Family Law

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Family Law - Trusts on Divorce  Trusts on Divorce: Are You Stuck with an Ex-Spouse as Trustee? “Love is grand. Divorce is a hundred grand.” (Anon) That’s a great scenario whilst the marriage prospers, but what happens on divorce? A recent High Court decision addressed one such scenario – Trusts may be formedRead more

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Family Law - Divorce Assets New Ruling on Divorce Assets: How Does it Affect You? “…the inequality at hand is caused when, after the conclusion of the marriage, a distortion is caused by the fact that one spouse contributes directly or indirectly to the other's maintenance or the increase of the other's estateRead more

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Family Law “A prodigal is a person who, through some defect of character or will, squanders his or her assets with such abandon that he or she threatens to reduce himself or herself and/or her dependents to destitution” (extract from judgment below) What can you do when someone you know (often but notRead more

“Census data of 2016 reveals that approximately 3.2 million South Africans cohabit outside of marriage and that this number is increasing steadily.” (Extract from judgment below) What happens if your life partner dies without leaving you anything in their will (“Last Will and Testament”)? Do you have the same protections as married spouses do? A lot of the media coverage

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Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Family Law Divorce: Claiming Interim Maintenance and a Contribution to Legal Costs Even if your marriage is collapsing around you, you might be afraid to sue for divorce because you have no money to survive on, plus you know that a hotly contested divorce might take years to finalise while your breadwinner spouseRead more

“Whilst the Act no longer uses the term “illegitimate child” this is implied by the reference to so-called children “born out of wedlock” which continues to perpetuate the common law distinction between so-called “legitimate” and “illegitimate” children. This reference is a stark reminder that we, as a nation, are still grappling with outmoded legal terminology which goes to the core

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Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Family Law Spousal Maintenance After Divorce and the “Clean Break” Principle “The clean break principle after divorce has found resonance with our courts for many years.  The aim of this principle is to ensure that the parties become financially independent of each other as soon as possible after divorce.” (Extract from judgment below)Read more

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it” (John Steinbeck) One of the most important decisions you must make before you marry is what “marital regime” (“matrimonial property system”) you want to apply to your marriage. To recap, you have three choices – Marry in community of property: This is the default

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Expectant parents who lose a pregnancy before 26 weeks (the age set by the Births and Deaths Registration Act (BADRA) in its definition of “still-born”) have until now had no right to bury their foetus, which had to be incinerated as “medical waste”. That has changed with a recent High Court order declaring the relevant provisions of BADRA unconstitutional. That

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Article courtesy of Law Dot News – Family Law Divorce Who Gets the House on Divorce? “I am a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house” (seven-times-divorced actress Zsa Zsa Gabor) Historically 44% of South African marriages have ended in divorce, and there has reportedly been a 20% surge in new divorce applications since lockdown.Read more