13/05/2026
THE KITCHEN TABLE CONVERSATION NO ONE PREPARES YOU FOR:
Last month a woman walked into my office in Sunridge Park.
She had been sitting on the same decision for almost two years.
She and her husband had grown apart. There was no scandal. No third party. No shouting.
Just the quiet, exhausting realisation that the marriage was over. They had even talked about it over coffee, calmly, like two adults who had run out of road.
Her first question to me was not, "Can I divorce him?"
It was, "How bad is this going to be?"
She had been reading horror stories online. She thought a divorce would take three years. She thought it would cost a fortune. She thought she would have to sit in a witness box and explain her marriage to a stranger in a robe.
None of that is true for an uncontested divorce in South Africa.
Here is what the process actually looks like when both spouses agree.
1. Consultation. You come in. We take instructions. We identify the matrimonial property regime, the assets, the children, the maintenance position, and what you and your spouse have already agreed.
2. Settlement Agreement. We draft a written Deed of Settlement covering the proprietary consequences of the divorce, spousal and child maintenance, care and contact of any minor children, retirement interests, and any other agreed terms. Both spouses sign.
3. Summons. We draft a divorce summons and Particulars of Claim, with the Deed of Settlement attached as an annexure.
4. Service. The Sheriff of the Court serves the summons personally on your spouse. Where the marriage is uncontested, this is a co-operative formality.
5. Waiting period. The dies (the time period after service in which the Defendant may enter an appearance to defend) must run its course. Where the divorce is uncontested, no Notice of Intention to Defend is filed.
6. Court date. We set the matter down on the unopposed divorce roll of the Regional Court or High Court, depending on jurisdiction.
7. Decree. You attend court briefly. The presiding officer asks a small set of standard questions. The decree of divorce is granted. The Deed of Settlement is made an order of court and becomes immediately enforceable.
From the date you walk into our office to the day you walk out of court with your decree, an uncontested divorce can be finalised in approximately eight to twelve weeks, depending on the court roll.
The matter I described above took us six weeks. She left court that morning with the decree in her handbag, her settlement enforceable, and the rest of her life ahead of her.
If you are sitting at your kitchen table with the same question she had, send me a message.
The first step is always a conversation, and you will leave it with a clear picture of where you stand.
We offer a discounted consultation fee of R750.
Preesen Chetty - [email protected]
Francois Pauw - [email protected]
www.pauwattorneys.co.za
083 554 8776
