Frequently Asked Questions on Divorce – Cape Town South Africa

How long does it take to get an uncontested divorce in South Africa?

If the parties are in agreement to the divorce, and sign a consent paper or settlement agreement, it can take about 4 weeks. However, if they cannot come to an agreement on all aspects, for example, child maintenance and custody, then it can take about a year. This is if all goes well an no party tries to delay the process.

How long does it take to get an amicable divorce?

It all depend on the parties. If it is indeed amicable, then approximately four weeks. It is best to have a lawyer assist in the process. However, you can do it DIY.

How much does it cost to get a divorce?

The Courts do not charge for a divorce. However, if you decide to do a divorce on your own, then it would be free. The only costs would be that which you pay the Sheriff to serve the summons on the other party.

How long will it take for a divorce to be final?

It depends on when the hearing date of the divorce is. It can take a few weeks, or a year or so.

How long does it take to get a divorce decree in the mail?

Divorce decrees are not posted to you by the Court. You would have to collect it from the Court.

How much does it cost to get an uncontested divorce in South Africa?

If you make use of an attorney, the costs could be around R 5000 – 00 to R 20 000 – 00 depending on how much work could be involved. However, there are places that charge a lessor fee. Look around.

Why does it take so long to get a divorce? Is there a waiting period for a divorce in Cape Town?

You can get divorced in the Family Court or the High Court. Depending on whether you and your spouse agrees on the terms of the divorce, it can take quick. However, if it must proceed to Trial, it can take about a few months to get a date.

How long do you have to wait to get married after a divorce in South Africa?

You can get married immediately.

How long does it take to get a divorce in Cape Town if both parties agree?

It can take about four weeks.

How long does it take to get a divorce in Cape Town if you are legally separated?

It can take about four weeks.

Do you have to be separated before you can get a divorce in Cape Town?

No, you do not have to be separated. The marriage should have irretrievably broken down.

How long does it take to get a divorce if both parties agree?

About 4 weeks.

How much does it cost to get a divorce in Cape Town?

Depending on your lawyer, about R 5 000 – 00 to R 20 000 – 00 .

What is a notice of entry of judgment in a divorce?

This does not Apply to South Africa.

How long do you have to wait to get married after a divorce?

You may get married to next day.

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw

Frequently Asked Questions on Divorce – Cape Town South Africa

How long does it take to get an uncontested divorce in South Africa?

How long does it take to get an amicable divorce?

It all depend on the parties. If it is indeed amicable, then approximately four weeks. It is best to have a lawyer assist in the process. However, you can do it DIY.

How much does it cost to get a divorce?

How long will it take for a divorce to be final?

It depends on when the hearing date of the divorce is. It can take a few weeks, or a year or so.

How long does it take to get a divorce decree in the mail?

Divorce decrees are not posted to you by the Court. You would have to collect it from the Court.

How much does it cost to get an uncontested divorce in South Africa?

Why does it take so long to get a divorce?
Is there a waiting period for a divorce in Cape Town?

How long do you have to wait to get married after a divorce in South Africa?

You can get married immediately.

How long does it take to get a divorce in Cape Town if both parties agree?

It can take about four weeks.

How long does it take to get a divorce in Cape Town if you are legally separated?

It can take about four weeks.

Do you have to be separated before you can get a divorce in Cape Town?

No, you do not have to be separated. The marriage should have irretrievably broken down.

How long does it take to get a divorce if both parties agree?

About 4 weeks.

How much does it cost to get a divorce in Cape Town?

Depending on your lawyer, about R 5 000 – 00 to R 20 000 – 00 .

What is a notice of entry of judgment in a divorce?

This does not Apply to South Africa.

How long do you have to wait to get married after a divorce?

You may get married to next day.

Best advice on finding a top divorce lawyer for your divorce case in Sea Point, Cape Town
Do you live in Seapoint, 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 Sea Point 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 Sea point 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 Sea Point?
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.

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw

Divorce – Questions and Answers on the Process and Procedure
Divorces signify the end of marriages. However, it can also be seen as a beginning of a new life. Once a couple has tried everything to save their marriage, to no avail, a divorce is an inevitable consequence. With divorces, comes the law. Only a court can legally divorce you. And because of this, people have many questions on the divorce procedure and process. This post is intended to assist parties whose marriage had irretrievably broken down by answering frequently asked questions on divorces. Due to the nature of legal matters, it is best to make use of an attorney or get the advice of a legal professional when dealing with a divorce. However, we intend giving you a general overview of the divorce process below with the assistance of Adv. Muhammad Abduroaf.

Family Law Questions and Answers

Should you not find what you are looking for, feel free to post your questions on our blog, by clicking on the following links:

Divorces – Questions and Answers

Child Custody – Questions and Answers

Child Maintenance – Question and Answers

Domestic Violence – Questions and Answers

You are welcome to call us on 021 424 3487 / 0870735800

For other legal and business services, feel free to visit:

Business SA or Private Legal.

Divorce – Things to Consider

There are a few things to consider when proceeding with a divorce. Depending on the issues involved, it would determine how quick or how complicated your divorce could be. They are as follows:

Minor Children in divorces

As a consequence of marriage, are children. If your children are 18 years or older at the time of the divorce, they would not be a factor, as they are adults. However, if they are younger than 18 years old, their interests are affected in the divorce process. The Court won’t divorce you unless it is satisfied that their best interests are taken care of. When a divorce settlement is reached, the settlement should be taken to the Office of the Family Advocate. The Family Advocate would then study the document, and, if they are satisfied with it, enforce it. If they are not happy with it or have any issues, they will usually provide it in a cover letter. Factors to consider are the following:

Child Maintenance
Primary Residence
Parental Responsibilities and Rights of Care and Contact
Guardianship
Facilitation or Dispute Resolution

The Court is however not bound by the views of the Family Advocate. The Court would consider it, however, if the Court feels that the settlement agreement or recommendations of the Family Advocate is not in the child’s best interests, it would then make the appropriate order. In our view, if the parents came to an agreement, and they believe it is workable, it would most of the time be in the children’s best interests for the agreement to be made an Order of Court.

Purchase our Unopposed Divorce Package, click here.

Matrimonial Property Regime

The Matrimonial Property Regime the Parties are married in is an important aspect to consider when getting divorced. This we unpack next.

In Community of Property

The default Matrimonial Property Regime is that of “In Community of Property”. What this basically means is that there is one joint estate. In other words, there are no longer two separate estates. By way of example, if the husband takes out a loan, the wife is also responsible to repay it. This is so as the Joint Estate incurred the debt. The husband could not have incurred the debt solely as he does not have a separate estate.

Out of Community of Property

It has become the trend for people to get married “Out of Community of Property”. What this means is that there are two separate estates. It is as if you are not married. The wife can enter into loans and agreements without the consent of her husband, and his estate would not be affected by that. There are however two variables to being married Out of Community of Property. That is married Out of Community of Property with the inclusion of the accrual regime, and the other without.

Accrual Regime Included in Your Marriage

If the accrual regime is not specifically excluded in the Ante-nuptial Contract, then it is by default included. What this means, is that during the marriage, there are two separate estates. You can do what you please without the consent or consideration of the other party’s estate. However, at divorce, or death of one of the parties, you must share in half the difference of the accruals of each estate. So, for example, if the accrual regime applies, and at divorce, the husband’s estate is worth R 10 000 – 00 and the wife’s estate is worth R 5 000 – 00; then he should pay her R 2500 – 00 in cash. The same would apply at death. Both parties would, therefore, leave the marriage with the sum of R 7 500 – 00. This regime would be beneficial where the wife or husband stays at home, looking after the household and children. The other spouse would be working on building an empire.

