Fast and Simple Divorce: Best Way How to Achieve a Quick and Professional Separation

Navigating the divorce process can often be complex, as a divorce order involves more than simply ending the marital relationship. In cases where the couple is married in Community of Property, the divorce order also necessitates the equitable division of joint assets, which can range from pension funds, bank accounts to real estate and personal possessions. This aspect alone can become quite intricate, requiring careful consideration of each party’s contributions and entitlements.

Issues involved in a divorce

Moreover, if minor children are part of the equation, the divorce order must comprehensively address several important issues. These issues include guardianship, and decision-making authority, as well as custody arrangements that outline where the children will reside. Additionally, visitation rights need to be established to define how and when the non-custodial parent can spend time with the children. Finally, child maintenance must be determined to ensure that both parents contribute fairly to the children’s upbringing, covering expenses such as schooling, healthcare, and daily living costs. In some cases, spousal maintenance or alimony may also be applicable, depending on the financial circumstances of both parties.

Getting divorced is not straightforward

Given these various considerations, getting divorced is not a straightforward task and requires diligent planning and foresight. Rushing into a divorce without thorough examination of the implications can lead to regrettable outcomes, such as forfeiting valuable assets or failing to secure adequate financial support for oneself or one’s children. It is particularly concerning if a party agrees to unfavorable terms regarding contact rights with their children or maintenance for their shared expenses, all in the pursuit of a quick resolution.

Best Way to Get Divorced Quickly

If you and your spouse are seeking to finalize your divorce as quickly as possible, one of the most effective strategies is to approach a divorce attorney or advocate together. It is essential that both parties participate in the initial meeting with the lawyer to ensure transparency and open communication. Meeting separately or having one spouse relayed information later can lead to misunderstandings and may hinder the process.

Schedule a Joint Consultation

During this joint consultation, both parties have the opportunity to ask questions and present all relevant information regarding the financial aspects of the marriage, including assets, debts, and income, as well as details concerning any minor children. This collaborative approach allows the attorney or advocate to ask pointed questions, gather necessary information from both spouses simultaneously, and clarify any potential issues right away.

Drafting the neccessary Court documents

Once the attorney or advocate has collected all pertinent information and clearly explained the divorce process and its implications, they can swiftly proceed to draft the necessary court documents. This includes preparing the divorce summons and any other required forms to initiate the legal proceedings. The attorney or advocate will then file these documents with the court and arrange for them to be served to the other spouse. Following this, they will apply for a court date to finalize the divorce.

It is best to be proactive

By taking this proactive and collaborative approach, couples can significantly streamline the divorce process, reducing stress and ensuring that all legal requirements are met efficiently and professionally. If you wish to consult with us on your divorce, please complete the form below.

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw

Fast and Simple Divorce: Best Way How to Achieve a Quick and Professional Separation

Issues involved in a divorce

Getting divorced is not straightforward

Best Way to Get Divorced Quickly

Schedule a Joint Consultation

Drafting the neccessary Court documents

It is best to be proactive

If you wish to consult with us on your divorce, please complete the form below.

I need to know, when does a parent’s obligation to pay child maintenance end?
Paying child maintenance, or maintaining their child, is the legal obligation of every parent. A parent does not have a choice in this matter. However, the level and standard of contribution are dependent on the means of the parent. In this article, we will look at the aspect of when does child maintenance come to an end. In this regard, we will look at two situations, one where there is a maintenance order in place and the other where there is not. However, before proceeding with those issues, let us first deal with the issue of who should pay child maintenance.

Pay child maintenance according to your means

The law expects a parent to provide child support according to their respective memes. What this entails, is that a parent should only pay what he or she can afford. Therefore, even if a child requires a huge amount of child support, if a parent cannot afford to provide, he or she will not be held responsible. Therefore, the other parent would have to support the child according to his or her means. In applying this principle in practice, it means one parent may have to pay more child support than the other parent.

However, various factors will have to be looked at. The law does not only look at your income but also at your expenses. If a father earns a substantial amount of money per month, we also have to look at his expenses in order to earn such an amount. For example, he needs to travel overseas regularly and purchase expensive electronics. Those overseas expenses and gadgets should be factored in when considering his means.

