Legal Articles and Guides

"The mere lodging of an objection, however ill-founded, does not trigger an obligation to furnish detailed reasons for the underlying decision relating to the valuation of the property" (extract from judgment below) Your local municipality is entitled to revalue your property (with reference to recent sales of similar properties in your area) at regular intervals.

Imagine finding your dream home: a charming townhouse with sufficient space for you and your family in a quiet neighborhood with a resplendent view of the cityscape. It ticks all of the boxes and you cannot wait to move in and begin this new chapter of your life. Now imagine just before you take transfer, being informed that you have to pay debts incurred by the previous owners – suddenly, the home of your dreams becomes a house of nightmares.

Except for the well-seasoned litigator, the average person may perceive the law as inaccessible. However there are times that the court hands down a judgment which sheds light on some core tenets of our legal system. The case of Chater Developments (Pty) Ltd (In Liquidation) and Waterkloof Marina Estates (Pty) Ltd is one such judgment, wherein the court deals with the notion of ultra vires, good faith and simple legislative interpretation.

Are you an agency trading through a company or close corporation (CC)? If so, this is for you - a recent High Court (Full Bench) case in which a close corporation lost its commission because its Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC) was only in the sole member's name and no separate FFC had been issued to the CC.

Legal Aid South Africa (“LASA“) has a mandate from the South African Constitution to help the poor get tax-funded legal assistance. It is important that we make sure the people we help need our assistance the most. If you ask LASA for legal assistance they will ask you to complete a form so they can understand how much money you get each month and what things you own, like a car or house. This is called the Means Test. A Legal Aid South Africa official is always available to help you fill this form in.

If you operate anywhere in a product supply chain (producer, importer, distributor, retailer, supplier, installer etc) be aware that your risk of being sued under the CPA (Consumer Protection Act) just increased.

What is said below does not pertain to those property sales where the very robust buyer protections in the CPA (Consumer Protection Act) apply. Generally speaking the CPA applies only where the seller is selling "in the ordinary course of business" (a property developer for example), and most private sales will fall outside of the ambit of the CPA. That whole question is however a big topic on its own which we will deal with in a future article.

A recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision underlines the very strong duty on SAPS members to assist victims of domestic violence. The Domestic Violence Act isn't limited to cases of physical harm. It includes a very wide range of abusive conduct) provides legal protection to victims, especially to those most vulnerable such as women, children, disabled people and the elderly.

Under the Companies Act of South Africa(1973) there are many grounds available to creditors and/or members of a company or close corporation to launch liquidation proceedings. Normally liquidation proceedings will be launched by a creditor of a company or close corporation because that company or close corporation is unable to effect payment of a debt due and owing to the creditor. In that instance, the creditor can apply to Court for the liquidation of that South African company or close corporation.

How the family property will be divided up depends on what property regime the couple adopted when they got married. This will usually be covered in the ante-nuptial agreement if there is one or, if there is no pre-marital contract, then it is determined by law. The default legal position is that civil marriages are in community of property. This means that everything that you own is shared, including property and debts. Accrual means that everything that you earn or buy after you have married also becomes part of the joint estate. If you get divorced, the shared property is divided equally between you. Any debts are also shared.

When a couple gets divorced, one party is often in a better financial position than the other. The person who has custody of the children will also have expenses that the other parent does not have. For this reason the court will issue a maintenance order requiring maintenance to be paid for the children and, depending on the circumstances, to the other party.

Before the court will issue a divorce, it has to be decided who will look after the children. The parents can make an agreement or the court can decide. If you are in the middle of a divorce from your spouse, the most important consideration in deciding which parent should have custody is the best interests of the children. 

Besides laws which are contained in the South African common law, most (if not all) rules and laws in the South African legal framework are contained in National Legislation, which have effect on all people in South Africa.

Marriage is a legal bond between two people, and provides those people with certain rights and obligations against each other. The only way to terminate these rights and obligations (as much as possible), is for the parties to obtain a divorce from each other. A divorce therefore legally terminates a marriage. Once a divorce is granted, each partner may then legally marry someone else.

Let's look at a practical example of an accrual calculation. Let say a couple got married in early 2000 with an ante nuptial contract which included the accrual system.