Accrual Regime Expressly Excluded in your marriage

Let’s say the parties got married Out of Community of Property. However, in their Ante-nuptial contract, they specifically excluded the accrual regime. In that case, there would be two separate estates during the marriage. And at divorce or death, there would still be two separate estates and neither spouse would have to pay the other spouse any amount. If both spouses are working during the marriage, building their own empires, then this regime would be a better option.

Pension Funds in Divorces

Pension funds would apply to marriages in Community of Property, and where the accrual regime applies, to marriages out of Community of Property. When the parties divorce, in the case of a marriage in Community of Property, a spouse has a claim to half the Pension Fund of the other spouse. If they are married Out of Community of Property with the accrual regime, then the value of the pension fund is taken into consideration when determining the accrual. Therefore, if both the pension funds are the same in value, and both parties have the same amount of assets; there would be no accrual. This would be so if all else is equal. Next, we move to the divorce process and procedure, written by Adv. Muhammad Abduroaf. Pictures are provided for some assistance.

The Divorce Process

Some advice from Adv. Muhammad Abduroaf

First, some Legal Advice

If you want to get divorced from your spouse, I strongly advise that your approach a legal practitioner, or an attorney to attend to it on your behalf. This I would implore even more under the following circumstances:

There will be a dispute over care and visitation rights over the child/children;
One of the parties shall be applying for forfeiture of patrimonial benefits from a marriage in community of property;
The joint estate is huge or complicated; or
The other party shall be making use of legal representation.

General Divorce Process and Procedure

If, however, you would like to know the general procedures on how to go about in obtaining a divorce decree; they are listed summarily below. There are many rules that regulate divorce processes and the summary below does exclude some of them. These include exceptions, strikeouts, compelling compliance, service addresses etc. Other matters incidental to divorce proceedings, e.g. interim arrangements, pending the divorce regarding maintenance for you or your children and care and contact regarding children are not dealt with. Therefore, please consult a legal practitioner or the divorce court throughout your divorce process should you decide to do the divorce yourself.

Purchase our Unopposed Divorce Package, click here.

Summons and Particulars of Claim

A summons needs to be drafted which should be issued by the divorce court to commence the divorce process. It should have on it the details of the court you will be issuing the divorce from, details of the parties, e.g. names, occupation and address etc. Every High Court in the area where you live has the authority to attend to a divorce. You should then draft a particulars of claim outlining relevant matters concerning the marriage, children, reasons for wanting a divorce and what do you want the court to grant you in a divorce order. These particulars of claim you attach to the summons. [caption id="attachment_6734" align="alignleft" width="800"] Divorce Process Summons - Divorce Lawyer

Example of a Divorce Summons[/caption] https://www.ourlawyer.co.za/wp-content/uploads/Divorce-Summons-Divorce-Lawyer-Process-217×300.jpg

Divorce Particulars of Claim

Once you have your summons and particulars of claim in order, you have to have the summons issued. To do this, make three (3) copies of your set of documents (Summons and Particulars of Claim) and have it issued at court. [caption id="attachment_6731" align="alignleft" width="800"] Divorce Process - Divorce Atorney

Example of A Particulars of Claim in a Divorce Action[/caption]

Issuing and Service of Divorce Summons and Particulars of Claim

Once you are at the court, go to the clerk/registrar of the court and have your documents issued. The clerk/registrar will sign the summons and provide a case number by writing it on the summons. You should then take the original and a copy (both must be signed and stamped by the clerk/registrar of the court) and take it to the sheriff which serves documents where your spouse work, of lives. You can ask the clerk/registrar of the court for that details. The extra—copy of the summons and particulars of claim you keep for your file and records.

