Best Divorce Lawyer Advice if you are living in Waterfront – Cape Town – Western Cape

Posted on by Telelaw

Best advice on finding a top divorce lawyer for your divorce case in the Waterfront, Cape Town

Do you live in Waterfront, and are you considering divorcing your spouse? Or have you been threatened with divorce? Either way, a divorce is a legal matter, and it is best to find sound legal advice or assistance. Furthermore, divorcing someone has potential severe legal consequences you may not know of. The first consequence, of course, is that you are no longer married to your former spouse, and there is no legal obligation to maintain each other (unless you qualify for alimony). You may also not inherit from your former spouse’s intestate. Lastly, and obviously, you are free to marry someone else.

However, do you know of the proprietary (property) consequences of getting a divorce? What about the assets and debt you and your spouse incurred in Waterfront or elsewhere during your marriage? Do you know what should happen to it? If not, it is best you find out about these critical aspects and others before getting divorced.

Then there is the issue of parental responsibilities and rights after the divorce should there be minor children involved. This article aims to provide guidance on finding the best attorney or advocate for your divorce matter that can adequately and properly advise you or handle your divorce. The advice would apply whether you live in Waterfront or anywhere else in South Africa. The issues we shall deal with are the following.

  • Gender of the Advocate or attorney;
  • Location of the Advocate or attorney;
  • Experience of the Advocate or attorney;
  • Costs of the Advocate or Attorney; and
  • The personality of the Advocate or Attorney.

What is the best gender of the Advocate or Attorney I need to use for my divorce? Is a male or female better?

Generally, the gender of your Advocate or Attorney should not play a role at all in a legal matter. However, depending on your background and the issues involved in your divorce, you may prefer a specific gender where you may feel more comfortable. A female who has been emotionally, physically and psychologically abused may be more comfortable with a female Attorney or Advocate. However, the same female client may prefer a male Advocate or Attorney. No more will be said on this issue.

What is the ideal office location of the Advocate or attorney? Does it have to be in Waterfront?

The location or office of your attorney or Advocate is essential if you wish to consult with them in person. It is also ideal, but not necessary, for their offices to be close to the Court where the divorce would be handled. However, many lawyers make use of correspondent lawyers for this purpose. Furthermore, location should not be an issue if you want a specific lawyer to handle your case. This is so especially seeing that people are making use of virtual meetings.

What level of experience should the Advocate or attorney have?

It is important to remember that not all legal matters require the best lawyer. If your divorce is straightforward, finding the best lawyer in the field is unnecessary. The best may be very busy and lack the time to give your case the attention it deserves. However, if your matter is complicated, then in that case, the most experienced and best lawyer out there is not warranted.

What about the Costs of an Attorney or Advocate?

For many, the costs of the Attorney or Advocate are the most crucial consideration when it comes to enlisting their services. Usually, the more experienced the Attorney or Advocate, the more they would charge. Another aspect that affects costs is the nature of the expertise of the Advocate or Attorney. If the issues in your matter are highly technical and complicated, an Advocate or Attorney with expertise and experience may charge more.

What about the personality of the Advocate or Attorney?

Many may discard the Advocate or Attorney’s personality as not important. However, it is essential to note that it may be time to change lawyers if you do not get along well with the Advocate or Attorney because of their personality. A lawyer and their client would develop a professional relationship in family law matters. This is especially so when the lawyer must discuss many personal issues regarding you, your marriage, children, finance, spouse etc. If you cannot get along well with your Attorney or Advocate, you may not divulge important information relevant to your case.

What is our best advice to a client looking for an Advocate or Attorney in a divorce matter?

Considering all the factors mentioned above, before enlisting the services of an Advocate or Attorney, ensure you enlist the right one. Do not look for the most experience or best, or the top one in family law. You may have to change lawyers if you do so and cannot afford legal bills. Therefore consider the above and any other factors that you may consider necessary when deciding on enlisting the services of an Advocate or an Attorney. Best of luck.

Related Post

Can a parent appeal a child custody order granted by the High Court or Children’s Court?

In resolving disputes regarding child custody or guardianship (parental rights and responsibilities) matters, a court will usually be approached. The court is also the upper guardian of all minor children within its area of jurisdiction. A parent or interested party may approach the Children’s Court or the High Court when it comes to parental rights regarding a minor child. The High Court, however, has greater jurisdiction when it relates to issues associated with guardianship rights. As demonstrated below, the courts’ decisions may be reviewed by a higher court. However, before approaching the court, the parties should first try to resolve the matter through entering into a parenting plan.

How are child custody court proceedings initiated?

A parent or interested party would make an application to the court. In the High Court, this would be done with a Notice of Motion and Founding Affidavit, served on the other parent or interested party. An interested party would be someone who cares for the child or significantly forms part of the child’s life. For example, a step-parent, grandparent, or aunt. Once the founding papers are served, the other party, the Respondent, would file their answering papers. Thereafter, the Applicant would reply. This is how evidence is provided in the High Court as stated. The process is different in the Children’s Court. In the Children’s Court, forms with supporting documents initiate the process.

What happens at the High Court or Children’s Court?

Once the latter initial processes are done, and all other court processes are followed, the parties would present their cases to the presiding officer. At the end of the matter, the court (the Judge or Magistrate) would give the judgement (ruling) or order. This judgement or order will be based upon all the evidence and arguments presented to it by the relevant parties. There may also be expert reports that were considered. For example, a report of the Office of the Family Advocate, a social worker or private psychologist appointed in the matter. These expert reports are very useful as the court seldom meets with the parties. The experts would interview the parents, children and other interested parties and provide their expert recommendations.

How does the court make its decision regarding parental rights and responsibilities?

After considering all the evidence presented by the parties and experts, the court will have to decide whether or not to grant the relief sought in the Application before it. The court will be guided by the underlining principle of what is best for the minor child and its experiences with regard to the type of matter before it. The court cannot act on emotion or pity. For example, feel sorry for the mother or father. Their decisions must be judicially exercised. Therefore, there would be no merit to state that the Court always finds in favour of a single mother, or a father. Each case would be decided on its own merits.

What happens after the child custody order is granted?

Now, once the court decides was best for the minor child, the court would impose an order. The order may say, for example, that the minor child should reside primarily with one parent, or an interested party, who is not a parent. Or the dispute may be regarding guardianship rights. For example, the court may make an order that both parties’ consent is not required for a passport application of a minor child. No matter what the order is, it must be adhered to by all the parties concerned.

Can the child custody court’s decision be challenged?

Now after the court heard all the evidence presented and arguments by either party and handed down its judgment and order; does this mean that its decision cannot be challenged? The answer is no. An aggrieved party may appeal the judgement. In other words, the party who is not happy with the presiding officer’s decision may approach a higher Court to revisit the matter. The higher Court would have to decide whether or not the court made the correct decision. For example, if a parent is not happy with the High Court’s decision that custody should be afforded to the grandmother; then either parent may appeal that decision.

When is it advisable to appeal?

Before a party decides to appeal a judgement or order of a court, he or she will have to ensure that there are good grounds to appeal it. In other words, the party who wishes to appeal the judgement must be able to show that the Judge misdirected himself or herself and did not apply his or her mind properly. Furthermore, had the presiding officer applied his mind correctly, a different decision would have been reached.

Practical Example of when an appeal may be appropriate

A practical example would be where all the child care experts in the matter agree that the minor child should reside with the father; but notwithstanding what the experts recommend, the court nonetheless ordered that the minor child should reside with the mother. In such a case, it would make sense to appeal the judgement, as all evidence before the court showed that the minor child should primarily reside with the father and not with the mother. On the face of it, it is clear that the judge made an error. The case should, therefore, be relooked at.

Judge’s Reason

On the other hand, the court could have had good reasons why it ordered that the minor child should primarily reside with the mother. One reason could be that the experts who recommended primary care misdirected themselves. They considered not so important factors in granting primary care. For example, the father’s wealth and his string of domestic workers at his home. In other words, they recommended custody to a parent due to him being very wealthy and can afford the best for the child. In the court’s view, the wealthy parent should then pay more child maintenance to the other parent. The mother, in this case, is better suited to care for the child, as she did since birth. The father, although very wealthy, is most of the time working overseas and unable to personally care for the child.

Know the time periods allowed should you wish to appeal a judgment

If you have valid and good grounds for an appeal, then such an appeal should be made. A later article may deal with the specific rules of court and law that relates to an appeal. The purpose of this article is to bring to the reader’s attention that you may challenge an order that relates to parental rights and responsibilities in relation to a minor child. Please note that the rules and laws regarding appeals are very strict and technical. A party would have to comply with certain time requirements before proceeding with the appeal. Therefore, should a party wish to appeal a judgement, he or she should act upon it timeously as provided for in the relevant rules of court. We are certain that you found the above article useful and interesting. Please consider sharing it on the share buttons below. They include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Gmail and more. Someone may find it useful as well. Should you require business advice or services, feel free to click on these links: Business SA | Private Legal | Envirolaws  
Posted on by Telelaw

Top tips and tricks from a Senior Family Law Advocate on claiming maintenance for a five-year-old child in Stellenbosch.

Child Maintenance is the right of the child, and not that of the parent. It is also not a privilege granted to parents who must pay it. It is their duty to pay child maintenance and support their children. Once the child is self-supporting (being able to care for him or herself), the obligation falls away. This can happen when the child is 18, 20, or even 30. It all depends on the circumstances of the case.

Claiming child maintenance for your child in Stellenbosch

Whether you claim child maintenance in Stellenbosch, or any other city in South Africa, the procedures would be the same. There are however two (2) courts that can deal with child maintenance matters. That is a divorce court, in a divorce matter, and a Child Maintenance Court. For this article, we will focus on claiming maintenance in a Maintenance Court matter in Stellenbosch.

The maintenance scenario – Stellenbosch South Africa

In this article, we will deal with the following fictitious scenario, in a child maintenance matter:

  1. The Child is seven years old and attends school in Stellenbosch
  2. The child is cared for by the mother who works in Stellenbosch
  3. The mother works and earns a Salary of R 10 000
  4. The father sees the child every second weekend. He also lives and works in Stellenbosch
  5. The child’s monthly expenses are R 6000 – 00 which includes food, clothing, accommodation, education, travel etc.
  6. The father earns a reasonable salary and can afford the R 20 000 – 00 per month
  7. The mother claims R 4 000 – 00 maintenance as the father earns double her salary

What is the first step the mother must take in claiming child maintenance?

The first thing the mother must do is work out exactly what the child costs by item. She breaks down the minor child’s living expenses, starting from rent or accommodation to groceries to school fees etc. Once she has done that, she would need to determine what exactly does the minor child cost per month, seeing that she will be asking the father to contribute towards that. As best as possible, she needs to collect proof of expenses. This can be in the form of receipts.

How does she start the legal process?

The mother now needs to approach the maintenance court in the area where she lives or works to lodge a complaint for child maintenance. If she lives or works in Stellenbosch, it would be the maintenance court in Stellenbosch. She will complete a Form A wherein she will provide all the expenses for her and the minor child. She would also have to stipulate her income. Once she completed the form and submitted it to the maintenance court, she must then follow the next step.

What do you do while waiting for the maintenance court date?

While you wait to be informed of the court date by the Maintenance Court of Stellenbosch, and up until the actual first court date, you need to ensure that you keep a record of all income and expenses for you and the child. This is very important as the court allocates maintenance based on recent income and expenses.

What happens at the first court appearance at the Stellenbosch Maintenance Court?

Once you have been notified of the maintenance court date by the Stellenbosch Maintenance Court, you need to ensure that you attend it. On that day, both you and the father of the child would appear before a maintenance officer. The maintenance officer would go through both your income and expenses as well as that of the father. If all the relevant information is not before the maintenance court, then the matter may be postponed in order for the parties to submit it.

The maintenance officer will try to settle the matter and have the parents come to an agreement regarding the amount of child maintenance to be paid. If they cannot come to an agreement regarding the child maintenance to be paid, the matter would have to proceed to a formal hearing or trial before a Magistrate.

How does the Maintenance Court hearing or trial work in Stellenbosch?

Essentially, the maintenance court is called upon to make a fair ruling regarding what is a fair amount of child support that needs to be paid. For that to happen, the parents would have to give evidence in that regard. The mother would present to the court what the child costs, what she contributes and what she requires the other parent to pay. The Father would have a right to question the mother and to present evidence as to why he cannot afford the amount requested or why he feels it is an unfair amount. The mother can they also question him.

At the end of the day, the Stellenbosch Maintenance Court would be able to properly determine what is a fair and adequate amount of child maintenance to pay after being presented will all relevant information. The Stellenbosch Maintenance Court should play an active role in determining what is a fair amount of child maintenance the father should pay.

The above child maintenance application principles should apply to the following provinces and cities:

Eastern Cape:

Alice, Butterworth, East London, Graaff-Reinet, Grahamstown, King William’s Town, Mthatha

Port Elizabeth, Queenstown, Uitenhage, Zwelitsha

Free State:

Bethlehem. Bloemfontein, Jagersfontein, Kroonstad, Odendaalsrus, Parys, Phuthaditjhaba, Sasolburg, Virginia, Welkom

Gauteng:

Benoni, Boksburg, Brakpan, Carletonville, Germiston, Johannesburg, Krugersdorp, Pretoria, Randburg, Randfontein, Roodepoort, Soweto, Springs, Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging

KwaZulu-Natal:

Durban, Empangeni, Ladysmith, Newcastle, Pietermaritzburg, Pinetown, Ulundi, Umlazi

Limpopo:

Giyani, Lebowakgomo, Musina, Phalaborwa, Polokwane, Seshego, Sibasa, Thabazimbi

Mpumalanga:

Emalahleni, Nelspruit, Secunda, North West, Klerksdorp, Mahikeng, Mmabatho, Potchefstroom, Rustenburg, Northern Cape, Kimberley, Kuruman, Port Nolloth

Western Cape:

Bellville, Stellenbosch, Constantia, George, Hopefield, Oudtshoorn, Paarl, Simon’s Town, Stellenbosch, Swellendam, Worcester

 

 

 

Posted on by Telelaw

Do you require a video legal advice consultation?

Click here and schedule one today!