Spousal Maintenance is different from child maintenance in that it is paid by one spouse to the other spouse following a divorce. It is a general principle of law that neither spouse has a right to spousal maintenance upon divorce. However, the Divorce Act, 70 of 1979 provides the
There are people who suffer emotional and physical abuse on a daily basis but are not quite sure what they can do to prevent it. There are two options available to them. They can either apply for a Protection Order or apply for a Harassment Order. However, many people
Requirements for an engagement Capacity To enter into an engagement, one must be 18 years of age or older. Minors need the consent of both parents (or guardians), unless certain circumstances are in place or a court order is granted. Mentally ill persons cannot get engaged. Consent Both parties
Having a baby for some couples doesn’t come as easy for a few as it does others, and then it leaves that couple having to make some hard decisions, do you want to adopt? And if so, how hard will it really be? Adopting can be quite a hard
Rule 43 of the Uniform Court Rules provides parties involved in divorce proceedings with the opportunity to approach the court for an order granting interim relief pending the finalisation of a divorce. This rule aims to avoid any considerable prejudice to either party pending divorce. The interim relief the
Parental Alienation as a form of emotional child abuse and is the single most important concern for Family Law practitioners in South Africa. Parental alienation occurs when separated parents inflict doubt in the children’s minds towards the other parent resulting in frustration by one parent to have contact with
Cohabitation, living together or a domestic partnership, is not recognised as a legal relationship by South African law. There is, consequently, no law that oversees the rights of parties in a cohabitation relationship. Cohabitation usually refers to people who, regardless of gender, live together without being validly married to
The Family Advocate assists the parties to reach an agreement on disputed issues, namely custody, access and guardianship. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the Family Advocate evaluates the parties’ circumstances in light of the best interests of the child and makes a recommendation to the
The relationship between a parent and child is one of the most unique and intimate relationships that the law attempts to regulate. It is important to highlight the fact that in the Children’s Act responsibilities is mentioned before parental rights, and one can assume that the legislature did this
Sometimes, married couples drift apart without ever getting a divorce. It occasionally happens that neither spouse takes any active steps to initiate the process and they simply lead separate lives until one of them starts thinking about marrying again and realises that there is some paperwork to be done.