Notice of intention to defend

Once the sheriff served the documents, your spouse has two weeks to inform you of whether he or she shall be defending the divorce. This information is outlined in the summons. If your spouse decided not to defend the divorce action, then after a period of two weeks has elapsed, you may set the matter down as an undefended divorce. If your spouse intends to defend the divorce, he or she would then have to file the notice of intention to defend. In this notice, you would advise the Court and the Plaintiff that you are defending the divorce, and also, provide a service address. The Service Address is the address at which the Plaintiff would send notices in the court case to you. Below, kindly find an example of a Notice of Intention to Defend. [caption id="attachment_6743" align="alignleft" width="800"] Divorce Lawyer Cape Town

Notice of Intention to Defend[/caption]

Divorce Plea to particulars of claim

Once you received notice of your spouse’s intention to defend the divorce, about a month later, your spouse or his or attorney should serve and file a plea. The plea should outline which parts of your particulars of claim your spouse agrees (or disagree) with which would give a direction of what to prove at court.

Purchase our Unopposed Divorce Package, click here. [caption id="attachment_6740" align="alignleft" width="800"] Plea - Divorce Process - Lawyer

Plea in a Divorce Action[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6739" align="alignleft" width="903"]

Plea in a Divorce Action[/caption]

Divorce Counterclaim or Claim in Reconvention

Your spouse might want to file a counterclaim or claim in reconvention. In the same way which you outlined your case as to what you want from the court and the reasons therefore in your particulars of claim; your spouse can file on you a counterclaim. A counterclaim might still be filed if your spouse agrees to a divorce, but maybe wants primary care of the children, but in your particulars of claim, you asked for primary care. You should then within 10 (ten) days plead to the counterclaim in the same manner which your spouse pleaded to your particulars of claim [caption id="attachment_6738" align="alignleft" width="789"] Divorce Counter Claim - Divorce Process

Divorce Counter Claim[/caption]

Discovery

When you present evidence at Court, you want to be fully prepared. Therefore, all documents your spouse will be making use of at Court should be presented to you beforehand. And you should do the same. This is where discovery comes into play. You may ask or may be asked to provide under oath a schedule of books and documents in your possession and under your control relating to the divorce. This could be policy documents, deeds etc, and which you or your spouse might want to make use of at trial. Once you received the schedules you may inspect and request copies of the documents. [caption id="attachment_6727" align="alignleft" width="800"] Divorce Lawyer - Process

Request for Discover Notice[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6726" align="alignleft" width="800"] Divorce Lawyer - Process

Discovery Notice[/caption]

Discovery Affidavit

After receiving a notice requesting a spouse to discover, an affidavit should be provided. The wording of the Affidavit can be seen in the pictures below. [caption id="attachment_6723" align="alignleft" width="800"] Divorce Law - Process

Example of a Discovery Affidavit[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6725" align="alignleft" width="800"] Divorce Process - Lawyer

Discovery Affidavit[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6724" align="alignleft" width="800"] Divorce Lawyer

Discovery Affidavit[/caption]

Obtaining a Trial date for the Divorce

Once you received the plea, with or without a counterclaim, or have pleaded to your spouse’s counterclaim, and discovery is done, one should then approach the clerk/registrar of the court for a trial date. This you or your spouse may do. This process is a bit complicated, so it’s best to do it with the guidance of a lawyer or the clerk/registrar of the court.

Purchase our Unopposed Divorce Package, click here.

Pr-Trial Procedure

Before a date gets allocated to you for the divorce, the Court would want to ensure that your matter is trial ready. What this basically means, is that all that needs to be done, has been attended to and the trial will run. Many months are spent waiting for a court date, and it would be unfair to the court if a judge and other litigants are appointed to a matter, and the matter does not proceed. A judge will meet with the parties in chambers, and once the matter is trial ready, he or she will endorse the file in that regard.

Divorce day / Trial / Unopposed hearing date

If your spouse does not defend the divorce within the time period, go back to court and ask for an unopposed divorce date and attend to your divorce on that date. If, however, your divorce is defended, a trial should ensure. During the trial, each party should prove his or her case. Witnesses should be called and at the end, the Magistrate or Judge shall deliver the verdict. Best of luck, and please, don’t take my word, contact a legal practitioner should you decide to get divorced. Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf

[caption id="attachment_6758" align="alignleft" width="300"]

Divorce Lawyer and Process[/caption]

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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