legal Aid South Africa: free legal help if you pass a means test (roughly under R5,500 a month after tax).
- ProBono.org: free help, though for deceased estates it is generally limited to smaller estates (around R250,000 or less).
- Black Sash: a free paralegal advice line that can point you in the right direction.
- University law clinics (UCT, UP, UWC, UNISA and others): free help for those who cannot afford a lawyer.
Questions people ask us
We were never married. Can I really claim?
Yes, if you were in a genuine permanent life partnership with a mutual duty of support. Since the 2024 law change, life partners are written into the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act.
What is the difference between this and inheriting?
Inheriting is getting a share of the estate (it matters most when there is no will). This is a claim for ongoing maintenance when you were left out or under-provided. You can claim maintenance only to the extent you did not already receive an equitable share.
How quickly do I need to act?
Quickly. Report the estate to the Master soon after the death, watch for the executor’s call for claims, and lodge yours within the deadline given.
What is the most important evidence?
Anything that proves you lived as committed life partners with a mutual duty of support: shared home, shared finances, provision for each other, children, and people who can confirm it.
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Sources & further reading
- 1.Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990 (Department of Justice)
- 2.Judicial Matters Amendment Act 15 of 2023 — effective 3 April 2024 (South African Government)
- 3.Chief Master’s Directive 9 of 2023 — life-partner affidavit (Form MBU 19) and factors (Department of Justice)
- 4.Master of the High Court — reporting a deceased estate (Department of Justice)
- 5.Bwanya v Master of the High Court, Cape Town [2021] ZACC 51 (Constitutional Court)
Keep reading
If your partner dies without a will (inheritance)
The other claim: inheriting a share of the estate under intestate succession, and what Bwanya changed.
Read guideIs there common-law marriage in South Africa?
Why none of this is automatic, and why proving a permanent life partnership matters so much.
Read guide