Legal Articles and Guides

Even the rich feel the pinch of the economic impact of Covid-19, as a mother of two small children discovered in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria). She wanted her estranged husband to pay R130 000 a month in maintenance, pending their divorce.

SA law currently does not allow women living with a man to claim ‘spousal’ recognition from their deceased partners’ estates.

Objections that the state received from Muslim groups – some of whom accused legislators of attempting to interpret the Koran – made it difficult to enact laws recognising Muslim marriages.

Fezile Mlamla – whose in-laws contested the legitimacy of her customary marriage to their son after his death – has had her marriage retrospectively confirmed as legal.

A legal loophole often used by husbands to reduce the amount their wives receive in a divorce settlement has been closed by the SCA.

The National Lockdown has thrown together many couples not used to spending “24/7” time in each other’s company. Relationships will have strengthened for many couples, but others will be struggling. The fears, anxieties and money worries now looming over us all certainly won’t haven’t helped.

Lerato Sengadi has dedicated her SCA victory to the millions of black women ‘who couldn't fight back’, says a TimesLIVE report.

Details of the breakdown of a couple’s 11-year marriage have emerged in a Western Cape High Court judgment which prevents the husband selling the Garden Route house or evicting his estranged wife, notes a Times Select report.

If you live as a couple, avoid the trap of believing the myth of the “common law marriage”. It’s a very persistent myth, possibly because some other countries do indeed give formal recognition to certain forms of life partnership.

A three-judge Bench of the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) has pronounced on the level of disclosure required by those appearing in a maintenance court, reports Tony Beamish for Moneyweb. Both parties must now make full financial disclosure: every detail, including trusts and offshore assets, as well an explanation if a spouse enjoys a particularly luxurious lifestyle.

Former President FW de Klerk is again set to be dragged into a long-running financial feud between his son Willem and Willem’s ex-wife, says a Sunday Times report. After struggling for years to get Willem to pay maintenance, Nicole Noordien is, for the second time, approaching his father, claiming that as her children’s grandfather he has a responsibility to step in if his son cannot afford maintenance.

A cheating Pretoria tavern owner was affronted that his ex-wife refused him conjugal rights for two years ... but when he went to court to try to get half the value of her house and pension in their divorce he received his just deserts.

The Department of Home Affairs wants marriage officers who are appointed after the Civil Union Act is amended to be aware they will have to solemnise same-sex marriages. The Mercury reports this emerged yesterday when state lawyers made a presentation to the National Assembly Home Affairs Committee on the Civil Union Amendment Bill.

If you are owed maintenance you have a variety of enforcement options open to you and should ask your lawyer for advice on which is the best for your particular claim and circumstances.

The government will research the law governing the recognition and dissolution of all religious marriages, as it plans to appeal a Western Cape High Court judgment that ordered the state to recognise Muslim marriages under law. According to a Cape Times report, the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) had argued that by not recognising Muslim marriages under common law, Muslim women were not afforded legal protection and did not have access to the courts to assert their rights.