The Maintenance Order – Divorce or Maintenance Court

Many a time, parents approach the Maintenance Court for assistance in obtaining maintenance from the other parent. This process usually ends with the court making a maintenance order. This is sometimes by agreement and other times through formal processes like hearings or trials. The same is true in the case of a divorce. When the court grants a decree of divorce, it will make a maintenance order should there be minor children involved. Usually, the order will stipulate until when maintenance is payable in terms of the order. In terms of our law, a court should not grant a decree of divorce unless it is satisfied that the minor children’s interest is looked after.

What should the maintenance order state?

It is of vital importance, that when parties agree on a maintenance order, they are as simple and direct as possible. No one wants to argue over a vague maintenance order years down the line when issues arise. Therefore, although you took a day to settle a maintenance matter, you may take weeks to settle a maintenance dispute based on a simple clause. The order should specifically deal with the aspect of how maintenance should be paid, where it should be paid and until when.

The date the maintenance order lapses

If the maintenance orders state that maintenance will come to an end when the children reach the age of eighteen, then, under those circumstances, the court order will fall away when they reach that age. Another age usually stipulated in a maintenance order is the age of twenty-one. Furthermore, it is sometimes stipulated in a maintenance order that maintenance is paid until the children are self-supporting. The latter situation could become problematic as to how is it determined when a child is self-supportive. This we deal with next.

Child becoming self-supportive

Obviously, if the child moves out of the house, gets a job and pay for his or her own expenses, he or she is self-supportive. However, if the child still resides with his or her parents, but is capable of earning a reasonable income, a dispute might arise regarding whether or not the child is self-supportive. Nonetheless, the maintenance order will stand until the conditions stipulated in the order have passed. The parents would, therefore, have a legal obligation to pay the maintenance as stated in the order.

Does a maintenance order fall away when the child turns eighteen?

As stated above, age does not play a role as to until when child maintenance must be paid. The fundamental issue is that of being self-supportive. Therefore, even if the order says you must pay child maintenance until the child is twenty-one years old, but at the age of eighteen the child earns a much greater salary than his or her parents, and is accordingly self-supportive, then under those circumstances maintenance is not due to the child. In such a case, the parties must agree that maintenance should not be paid. If such an agreement is not forthcoming, then the party who is obliged to pay child support should approach the court to have the order set aside.

To whom should maintenance be paid when the child turns eighteen?

Child maintenance is due to the child and not to the other parent. However many a time, a child of eighteen is still attending school and cared for by a parent. Therefore, although the child is an adult, he or she is not in a position to care for him or herself. Maintenance in terms of the court order should still be paid to the parent caring for the child. Once the child is mature enough, or he or she moved out of the home of the caregiver, he or she may then, under those circumstances, receive the maintenance directly from the relevant parent.

Can a child over the age of eighteen claim maintenance from his or her parents?

If there is no maintenance order in place, when a child turns eighteen, he or she will have to apply for maintenance from his or her parents. As the child is an adult, his or her parents cannot approach the Maintenance Court on his or her behalf. In other words, a parent cannot apply for maintenance on behalf of his or her adult child. This could become problematic, should the child, being an adult, still attend school.

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw

How to appeal to the Constitutional Court – Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf

A case usually commences from the Magistrate’s or High Court. If a party to the proceedings is unhappy with the outcome of the Magistrate’s Court decision, he or she will then proceed to appeal to the High Court. If, however, a case has been heard in the High Court, the Appeal would either be heard by a full-bench (usually two judges) in the High Court or the Supreme Court of Appeal would hear it. Once the Supreme Court of Appeal heard the matter and made a ruling, that would usually end it. However, a further appeal may be made to the Constitutional Court if the matter relates to constitutional rights. This Article deals with appeals to the Constitutional Court of South Africa, which has its seat in Braamfontein. Please note that although this article does not deal with it, it is also possible to make a direct application to the Constitutional Court, asking it to sit as a court of first and last instance because of the urgency of the matter or when allowed in terms of the Constitution as can be seen below. According to the website of the Constitutional Court, the contact details of the Constitutional Court is: Court Offices Director of the Constitutional Court: Tel: +27 11 359-7459 Email: [email protected] General office: of the Constitutional Court (Registrar ): Tel: +27 11 359-7468 / 7460 / 7465 / 7592 Email: [email protected]

What is a Court Appeal?

An appeal is the legal process by which a party requests a formal change to an official decision. This process usually takes place after a party is dissatisfied with a ruling made by a lower court. Appeals are made to a higher court with the intention of reviewing and potentially overturning the lower court’s decision. The purpose of an appeal is to ensure that justice is served by providing a mechanism for correcting errors made by lower courts, thereby upholding the integrity of the judicial process. Therefore, if a party is not happy with the decision of the High Court or the Supreme Court of Appeal regarding a constitutional matter, he or she would then appeal to the Constitutional Court.

The South African Court System

Section 166 of our Constitution (Act 108 or 1996) deals with our Judicial System. It states the following: Judicial system

The courts are—

(a) the Constitutional Court; (b) the Supreme Court of Appeal; (c) the High Court of South Africa, and any high court of appeal that may be established by an Act of Parliament to hear appeals from any court of a status similar to the High Court of South Africa; (d) the Magistrates’ Courts; and (e) any other court established or recognised in terms of an Act of Parliament, including any court of a status similar to either the High Court of South Africa or the Magistrates’ Courts. You will note that the Constitution places the Constitutional Court on top of the list, followed by the Supreme Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Magistrate’s Court. Seeing that this article deals with appeals to the Constitutional Court, for the sake of completeness, let us deal with the composition of the Constitutional Court. Section 167 of our Constitution states: Constitutional Court

(1) The Constitutional Court consists of the Chief Justice of South Africa, the Deputy Chief Justice and nine other judges.

(2) A matter before the Constitutional Court must be heard by at least eight judges. (3) The Constitutional Court— (a) is the highest court of the Republic; and (b) may decide— (i) constitutional matters; and (ii) any other matter, if the Constitutional Court grants leave to appeal on the grounds that the matter raises an arguable point of law of general public importance which ought to be considered by that Court, and (c) makes the final decision whether a matter is within its jurisdiction. (4) Only the Constitutional Court may— (a) decide disputes between organs of state in the national or provincial sphere concerning the constitutional status, powers or functions of any of those organs of state; (b) decide on the constitutionality of any parliamentary or provincial Bill, but may do so only in the circumstances anticipated in section 79 or 121; (c) decide applications envisaged in section 80 or 122; (d) decide on the constitutionality of any amendment to the Constitution; (e) decide that Parliament or the President has failed to fulfil a constitutional obligation; or (f) certify a provincial constitution in terms of section 144. (5) The Constitutional Court makes the final decision whether an Act of Parliament, a provincial Act or conduct of the President is constitutional, and must confirm any order of invalidity made by the Supreme Court of Appeal, the High Court of South Africa, or a court of similar status, before that order has any force. (6) National legislation or the rules of the Constitutional Court must allow a person, when it is in the interests of justice and with leave of the Constitutional Court— (a) to bring a matter directly to the Constitutional Court; or (b) to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court from any other court. (7) A constitutional matter includes any issue involving the interpretation, protection or enforcement of the Constitution. We don’t want to go into too much detail, but it is clear that the Constitutional Court is a specialist court dealing with constitutional matters, law important to the public, and issues regarding the government, as outlined above. Any decision that invalidates provincial or parliamentary legislation or any conduct of the President must be confirmed by the Constitutional Court before it has any effect.

How do you appeal to the Constitutional Court?

If your matter relates to an issue that falls within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, you may appeal to it. If the Constitutional Court agrees with you, it will make a ruling in your favour. The first step would be to make the application to the Constitutional Court. Please note that the Constitutional Court has the discretion whether or not to hear a matter. An exception is where an Act of Parliament has already been declared invalid, but another Court, and the Constitutional Court is required to confirm the finding.

Rules of the Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court has its own rules. One should consult these rules when litigating in the Constitutional Court. Relevant to this article is Rule 19, which deals with appeal process in the Constitutional Court. It states the following: 19. Appeals (1) The procedure set out in this rule shall be followed in an application for leave to appeal to the Court where a decision on a constitutional matter, other than an order of constitutional invalidity under section 172(2)(a) of the Constitution, has been given by any court including the Supreme Court of Appeal, and irrespective of whether the President has refused leave or special leave to appeal. (2) A litigant who is aggrieved by the decision of a court and who wishes to appeal against it directly to the Court on a constitutional matter shall, within 15 days of the order against which the appeal is sought to be brought and after giving notice to the other party or parties concerned, lodge with the Registrar an application for leave to appeal: Provided that where the President has refused leave to appeal the period prescribed in this rule shall run from the date of the order refusing leave. (3) An application referred to in subrule (2) shall be signed by the applicant or his or her legal representative and shall contain— (a) the decision against which the appeal is brought and the grounds upon which such decision is disputed; (b) a statement setting out clearly and succinctly the constitutional matter raised in the decision; and any other issues including issues that are alleged to be connected with a decision on the constitutional matter; (c) such supplementary information or argument as the applicant considers necessary to bring to the attention of the Court; and (d) a statement indicating whether the applicant has applied or intends to apply for leave or special leave to appeal to any other court, and if so— (i) which court; (ii) whether such application is conditional upon the application to the Court being refused; and (iii) the outcome of such application, if known at the time of the application to the Court. (4) (a) Within 10 days from the date upon which an application referred to in subrule (2) is lodged, the respondent or respondents may respond thereto in writing, indicating whether or not the application for leave to appeal is being opposed, and if so the grounds for such opposition. (b) The response shall be signed by the respondent or respondents or his or her or their legal representative. (5) (a) A respondent or respondents wishing to lodge a cross-appeal to the Court on a constitutional matter shall, within 10 days from the date upon which an application in subrule (2) is lodged, lodge with the Registrar an application for leave to cross-appeal. (b) The provisions of these rules with regard to appeals shall apply, with necessary modifications, to cross-appeals. (6) (a) The Court shall decide whether or not to grant the appellant leave to appeal. (b) Applications for leave to appeal may be dealt with summarily, without receiving oral or written argument other than that contained in the application itself. (c) The Court may order that the application for leave to appeal be set down for argument and direct that the written argument of the parties deal not only with the question whether the application for leave to appeal should be granted, but also with the merits of the dispute. The provisions of rule 20 shall, with necessary modifications, apply to the procedure to be followed in such procedures.

Procedure on appeal

Section 20 of the Constitutional Court’s Rules deals with the procedure on appeal. It is states:

Procedure on appeal

(1) If leave to appeal is given in terms of rule 19, the appellant shall note and prosecute the appeal as follows— (a) The appellant shall prepare and lodge the appeal record with the Registrar within such time as may be fixed by the Chief Justice in directions. (b) Subject to the provisions of subrule (1)(c) below, the appeal record shall consist of the judgment of the court from which the appeal is noted, together with all the documentation lodged by the parties in that court and all the evidence which may have been led in the proceedings and which may be relevant to the issues that are to be determined. (c) (i) The parties shall endeavour to reach agreement on what should be included in the record and, in the absence of such agreement, the appellant shall apply to the Chief Justice for directions to be given in regard to the compilation of the record. (ii) Such application shall be made in writing and shall set out the nature of the dispute between the parties in regard to the compilation of the record and the reasons for the appellant’s contentions. (iii) The respondent may respond to the application within 10 days of being served with the application and shall set out the reasons for the respondent’s contentions. (iv) The Chief Justice may assign the application to one or more judges, who may deal with the matter on the papers or require the parties to appear before him or her or them on a specified day and at a specified time to debate the compilation of the record. (v) The judge or judges concerned shall give directions in regard to the compilation of the record, the time within which the record is to be lodged with the Registrar and any other matters which may be deemed by him or her or them to be necessary for the purpose of enabling the Court to deal with the appeal, which directions may include that the matter be referred back to the court a quo for the hearing of additional evidence specified in the directions, or that additional evidence be put before the Court by way of affidavit or otherwise for the purpose of the appeal. (2) (a) One of the copies of the record lodged with the Registrar shall be certified as correct by the Registrar of the court appealed from. (b) Copies of the record shall be clearly typed on stout A4-size paper, double-spaced in black record ink, on one side of the paper only. (c) Legible documents that were typed or printed in their original form such as cheques and the like shall not be retyped and clear photocopies on A4-size paper shall be provided instead. (d) The pages shall be numbered clearly and consecutively and every tenth line on each page shall be numbered and the pagination used in the court a quo shall be retained where possible. (e) Bulky records shall be divided into separate conveniently-sized volumes of approximately 100 pages each. The record shall be securely bound in book format to withstand constant use and shall be so bound that upon being used will lie open without manual or other restraint. (f) All records shall be securely bound in suitable covers disclosing the case number, names of the parties, the volume number and the numbers of the pages contained in that volume, the total number of volumes, the court a quo and the names of the attorneys of the parties. (g) The binding required by this rule shall be sufficiently secure to ensure the stability of the papers contained within the volume; and where the record consists of more than one volume, the number of each volume and the number of the pages contained in a volume shall appear on the upper third of the spine of the volume. (h) Where documents are lodged with the Registrar, and such documents are recorded on a computer disk, the party lodging the document shall where possible also make available to the Registrar a disk containing the file in which the document is contained, or transmit an electronic copy of the document concerned by e-mail in a format determined by the Registrar which is compatible with software that is used by the Court at the time of lodgement, to the Registrar at: [email protected]: Provided that the transmission of such copy shall not relieve the party concerned from the obligation under rule 1(3) to lodge the prescribed number of hard copies of the documents so lodged. (i) If a disk is made available to the Registrar the file will be copied and the disk will be returned to the party concerned. Where a disk or an electronic copy of a document other than a record is provided, the party need lodge only 13 copies of the document concerned with the Registrar. (3) If a record has been lodged in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) of subrule (1), the Registrar shall cause a notice to be given to the parties to the appeal requiring— (a) the appellant to lodge with the Registrar written argument in support of the appeal within a period determined by the Chief Justice and specified in such notice; and (b) the respondent to lodge with the Registrar written argument in reply to the appellant’s argument by a specified date determined by the Chief Justice, which shall be subsequent to the date on which the appellant’s argument was served on the respondent. (4) The appellant may lodge with the Registrar written argument in answer to the respondent’s argument within 10 days from the date on which the respondent’s argument was served on the appellant. (5) The Chief Justice may decide whether the appeal shall be dealt with on the basis of written arguments only. (6) Subject to the provisions of subrule (5), the Chief Justice shall determine the date on which oral argument will be heard, and the Registrar shall within five days of such determination notify all parties to the appeal of the date of the hearing by registered post or facsimile.

What are the Steps:

Within 15 days of the Order you are appealing against, lodged you Application for leave to appeal [Rule 19(2)]
Within 10 days, the Respondent is to file its Notice to Oppose the appeal and the grounds for the opposition [Rule 19(4)(a)]
The Constitutional Court would then decide whether or not to grant the leave to Appeal [Rule 19(6)(a)]
If leave to appeal is granted, the appellant shall prepare and lodge the appeal record with the Registrar [Rule 20(1)(a)]
The Chief Justice may decide whether the appeal shall be dealt with on the basis of written arguments only [Rule 20(5)]
The matter would be argued on the date provided by the Constitutional Court.

Ante-nuptial Contracts Questions and Answers

We introduced this Ante-nuptial Contracts Questions and Answers page for you to post questions you may have on the topic. For example, if you want to know what matrimonial property regime is best for you, pose a question with some background facts. At the same time, should you be able to assist others who posted questions below, requiring some advice on Ante-nuptial Contracts, please proceed and reply to their comments. In that manner, we would all be able to assist each other and increase our online knowledge base. Therefore, although we a are legal consultancy, specialising in family law, you may have problems or experiences that we have not encountered. Let us share in our knowledge of Ante-nuptial Contracts.

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Other family law resources on this website

There are various other family law resources on this website that you may find useful. For example, there is a downloadable child maintenance calculator. The resources may assist you with whatever questions you have, or information you require on Ante-nuptial Contracts. Therefore, after posting your question, or any time after, have a look at the useful resources and information on our website. Some of these resources are listed hereafter.

Articles and Q&A

There are a range of legal articles on this website dealing with various family law issues. Some of these articles are straight forward, outlining the legal position on a family law related topic. For example, how to apply for child maintenance, or how to get divorced. Other articles are written in the form of answering a specific legal question. For example, do I pay maintenance if I am unemployed, or what do I do if I want to leave the country with my child, and the other parent does not want to provide consent? Those articles are in blog format. This means that you are welcome to comment or pose questions to increase our knowledge base. The clear idea behind our website is that we want to make family law legal information more accessible and available to the public.

Downloadable resources

We created some downloadable resources for free on this website. They are: 1 Free Basic Will Tool Kit 2. Free Shariah Will Template 3. Free Divorce Starter Tool Kit 4. Free Child Maintenance Calculator 5. Free DIY Urgent Child Contact Toolkit Feel free to download these useful resources. Click on the links above, and complete the online purchase process. The purchase price is R 0. Thereafter, a downloadable link would be emailed to you. Once you received the email, download it as soon as possible as the link would expire after two months. We hope that we assisted you with any queries you had on Ante-nuptial Contracts. If not, feel free to arrange a consultation with us.

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