Legal Articles and Guides
Ex-husband sequestrated over maintenance default
Defaulting on maintenance has had costly consequences for a father who has not paid any maintenance for the former couple’s only child in the more than 28 years since the divorce – he now faces a bill in arrears of more than R2m.
Man ordered to maintain wife's standard of living
The Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) has ordered a man to pay a monthly maintenance bill of more than R23 000 to his estranged wife and two children after he ‘strategically’ reduced his contributions.
Scathing maintenance judgment against wife
A Western Cape businesswoman with a ‘worrying track record of online gambling’ has failed in her bid to get a court order instructing her soon-to-be ex-husband to pay her more than R400 000 and payment of monthly costs for her and their twins until their divorce is finalised.
Unmarried mother loses first stage of maintenance bid
A woman who asked the Western Cape High Court to develop the common law to permit unmarried couples in life partnerships to claim maintenance from one another in the event of separation has lost this stage of her application.
Biological link not essential in child’s custody
The absence of a biological link is not a barrier to a father figure approaching a court to apply for co-guardianship of a child. Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) Judge Ingrid Opperman has confirmed the best interest of the child should always prevail, says a Cape Times report.
Importance of amending your will after your divorce
The importance of amending your will after your divorce - unless you want your "ex" to still have everything, you must update your will.
Maintenance reduced following variation bid
A business executive embroiled in an acrimonious divorce has obtained a court order reducing his financial responsibilities towards his wife and child, pending finalisation of the matter.
Father wins child’s birth certificate naming fight
In what The Mercury calls a victory for children whose unmarried foreign fathers are either outside the country or illegally here, a court has now declared regulations which barred these fathers from having their names reflected on the child’s unabridged birth certificates as unconstitutional.
Separated parents turn to court over child's schooling
A five-year-old girl is at the centre of a tug of war between her feuding separated parents over who she should live with and where she should go to school. But now a judge has ruled she will live with her mother and start grade one this week at a school in Umhlanga, TimesLIVE reports.
Mother wins legal battle to relocate with child
A Durban mother has been granted permission to relocate to Cape Town with her two-year-old daughter despite opposition from the child’s father who, the judge labelled as being egocentric and driven by his own interests, reports TimesLIVE.
Proposed changes to marriage and divorce laws tabled
The Al Jama-Ah political party is introducing two private members’ Bills to Parliament seeking to change divorce and marriage registration laws in the country.
Wife ordered to share pension with ex-husband
A wife has lost her legal bid not to share half of her pension benefits with her ex-husband, who she said saw her as a ‘cash cow’.
Judge scathing of department's bias against adoptions
Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) Judge Fiona Dippenaar has ruled the adoption guidelines used by the Department of Social Development and its social workers stigmatise and delay adoptions – apparently for cultural reasons – and are unconstitutional.
ConCourt reserves unmarried parents’ rights ruling
The Constitutional Court yesterday heard an application for confirmation of a High Court order which found that the law giving children of married couples more rights than those of unmarried parents was outdated.
Mother wins UK relocation bid
Unable to sort out differences in co-parenting their daughter (2), a mother has been granted permission, after an application to the Western Cape High Court, to relocate to the UK.
