Life Partner Rights After Death in South Africa: Unmarried Partner Inheritance and the Bwanya Ruling

Until 2021, an unmarried heterosexual partner had almost no rights when their partner died without a will in South Africa. They could not inherit under the Intestate Succession Act. They could not claim maintenance under the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act. Even pension fund trustees had limited guidance on how to treat them.

The Constitutional Court's ruling in Bwanya v Master of the High Court (2021) changed this. But the practical implementation — specifically what you need to prove and how — remains confusing for families navigating it in real time.

What the Bwanya Ruling Established

Jane Bwanya and her partner lived together in a stable, committed relationship. They were engaged, and lobola negotiations were underway when he died. He left his estate to his pre-deceased mother, which meant Bwanya received nothing. She was also excluded from claiming maintenance because she was not a "spouse" under the relevant legislation.

The Constitutional Court found that excluding opposite-sex permanent life partners in a relationship involving reciprocal duties of support from the Intestate Succession Act and the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act was unconstitutional and unfairly discriminatory.

The Court ordered that wherever "spouse" appears in those two Acts, it must be read to include a partner in a permanent life partnership where reciprocal duties of support were undertaken.

This is a substantial shift. In simple terms: if you and your partner lived together in a committed, exclusive relationship, mutually supported each other financially, and there is evidence to prove this, you now have the same rights as a surviving spouse in an intestate estate — and the same right to claim maintenance from the estate if you were financially dependent on the deceased.

The Critical Distinction: "Permanent Life Partnership with Reciprocal Duties of Support"

The Bwanya ruling does not cover every cohabiting relationship. It applies specifically where two conditions are met:

1. The relationship was a permanent, stable, and exclusive life partnership (not a casual or short-term arrangement)
2. The partners undertook reciprocal duties of support — meaning both partners were committed to supporting each other financially and domestically, not just one supporting the other

This definition excludes purely financial arrangements, part-time relationships, or relationships where only one party regarded it as permanent and the other did not.

How to Claim as an Unmarried Life Partner

The Master's Office has integrated the Bwanya ruling through Chief Master Directive 09/2023. The mechanism is the MBU 19 form — an Affidavit/Affirmation that must be completed under oath by the surviving partner.

The MBU 19 must specifically document:

• The duration of the relationship (in months, not just years)
• Evidence of shared financial responsibilities (joint bank accounts, shared rental or bond payments, shared expenses)
• Evidence of exclusivity — that this was not a concurrent relationship
• Any formal provisions the deceased made for the partner (nomination on a pension fund, life insurance beneficiary, shared property ownership)

Critically, the MBU 19 cannot stand alone. It must be corroborated by independent supporting affidavits from friends and family who can attest to the nature of the partnership. The Master will not accept only the surviving partner's own declaration.

What Happens If the Deceased's Family Disputes the Claim

This is the most fraught scenario, and it is common. Biological heirs who stand to inherit from an intestate estate have a financial incentive to dispute the life partnership claim.

If the deceased's biological family disputes the validity of the MBU 19 affidavit, the Master of the High Court is required to halt administration and refer the parties to the High Court for a declaratory order confirming the life partnership status.

This means that a disputed life partner claim can freeze the entire estate for the duration of High Court proceedings — potentially a year or more. For surviving partners who were financially dependent on the deceased, this can create severe hardship.

Proactive steps to strengthen your position:

• File the MBU 19 with supporting affidavits as quickly as possible after the death
• Compile documentary evidence of the shared financial life — bank statements, rental agreements, insurance documents listing the other as beneficiary
• Contact the pension fund trustees immediately with your own Section 37C dependant claim (this runs independently and does not require the estate dispute to be resolved first)
• Consider seeking legal advice about an urgent High Court application if the estate is being distributed without recognizing the partnership

Pension Fund Claims as a Life Partner

Section 37C of the Pension Funds Act is actually more accessible for life partners than the intestate succession system. This is because Section 37C asks trustees to identify and support all factual dependants — anyone who was financially dependent on the deceased, regardless of legal status.

A surviving life partner who was financially dependent on the deceased qualifies as a factual dependant under Section 37C. The fund's nomination form is only one factor — if the partner can demonstrate actual financial dependency, the trustees must consider them regardless of whether they were formally nominated.

This means that even while a life partnership dispute is being litigated in the High Court, the surviving partner may still receive pension fund death benefits through the Section 37C process. These are separate streams that do not necessarily wait for each other.

Practical Steps for Surviving Life Partners

1. Complete the MBU 19 affidavit at a commissioner of oaths as quickly as possible after the death
2. Gather corroborating affidavits from at least two or three people who knew you as a couple
3. Compile documentary evidence of the financial relationship — bank statements showing transfers, shared account statements, property or lease documents
4. Contact all pension fund trustees and file a Section 37C dependant claim separately
5. File a maintenance claim under the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act if you were financially dependent on the deceased
6. Seek legal advice if the biological family contests the claim — the High Court route is available and the jurisprudence is now clearly in a surviving life partner's favour

The South Africa Survivor Benefits Navigator includes the complete life partner claims decision tree, guidance on what evidence strengthens an MBU 19 affidavit, and specific instructions for filing Section 37C dependant claims as an unmarried partner.

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