Antenuptial Contracts
If you’re getting married and your antenuptial contract (ANC) isn’t notarised or registered with the deeds office, what happens – particularly if you get divorced?
When you enter into an ANC, the Deeds Registries Act of 1937 sets out several formalities. The first is that your ANC is notarised, and the second is that it’s registered in a deeds registry within three months. If you don’t follow these steps, South African legislation says that the ANC will not be valid against any person who was not a party to the agreement. But what does this mean? (more…)
The Divorce Act and Pension Funds
Section 7(7)(a) of the Divorce Act of 1979 deals with a spouse’s pension interest. Before this amendment, a spouse’s pension interest didn’t form part of determining the estate’s value in a divorce.
So, for example, if your spouse had R2 million in a pension fund, a divorce settlement didn’t need to include this when valuing the assets to be split – whether you’re married in community of property or subject to the accrual system. (more…)
Rule 43: Paying Interim Maintenance During a Divorce
When a marriage disintegrates, the spouse who has been the homemaker and caregiver often finds themself without a source of income. Statistically speaking this is usually the wife and they then have to try and provide for their own financial needs, as well as those of any children from the marriage.
Suretyship & Married In Community of Property
I recently attended a presentation advising parents who are parting ways on how to lessen the negative effects of divorce on their children. The main message Lynette Roux of the South Africa Association of Mediators passed on, was that children, particularly younger ones, need regular contact with both parents. In fact the ideal situation for the custody of children is for them to have short periods of contact with each parent every day. (more…)
Child Nesting: How it Can Lessen the Negative Effects of Divorce
I recently attended a presentation advising parents who are parting ways on how to lessen the negative effects of divorce on their children. The main message Lynette Roux of the South Africa Association of Mediators passed on, was that children, particularly younger ones, need regular contact with both parents. In fact the ideal situation for the custody of children is for them to have short periods of contact with each parent every day. (more…)
Do Grandparents Have Automatic Rights To Their Grandchildren?
What happens when conflicts occur in families and grandparents are left out in the cold and denied contact with their grandchildren? In the case of divorce, death or other relationship breakdowns, do grandparents have an automatic right to a relationship with their grandchildren, or is this the parents’ decision to make? (more…)
The content in this blog is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. Copyright ©GillianLowndes2013