Legal Articles and Guides
Divorce Maintenance: Can You Contract Out of It?
Generally, our laws hold us to the agreements we make with each other, but there are limits. A recent High Court judgment dealing with a bitterly-fought divorce dispute, illustrates. A Senior Advocate, having been through in his words a "very, very, very costly" divorce once, and having in mind no doubt the old proverb "once bitten, twice shy", decided not to be bitten again when he re-married.
R5m claim highlights legal vacuum
A woman’s maintenance claim of more than R5m against the estate of her male life partner has highlighted the unequal protection afforded in law between heterosexual and same-sex unmarried people, says a Cape Times report. The latter are protected by the Civil Union Act, but heterosexual life partners are left in the cold because Parliament has not yet enacted law in that regard.
Khoi-San take recognition issue to top court
The Khoi-San see themselves as the ‘first nation’ of SA, and in order to give their claim gravitas, the Indigenous First Nation Advocacy South Africa (Ifnasa) group has mounted a Constitutional Court claim to get the Khoi-San’s land back. ‘There has been a serious miscarriage of justice, so we need to correct that,’ said Reverend Anthony Williams, of Ifnasa, at the Constitutional Court, according to a report in The Citizen.
Judge slams police ineptitude in domestic violence cases
Western Cape High Court Judge Vincent Saldanha has highlighted the urgent need for police officers to protect victims of domestic violence. A report in The Citizen notes that he sentenced Bongani Dodo to 15 years behind bars for murdering his wife (29) and mother of their two children in 2013. Saldanha said Zuziwe Gobelo had been ‘another victim of the failure of some members of the police to properly respond to the complaints of victims of domestic violence’.
Rights groups entitled to join Muslim marriages battle
The SA Human Rights Commission and the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural Religious and Linguistic Communities are entitled to join the court battle to have the Muslim Marriages Bill made into law, says a report in The Mercury. Judge Siraj Desai yesterday ordered the Women’s Legal Centre Trust serve papers to the two bodies within 30 days informing them of his decision.
Fierce opposition in Muslim marriages case
The Women’s Legal Centre Trust is adamant it wants the Muslim Marriages Bill made into law, despite counter-arguments by respondents – President Jacob Zuma, Parliament, the Departments of Home Affairs, Justice and Correctional Services – to have the case in the Western Cape High Court dismissed, says a Cape Times report.
Women's Legal Centre wants Muslim marriages recognised
Women who leave their marriages destitute because of the government’s failure to recognise their Muslim nuptials will today ask the Western Cape High Court to rescue them, says a report in The Herald. The Women’s Legal Centre said it was litigating in the public interest because the lack of recognition of such marriages affected women and children in particular.
Lobola issue heads to SCA
After 10 years of litigation, the lobola conundrum is set to head to the SCA. Joburg City Theatres CEO Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema’s lengthy battle for half of wealthy businessman Sifiso Dabengwa’s estate was dealt yet another blow last week when the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) dismissed her application for leave to appeal, says a Sunday Times report. They would take the matter to the SCA, said Ike Motloung, Nduneni-Ngema’s lawyer.
Woman who was never married allowed to attached assets
A woman who says her "husband" gave her the impression that they were legally married for several years now has the go-ahead to attach some of his assets, the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) has ordered. According to a Beeld report, Michelle van Tonder, from Secunda, obtained a final order against former lover Patrick John Fann. The court authorised the sheriff to attach money in Fann"s Absa account to the value of R345 000 and pay it over to Van Tonder.
Failed marriage jewellery to be returned
The marriage lasted two weeks " but the legal battle over jewellery given by the groom and his family to the bride went on for 10 years, only ending this month with a High Court order that the 29 items " worth more than R350 000 " finally be returned. The Mercury reports KZN High Court (Durban) Judge Jacqui Henriques ruled that if the jewellery " handed over at the engagement party, pre-wedding functions and wedding ceremony " was no longer in the possession of the bride"s family, they must pay the value of it in cash
'Trophy wife' advocate faces Bar Council inquiry
A senior advocate snared a "trophy wife" 25 years his junior, got her pregnant then forced her to sign a contract the day before their wedding barring her from claiming maintenance if the marriage broke down. Then, says a Sunday Times report quoting Acting Judge Leslie Weinkove, he "systematically divested his estate of assets" with the "calculated objective of placing them beyond his wife"s reach".
Advocate appointed to represent baby in adoption battle
A 4½-month-old baby is to get his own advocate to represent him in a legal tug of war over his adoption. The Mercury reports this was the ruling of KZN High Court (Durban) Judge Phillip Nkosi in an urgent application which stayed an order that the child be immediately removed from the care of the couple who want to adopt him " and who have been looking after him since birth " and put in a place of safety.
Battle over Maduna millions takes new turn
The battle between former Justice Minister Penuell Maduna and his ex-wife escalated this week, with Nompumelelo Maduna claiming he had "concocted" a story to get out of sharing the millions from his empowerment deal with his family, says a Sunday Times report. Nompumelelo filed court papers in response to an urgent application by Penuell in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) last month, in which he claimed she was trying to dupe him out of his R10.8m portion of Sasol dividends.
Woman with two husbands in maintenance dispute
An unusual case of polyandry – a woman with more than one husband – is before the KZN High Court (Durban) in an application in which the woman is trying to get maintenance from her most recent ‘husband’ who is arguing that – unbeknown to him – she was still married to someone else. The Mercury reports the matter came before the court as a ‘Rule 43’ application which, in terms of the Marriages Act, entitles separated spouses to claim maintenance before the finalisation of their divorces. The case involves an unregistered Islamic marriage which is not covered by the Act. However, last year a judge awarded what was believed to be the first interim maintenance order in an Islamic divorce case which was seen as precedent-setting.
Custody battle in Cape Town judge's hands
The struggle by a US-based Cape Town father for custody of his daughter is in the hands of Western Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai after a Ohio court ruled against him, finding an earlier order he had obtained for temporary sole parental rights and responsibilities had been improperly granted. The man has a claim pending in the Western Cape High Court in terms of The Hague Convention for the return of the child to the US, notes a Weekend Argus report. His wife has countered that they were married by Muslim rites only and therefore their marriage was not recognised as valid, which, according to her lawyers, means she has sole custody of the child, unless a court orders otherwise.
