When can a court refuse to grant a divorce?
In most cases, once a couple has proved on acceptable grounds that their marriage has irretrievably broken down the court does not have discretion to then refuse to grant them an order of divorce. One exception to this rule, however, is outlined in section 5A of the Divorce Act. This section says that if the court believes that, despite the granting of an order of divorce, either one or both of the spouses will not be free to remarry because of religious conventions unless the marriage is also dissolved in accordance with their religion’s requirements or a barrier to re-marriage of either...
Read MoreUnderstanding legal grounds for divorce
Before 1979, the grounds for divorce in South Africa included adultery, malicious desertion, incurable mental illness and imprisonment for at least five years of a spouse who was a habitual criminal. Essentially, this meant that in divorce there was always an innocent and a guilty party. Then, in 1979, the Divorce Act was introduced. This redefined the grounds for divorce to include the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage, mental illness or the continuous unconsciousness of a party to the marriage. Many people heading for the divorce courts wrongly think that if their spouse has committed...
Read MoreCollaborative divorce – A new way of thinking
Divorce proceedings are often seen as being very litigious and aggressive. However, legal, health and financial practitioners can now offer couples alternative methods to work out divorce agreements in a way that gives them more control and input. Collaborative divorce is one of the options to achieve this. Collaborative divorce is a process that has gained traction in many countries, especially in the United States and Canada. Essentially, and similarly to mediation, it is a process that attempts to minimize conflict between divorcing parties and to make sure, wherever possible, that...
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