Family Law & Deceased Estates Simplified

03/10/2016

29 October 2016 Legal Information and Advice Session

I will be hosting a legal information and legal advice session on the 29th of October.

This session is mainly aimed at those who are currently having family law and deceased estates related problems, those who are undergoing divorce or are in the process of terminating their cohabitation relationships, those who are in customary marriages and they need comprehensive legal advice and strategies on how to protect themselves as spouses in the customary marriage, those who are getting married and need information on marriage contracts or those who are considering changing their legal contracts.

The session will be about real life problems, giving legal advice and guidance and less about giving information about aspects of family law and deceased estates. This session will also be more beneficial to those who cannot afford attorneys but they need expert legal advice.

Feel free to talk to me privately if you need more information

07/09/2016

Knowledge is Power!!!

02/09/2016

MARRIAGE CONTRACTS

In terms of the law, a marriage is a contract between two individuals to the exclusion of others while it last. (The exception is a polygamous marriage where a husband is allowed to take a further wife). The marriage contract entails that the parties agree to marry each other and to be bound by the marriage system they have chosen, when it comes to sharing of assets, money and pension interests, when the marriage comes to an end.

When lovers make the decision to get married, they need to decide on the terms that will govern their marriage and if they do not make a decision and the law will make the decision for them and the marriage will automatically be in community of property.

Recently the Limpopo High Court has ruled that when spouses are married in community of property, the pension interests automatically form part of their joint estate and the pension should be deemed to form part of the joint estate. When the parties get divorced and the divorce decree simply says division of the joint estate and it (divorce decree) or settlement agreement says nothing about sharing of the pension, the words “division of the joint estate automatically includes sharing of the pension.

A divorced spouse then has the option of making a court application to amend the words of the divorce decree so that it contains the details of the pension, in order for them to claim directly from the pension company. The other option the divorce spouse has is to claim directly from the ex-spouse. If a spouse has withdrawn their pension money and spend it, you can request an attachment of their assets.

A court judgement, including a divorce order, last 30 years. This means you have a period of years to bring a claim against your ex-spouse if you did not receive your half share, including a share of pension.

19/08/2016

25/07/2016

A vast amount of uncertainty exists on the validity of certain marriages entered into in terms of customary( traditional) law. More and more customary marriages are being declared legally invalid due to non-compliance with correct legal procedures.

On the 27th of August, I will be hosting a breakfast session for women whereby I will be giving correct legal information and providing clarity on the truth about customary marriages and the law.

For more information you can inbox me or send me an email on [email protected] or WhatsApp on 0798937701

06/07/2016

In terms of the Recognition of Customary Marriage Act, a spouse who is in an existing customary marriage, is not allowed to enter into a civil marriage with someone else, regardless of whether the the customary marriage is registered or not and regardless of the fact that the parties have separated, until the marriage is dissolved at court.

Unfortunately a high number of people are getting married to spouses who have existing customary marriages and this is leading to courts ordering that subsequent civil marriages be declared null and void and the marriage certificates cancelled.

A high number of women, who thought they were wives, find themselves in this unfortunate position whereby the courts reduce their status from wife to a girlfriend.

It is therefore important that before one enters into a civil marriage, one need to make sure that their spouse did not have an existing customary marriage and if there was, one need to establish if the customry marriage was legally terminated or not.

Courts are there to protect marriages which are legally valid, so courts decide between the two marriages and the wife who was married first, and the law was complied with, will be declared the legal spouse.

05/07/2016

Oops Date is 27 August 2016

05/07/2016

One of the greatest challenges facing South African Women is regarding customary(traditional) marriages.

There is a growing trend amongst black husbands and/or their family members denying the existence of the marriage, either during its termination or death. This is caused by the fact that most spouses do not register their customary marriages.

Another challenge faced by women is when the law declares their marriage not legally protected because of the failure to follow specific compulsory legal requirements.

During the month of August, I will host a one day session, for women, on customary marriages and the law.

The aim of this session is to give correct legal information regarding customary marriages, to guide you on how to have your marriage registered, even if your husband is refusing, to advice and guide you on what to do if you wish to legally terminate the marriage and also what happens during death.

Feel free to WhatsApp me, inbox or send me an email for more information.

19/05/2016

In the age of information, ignorance is a choice and a very dangerous choice to make.

On 29 March 2016, the Eastern Cape High Court, Mthatha division gave a judgement which I had to bring to your attention.

The case involved the deceased estate of a husband. The husband had customary married a woman in 2002, the marriage was not registered. The marriage relationship subsequently failed and in 2005 the parties decided to separate. They sold their house and shared all their matrimonial assets equally.

In 2007 the husband married another woman and they remained married until his death.

Upon his death, the first wife reappeared and although she acknowledged that she and the husband had dissolved their marriage and shared assets equally, she wanted the court to recognise her as the surviving spouse because she and the husband did not get divorced at court, as the law requires.

The judge agreed with her. Although the judge was sympathetic to the fact that the second wife was the unfortunate victim of a situation which is not her fault and had genuinely married the husband because he was "single", he said that all marriages MAY ONLY be dissolved by a court.

If parties privately terminate their marriage, in the eyes of the law they are still married.

Now this begs the question, as you are reading this and you are a married spouse, are you in a legally protected marriage or is there an individual who is just waiting for you or your spouse to pass away, so that he or she can come and reclaim their legal position as a spouse?

Ignorance of the law is no excuse,...having a marriage certificate doesn't automatically mean u will always be protected.

If you are based in Soweto and surrounding areas, join us on the 25 of June as we will be discussing these issues and how to legally protect yourself. We will be coming to other areas as well.

12/05/2016

Divorce: The end of a Marriage.

When people get married, the last thing on their mind is the possibility of the marriage coming to an end, but reality is, more and more marriages are ending in divorce.

When divorce occurs, it is usually an emotional period, especially for the spouse whose being divorced, and it is also a period whereby one need to be vigilant, a period where one must think carefully about the decisions he/she will take, consider carefully what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable, and a period to carefully read documents you are asked to sign.

The decision to end a marriage should not be taken lightly as there are a major implications that come with ending a marriage.

Too many times, individuals allow emotions to take over and also due to the high legal costs, many are not getting the correct legal information and clarity on their specific matters which leads to disastrous results.

The divorce process in South Africa is relatively straightforward, yet the financial and emotional consequences can be profound.

Me and my team, we will be having legal information session, which will focus strictly on divorce.

The aim of these sessions will be to educate individuals about divorce, to assist those who are thinking about divorce, who are in the process of divorce and those who have divorced but there are still outstanding issues.

It is my belief that if individuals have a deeper understanding about divorce and the law, they will be in a position to make better decisions regarding their personal lives.

11/05/2016

Sometimes in life, when we are in a state of excitement, confusion or desperation, we end up taking decisions that are detrimental to our lives.

Sometimes the decisions we take, we end up acting in a manner whereby "re leka Modimo".

Recently a man consulted with me and he wanted advice on divorce and how to start the process, as he has a new partner and they are engaged. While the divorce is still pending, the husband continued and got married two weeks ago, in spite of the fact that the husband is still legally married to someone else. Meaning, he committed bigamy.

The new lady knows about the first wife and the current position, but she went ahead with the wedding.

This is something which is common and there is now a growing rate of people who get married to people, who already have a spouse, be it a customary or a civil law spouse.

Unfortunately the law will not protect anyone who entered into a marriage that is not legally protected, regardless of whether they entered into the marriage due to legal ignorance.

At all times, before you take a decision to get married, or anything which will affect your life, you need to seek legal advice.

Stop being impressed by the fairytale of being a Mrs, without getting all the legal facts that are associated with being married.

04/05/2016

Divorce vs Marriage

One of the most important decision a person needs to make in their lives is whether to get married or not, and for those who are married but the marriage seem to be failing, the most important decision they have to make is whether to file for divorce or continue with the marriage.

These two decisions have legal implications and because of this, it is important that before a decision is taken, one need to consult and get correct legal advice
By getting proper legal advice, you will be in a position to make a well informed decision, especially if you have a minor child to protect. Most times, some husbands would marry the wives with their child (go e gapa le namane) & during divorce, the same husbands would be saying that is not their biological child and they can't be sued for their child maintenance.

Never make assumptions and just because something is done in the community or culturally, does not mean it will have automatic legal protection.