Divorce, child maintenance, child custody, DIY divorce, Cape Town

Posted on by Telelaw

Divorce, child maintenance, child custody, DIY divorce, Cape Town

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Attorneys, Advocates and Trust Account Advocates – Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf

Legal matters can indeed be intricate and often come with hefty financial implications. While courts do not impose fees for adjudicating cases, the legal representation required to navigate these complexities can be costly. It’s not uncommon for legal fees to surpass the monetary claim being pursued in court.

Engaging the Services of Attorneys and Advocate

When engaging the services of both an attorney and an advocate, clients may find themselves incurring even higher expenses. In cases involving complex legal issues, the involvement of an advocate is often essential, but this adds to the financial burden. In recent years, a new category of legal professional has emerged known as Trust Account Advocates. Traditionally, to enlist the services of an advocate, you would first need to engage an attorney who would then instruct the advocate on your behalf. This remains the most common arrangement, but there are notable exceptions in certain circumstances, which is where Trust Account Advocates become particularly beneficial.

What is a Trust Account Advocate?

A Trust Account Advocate functions similarly to a referral advocate but operates under different guidelines. A referral advocate typically only accepts briefs from attorneys, which means the flow of communication and instructions typically goes through the attorney before reaching the advocate. In this model, the advocate bills the attorney for their services, creating an additional layer in the client-advocate relationship. Conversely, a Trust Account Advocate can maintain a trust banking account. This allows clients to deposit funds directly into this account before any legal work begins. Additionally, Trust Account Advocates possess a fidelity fund certificate, ensuring that they are compliant with regulations and protecting clients’ interests. This structure empowers Trust Account Advocates to engage directly with members of the public, bypassing the need for an intermediary attorney, which is a limitation of referral advocates.

Advantages of Using a Trust Account Advocate

Cost Efficiency:

Perhaps the most significant benefit of working with a Trust Account Advocate is the potential to save on legal fees. By eliminating the need for both an advocate and an attorney, clients can reduce their overall legal expenses without sacrificing the quality of representation.

Direct Communication:

Clients working with Trust Account Advocates enjoy the advantage of direct communication. This direct line eliminates the possible delays and miscommunication that can arise when an attorney is the sole point of contact, allowing for more efficient case management and quicker responses.

Expertise in Specialized Areas:

Many Trust Account Advocates specialize in specific legal areas, allowing clients to access expertise tailored to their unique legal challenges. This targeted knowledge can be invaluable in effectively navigating complex legal matters.

Simplified Process:

Engaging directly with a Trust Account Advocate can streamline the legal process. This arrangement often leads to reduced administrative burdens and faster initiation of legal work, enabling clients to address their legal issues promptly.

Transparency in Billing:

With a Trust Account Advocate, clients typically have clearer visibility into fees and billing practices since payments are made directly to the advocate. This transparency can help avoid surprises down the line and foster trust between clients and their legal representatives. In conclusion, the rise of Trust Account Advocates offers a refreshing alternative in the legal landscape, providing clients with more options for representation while potentially saving on costs and enhancing the overall experience. By utilizing their services, clients can take advantage of direct access to legal expertise, fostering a more engaged and efficient legal process.

Posted on by Telelaw

Most family law matters come with heightened emotions and stress. It, however, does not always have to be that way. Staying focused and rational is important to get the best results.

Many legal practitioners will tell you, the one aspect of family law, that differentiates it from other branches of law, is the emotions that come with it. It would often happen that a client breaks down, or sheds a tear in your office. This is understandable, as family law issues have a lot of history behind it. Even simpler family law legal matters, for example, the terms of an antenuptial contract, can stir emotion.

Types of family law matters that cause heightened emotions and anxiety

Before we delve into this topic, let us first bring things into perspective. These are some of the family law matters we are referring to:
  • Divorces (Contested or Undefended);
  • Domestic Violence matters;
  • Child maintenance disputes; and
  • Child custody disputes.
The actual list is more extensive. You may even want to consider including last wills and testaments and winding up of deceased estates. As can be seen from the types of matters mentioned, there are always children involved or personal relationships. Some of these relationships have lasted for decades. We often see people who were married for more than 30 years, getting divorced. And in other cases, the relationship, albeit personal, could have been for a very short while, but still, elicit a lot of emotions. For example, a domestic violence family legal matter.

The personal nature of family matters makes it harder to deal with

One of the challenges for a legal practitioner is to try to convince the client that he or she should trust the law, and not focus too much on the other party. For example, in a divorce matter, where a spouse has been abused. The abused spouse would sometimes agree to sign away everything just to get divorced speedily. This is not only unfair but could lead to many issues in the future. This situation must be avoided at all costs.

Intimidation in abusive relationships

Then we have the challenge in a domestic violence matter. A party who has been abused would agree on withdrawing an application for a protection order, even though it is dangerous to do so. Or there is the situation where a party would agree that a protection order is issued against them due to being intimidated either by the other party, or his or her lawyer. This they do not do because of having committed domestic violence, but just to get the matter over and done with. The consequence of that is the applying party would have an interdict and a warrant of arrest against you which may be abused.

Intimidation in child maintenance or alimony cases

We cannot count the number of times we have been told that the reason why a parent does not want to approach the maintenance court, is due to being told by the other parent that he or she will get much less than what they are receiving. This is emotional abuse and not in the child’s best interest. One reason for believing the abuser is due to the relationship the parties had. The abuser was controlling and abusive during the relationship, and the victim has been brainwashed into believing everything the abuser says.

What people must understand in family legal matters?

Although it is understandable for someone to be anxious when dealing with family law related matters, it is important to note that issues need to be dealt with properly. If your spouse was abusive during your relationship, that does not mean it has to continue after your relationship ended. There are laws in place to protect people from abuse and violence. For example, the Domestic Violence Act. If you make use of the law, you would have a better chance of getting the legal results you want. Go to the Police if necessary.

Final words to people who are intimidated by, or is afraid of the other party

Although it is easier said than done, we implore people not to be bullied when it comes to family law matters. This includes being intimidated by the other party, or his or her lawyer. If you have rights; enforce them. Believe in yourself and your cause and others will learn to respect it. Many cases are won by unrepresented litigants who were up against a team of lawyers. Moreover, no one has the right to belittle you or deny you of your rights. Take a stand and fight for what is right. 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

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