You can claim maintenance from a sibling in SA

South Africans can, under certain conditions, claim maintenance from a sibling.

But it’s far more complex than many believe.

That’s according to attorney and family law specialist Amy Marx, who unpacked the issue in an interview following comments attributed to the National Prosecuting Authority.

Not a new law, but rarely used

Marx said sibling maintenance claims are not new.

“When it comes to maintenance claims, this has always been in the books,” she said.

She stressed there is no new legal development and that the principle forms part of common law.

However, she described it as ‘extremely difficult’ to compel one sibling to financially support another.

There are strict steps that must be followed.

Parents and grandparents come first

A sibling cannot be approached first for maintenance.

“You first have to go to the strongest link, which would be parents,” Marx explained.

If parents are unable to provide support — for example, if they have died — the next step would be grandparents.

Only if they are also unable to assist would a claim against siblings be considered.

Marx said there is a common law principle that blood relatives may have a maintenance obligation, but “it basically gets weaker the further away it gets”.

Adult siblings can’t just refuse to work

The situation differs when it involves adults.

“You can’t be able-bodied and just not be making money,” Marx said.

She said someone cannot simply choose not to work and expect a financially successful sibling to cover their living expenses.

There must be a reasonable need.

If a person is able-bodied and capable of working, that weakens any potential claim.

When sibling maintenance may apply

Marx said such claims are more common in cases involving minors or adults who are unable to support themselves.

She cited a case involving a child with Down syndrome who could not work and was living in a care facility.

In that matter, siblings had received money from their parents’ deceased estate.

The maintenance court allowed a claim against the siblings because funds that should have supported the vulnerable child had effectively been paid out as inheritance.

Inheritance alone is not enough

Marx clarified that simply receiving a larger share of an inheritance does not automatically create a maintenance obligation.

If provision for a dependent person was not properly structured in the estate, and inheritance effectively replaced maintenance funds, a claim could arise.

But she stressed that each case depends on specific legal requirements.

“You’d have to prove that there is a legal requirement for the maintenance,” she said.

Law may evolve, but limits remain

While acknowledging that case law can change over time, Marx said there is currently no general duty on extended family members, such as aunts and uncles, to provide maintenance.

For now, sibling maintenance remains a legal possibility, but only in narrow, carefully defined circumstances.

“It’s not that you can just go straight to a sibling,” she said.

For more detailed information, listen to Marx using the audio player below: