Child custody – What fathers should know – Cape Town South Africa

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw

Child custody – What fathers should know – Cape Town South Africa

IN THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA (WESTERN CAPE DIVISION, CAPE TOWN) CASE NO: /2024 In the matter between: KONRAD JOSEPH SCHÜLER (Applicant) Identity number: 590504 5229 08 0 and VANESSA GAIL SCHÜLER (Respondent) Identity number: 600904 0208 08 9 NOTICE OF MOTION TAKE NOTICE that the Applicant intends to make an Application to the above Honourable Court for an Order in the following terms:
The Applicant’s non-compliance with the requirements of forms, service, manner of service and time periods provided in the Uniform Rules of this Honorable Court be condoned insofar as necessary;
Prior to any proceeds of the sale of portion 19,346, Koppersfontein, Western Cape (the property), being paid to the Respondent:
the Transferring Attorneys shall retain the sum equal to the outstanding debt of the former joint estate of the parties referred to in clause 3.1.3 of the Consent Paper (the debt), which was made an Order of the Regional Court for the Regional Division of the Western Cape, held in Cape Town, on 24 October 2023, under case number 165/2023 (the divorce Order) and utilise it to settle the debt;
The Transferring Attorneys shall retain an amount equal to the sum of all payments made by the Applicant and/or debited from his Standard Bank Account calculated from 01 November 2023, which was used to pay the Respondent’s half of the debt, and reimburse the Applicant therewith on behalf of the Respondent;
The motor vehicle referred to in clause 4.1.2 of the Divorce Order, being a 2011 Hyundai Ix35 2.0 Gls/Executive, with registration number CAA 412805, shall be retained by the Applicant as his sole and exclusive property for which right the Applicant shall forthwith pay the Respondent the sum of R 3 661 (three thousand six hundred and sixty-one rand); and
Costs of this Application; and
Further and/or alternative relief.
TAKE NOTICE FURTHER that the Applicant has appointed the firm ADVOCATE MUHAMMAD ABDUROAF, with its details as stated below as his/her Legal Practitioner of record and address at which he/she shall accept notice and service of all process in these proceedings. KINDLY TAKE NOTICE FURTHER that if you intend opposing the Application, you are required to:
inform the Applicant’s Legal Practitioner within 10 (ten) days of receipt hereof of your intention to do so; and
fifteen days after you have so given notice of your intention to oppose the Application, to file your answering affidavit, if any; and further;
that you are required to appoint in such notification an address referred to in rule 6 (5) (b) at which you will accept notice and service of all documents in these proceedings.
KINDLY BE ADVISED FURTHER, that if no such notice of intention to oppose is given, the Application will be made on a date and time to be provided by the Registrar of this Honourable Court. TAKE NOTICE FURTHER that the Founding Affidavit of KONRAD JOSEPH SCHÜLER will be used in support of this Application. TAKE NOTICE FURTHER that the Applicant consent to service of any process in these proceedings via email using the email address [email protected]. DATED AT CAPE TOWN ON THIS DAY OF JANUARY 2024. _____________ Per: Adv. M Abduroaf (Legal Practitioner of the Applicant) Trust Account Advocate – An advocate as contemplated in section 34(2)(b) of the Legal Practice Act, 28 of 2014 (the Act) Chambers.: The Pinnacle | Suite 702, 7th Floor Corner Strand, Burg & Castle Streets | Cape Town, 8001 Tel.: +2721 111 0090 Email.: [email protected] (Email Service) High Court Box 115 Ref.: M22081/Schüler To: THE HONOURABLE REGISTRAR OF THE WESTERN CAPE HIGH COURT HIGH COURT CAPE TOWN And to: VANESSA GAIL SCHÜLER (Respondent) Ruby Estate, Gems 5 Unit 4, Burgundy Estate CAPE TOWN O0O_

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw

I never saw my child for months – How do I Obtain Urgent Access to Your Children Without the Services of a Lawyer?
Are you a father or mother whose ex-partner is refusing you access or contact with your child? If so, you have the right to seek relief from the Court for urgent access. When a couple has a child, they often agree on what is best for their child, actively contributing to the child’s life even if they are no longer together. The father typically maintains regular contact and bonds with the child. However, once the relationship ends, disagreements may arise over what constitutes the best interests of the child, particularly regarding the father’s access. In such cases, the mother might deny access outright or impose strict conditions that limit the father’s visitation. If the mother refuses access or imposes conditions that are not in the child’s best interest, the father has grounds to urgently approach the Court for relief. The same applies if the role were reversed. Navigating court procedures can be quite complicated. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you consult an attorney experienced in urgent applications. If possible, the attorney should have an advocate available to assist you with the application in court, whether or not there is opposition. However, if you choose to represent yourself, please continue reading for guidance on making an application in the High Court.
The Court Procedure
Since your Court application is urgent, it should be made via affidavit rather than orally in court. However, you may still be required to provide oral evidence at the Judge’s discretion to clarify certain issues. This requirement can usually be avoided if your documents are well-prepared. To start, you need to draft two documents: a Notice of Motion and a founding affidavit. Although the text below references an attorney or advocate, you can complete this process on your own. For simplicity, the terms “contact” and “access” are used instead of “care” and “contact.”
What is the Notice of Motion?
In the Notice of Motion, you clearly state what you want the Judge to grant you, similar to the prayers included in a summons. Your main request is for urgent access to your child. Because you are making an urgent application, you will be bypassing certain court rules regarding timeframes and procedures. Therefore, your first request to the Court should be for it to condone your non-compliance with its rules. Next, specify the relief you are seeking, generally in the form of an interim order that can be finalized later. Typically, you will request a rule nisi. An example of the prayers in an urgent access application in the High Court are as follows:
Condoning the Applicant’s non-compliance with forms and service and time periods provided in the Uniform Rules of this Honourable Court and permitting this Application to be entertained as a matter of urgency in terms of Rule 6(12) of the Rules of Court;
That a Rule Nisi be issued, calling upon the Respondent to appear before Court on ____________________ 2026 at 10:00, in order to show cause why an Interim Order should not be confirmed in the following terms:-
That the Applicant shall have unsupervised contact to the minor child as follows:
Every alternative weekend commencing from Friday 18:00 to Sunday at 18:00.
That the provisions above shall operate as an Interim Order, with immediate effect, pending the return date of the Rule Nisi;
This document is signed by your attorney, or by you if, you are acting in person.
What is the Founding Affidavit?
In your Founding Affidavit, you must provide relevant information under oath. This includes details about yourself, the mother of the child, and the child. You will also need to provide information on several or more of the following matters: – Background information about your relationship with the child’s mother – Your past access to the child – Past involvement in the child’s life – When access to the child ceased or lessened, along with the circumstances surrounding this – Past maintenance or attempts to support the child – Why the application is urgent and why substantive relief cannot be afforded to you in due course – Any other relevant information
How do I Issue and serve the Urgent Application on the other side?
Once the Notice of Motion and Founding Affidavit are complete, your attorney will make the necessary copies. They will then have the application issued in court, which will provide a case number. If possible, you should have the application served on the child’s mother in a timely manner. You should also serve the Office of the Family Advocate. You can utilize the office of the Sheriff, or your attorney may serve the papers directly to the mother.
What happens if there is Opposition?
If the mother opposes the relief sought after being served with the application, she should file an opposing affidavit, to which you will need to reply. Both parties will then argue the matter before the Judge.
What happens at teh Urgent Hearing at the High Court?
If your matter is set down on the Court Roll, the Judge will have already reviewed the papers filed. You will wait for your matter to be called. If your case is to be heard before the Urgent Judge on duty that day, you or your Advocate must present the file to the Judge in advance for review. If the mother or her Advocate is present in court and the parties cannot reach a settlement, they will argue the matter before the Judge. However, if the mother has been duly served but does not appear in court, the process may proceed more quickly. After the Judge has made a decision on the matter, the following may occur: – The Judge may grant the urgent access requested – Grant you urgent access, but not under the terms you requested – Refuse to grant any relief without a family advocate report – Dismiss your application for lack of merits and/or urgency. 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.

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw