Justice Advocate Legal Services and Advice Cape Town South Africa

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw

Relocation with my minor child to Italy, Milan (Consent and Refusal) – Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf
The world is becoming a much smaller place, and technology plays a huge role. People are moving across the world for employment, love and happiness, something that was not the norm a few decades ago. There is no reason why you should remain in South Africa if you can find a better life for yourself and your family overseas. Moving overseas may provide you with the quality of life you want or the possibility of experiencing things you always wanted. The same applies to your child or children relocating with you.
Relocation of your minor child to Milan, Italy
If you are single and do not have any minor children, then moving around the world would not be too complicated. All you need to do is ensure that you have the necessary travel documentation and travel ticket (and spending money), and off you go. However, if you want to travel with your minor children (for example, ages three or four) or relocate to another country, things may not be that simple. Firstly, if there is another parent, and he or she has parental responsibilities and rights, then his or her consent is required. For example, let us say you live in Cape Town or Pinetown, South Africa, and you want to relocate to Milan, Italy, you would require the other parent’s consent to leave South Africa with your minor child. This can cause challenges, especially if the staying parent (in South Africa) does not agree to the relocation.
What about Passport Consent to travel or relocate to Milan, Italy?
The same applies when it comes to your minor child applying for a South African passport to relocate to Italy, or any country. Both parents who have parental responsibilities and rights of guardianship will have to consent to the minor child’s passport application as well. In this regard, both parents have to be at the Department of Home Affairs (or the relevant bank that also assists with passport application) when making the Application with the minor child. This can be challenging if you have a disinterested parent who does not want to cooperate with the passport application. As you will see later, legal action would need to be taken.
What are the steps to follow when I want to relocate to Milan, Italy with my minor child? There is another parent.
To simplify the process for relocation, the first step would be to receive the other parent’s consent in principle for the relocation and that he or she will co-operate in this regard. Once that has been resolved, the parent relocating would need to make the appointment for the minor child’s passport application as well as the application for the relevant VISA. Each country has different requirements; however, seeing that it is a relocation, you need to apply for the correct VISA. For that, you need the Passport. Once the visa and travel arrangements have been finalised, the parent remaining behind will sign a parental consent letter for the international travel. That letter can be found on the Department of Home Affairs website. Basically, the parent remaining behind would state that he or she gives consent for the minor child to leave the Republic of South Africa and travel and/or relocate to Milan, Italy.
What can I do if the other parent does not want to consent to the minor child’s relocation to Milan, Italy?
If the parent remaining in South Africa does not want to consent to the minor child’s passport application and/or his or her relocation to Milan, Italy, then you would need to approach the Court. The Court, as upper guardian of the minor child, may order that the parent’s consent for the passport application and relocation be dispensed with. What this entails is submitting Court documents explaining why you want to relocate to Milan, Italy. The other parent would also have an opportunity to give reasons why he or she objects. At the end of the process, the Court would determine what is in the minor child’s best interests. If it is in the minor child’s best interests to relocate to Milan, Italy, the Court would make it possible despite the issue of consent or refusal.
What is the first step I should take if the other parent does not want to consent to the minor child’s passport application and/or relocation to Milan, Italy?
If the other parent does not want to consent to the passport application and/or the relocation of the minor child to Milan, Italy – in that case, we suggest you approach an attorney or advocate (trust account) to assist you with the legal process. He or she would then contact the other parent explaining the reasons for the relocation and request the necessary consent. If the parent remaining in South Africa does still not agree to the passport application and/or to the relocation to Milan, Italy, then the attorney or advocate will proceed to take the matter to court. The legal route can be expensive. However, it is necessary to make the relocation of the minor child possible. You may also attend to the legal process yourself.
Getting legal assistance or help with your relocation application to Milan, Italy
If you require legal assistance or representation with relocating to Milan, Italy due to the other parent not cooperating or providing consent, then feel free to contact us for assistance. The Firm Advocate, Muhammad Abduroaf, deals with these types of matters.

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw

Tricks and tips on how to win your child maintenance case
Connect with Adv. Abduroaf – Click here [caption id="attachment_7074" align="alignleft" width="269"] Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf – Advocate of the High Court of South Africa[/caption] Child maintenance legal issues might sound simple, compare to, for example, a criminal case of fraud. However, a child maintenance case could be much more complicated, challenging and exhausting. That, however, does not have to be the case. At least not always. Find out some of the tips and tricks provided by Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf, a family law expert with more than a decade of experience in family law, and child maintenance matters. Read on to find out some tips and tricks of the trade. Valuable advice is given on what to do through the maintenance court process. Download your Child Maintenance Calculator, click here. [maxbutton id=”2″ ]

Child Maintenance and Applications – How does it work?

The focus of this article is not to explain how child maintenance work, or how to apply for child maintenance. There are many articles written on that topic. But in short, parents must pay according to their means. So, if a child’s expense the month is R 60 (obviously this is a fictitious example) and the father earns R 500 a month and the mother R 250 a month, then if all else is equal, the father should contribute R 40 towards the minor child’s expenses, and the mother, R 20. Now that is the long and short of the matter. However, other factors also play a role. They include the necessary expenses of each parent, which determines how much they should contribute, as well as what assets the parents own. For example, if a father earns R 100 a month, and the mother R R800 – 00, the father would pay the majority of the minor child’s expenses if he owns other assets worth R 100 000 – 00 and the mother none. Purchase a Consultation with us from our Online Shop, by clicking here.

What are the challenges in child maintenance cases for parents?

Now we deal with the challenges. The child costs R 60 per month, but the parent who is supposed to pay maintenance, the father, in this case, is only willing to pay R 10 per month. This is what he says he can only afford and what he believes the minor child needs. He says that if he pays more, the mother would use the money for herself. But the facts as in the example above, the father earns R 500 a month and the mother, R 250. Therefore, the father should pay R 40 and not R 10 as he offers. The challenge the mother now has is to prove that the father can afford to pay R 40 and not R 10 as he offers. The mother is worried, that should she go to the maintenance court for help, she would only get R 5 because that is what the father said he will pay should she go to court. What is our advice? Go to Court!

The Maintenance Court – What do they do?

If a parent does not pay reasonable child maintenance, the maintenance court can enforce compliance. This they would do through the Maintenance Court enquiry process. Once a maintenance order is made, it becomes a criminal offense not to adhere to it. The court may even issue a warrant attaching property, or salary.

The maintenance investigator at the Court

Each maintenance court has a maintenance investigator. What this investigator does is gather evidence in a maintenance court case. However, in practice, no one may tell you that there is a maintenance investigator who could assist you in your case. This could be because of the huge amount of maintenance cases that come through the doors of the court.

How does the maintenance court make a decision?

Now, this is where it becomes challenging. The maintenance court can only make an order against a parent if there is evidence that he or she can afford the maintenance claimed, and obviously, the amount claimed is fair. The problem in practice is, the mother alleges that the father can afford the child maintenance, but she has no concrete evidence to back it up. The father is also not forthcoming, and only shows evidence that he cannot afford the amount claimed. The mother knows that he can afford the required amount due to his standard of living and what she experienced while they lived together.

What tips are there for the mother in maintenance matters?

What follows is a list of things you can do, either yourself or through the maintenance court. However please note that the court won’t entertain your application for child maintenance should it be excessive. In other words, if you know the father cannot afford the amount claimed, or that you are intentionally claiming too much; then, in that case, you would be wasting your time. If you have a legal representative, you would be wasting money as well. Purchase a Consultation with us from our Online Shop, by clicking here.

Maintenance Court Investigator

Insist that the maintenance court instruct the maintenance investigator to investigate the financial affairs of the other parent. This you should even more so insist on if the father does not even provide the court with a copy of his salary slip and outline of expenses.

The father’s employer

Ask the maintenance court to issue a subpoena against the father’s employer for the salary advice of the father. Also, request details of the father’s pension interest the father may have.

The father’s banking account

Obtain the father’s bank statements. Here you should ask the court to subpoena various banking institutions for bank statements of the father. Bank statements hold in them valuable information about the lifestyle of a person. You may find out that the father spends half his money on his cell phone or luxury clothing. You can use this information to show the court that the father can tighten his belt and spend more money on his child. What sometimes happens is, you may find additional income coming into the father’s banking account.

Father’s Credit Profile

Have the maintenance court obtain a credit profile of the father. From the profile, valuable information can be obtained. For example, where he last applied for credit, employment and residential details. If the father says he does not have money, but he applied for credit to purchase a new car, clearly there is money.

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc.)

These days, many people publish their lives on social media. If the father, in this case, keeps loading pictures and posts of how h

e lives the good life; that information may be used to show the maintenance court that the father lives a life different than what he wants the court and you to believe. Many people also make use of LinkedIn accounts. On it, they provide updated employment details. This would be useful to show the court should the father say he is an admin clerk. but on LinkedIn tell the world he is a manager.

Property Search in maintenance matters

What may be useful, is to do a property search on the father. Here you would find out what property that person owns. For example, the father may rent a house, but own a house in a different province where he obtains rent. That house he could have inherited.

Other tips and tricks in child maintenance matters

Each case is different. What would work in one maintenance matter, won’t work in another. For example, if someone is self-employed, and only get paid with cash, the dynamics are different. There won’t be any bank statements or payslips. In such a case, you need to be creative. Maybe ask questions to clients of the father and find out what he does and charges. If you can obtain the names of people the father does business with; that would be very useful. You may provide that information to the maintenance court and the investigator could follow up on it. If the father sees that you are getting somewhere, he may decide to pay a fair amount.

Final words in child maintenance matters

Your maintenance case is largely dependent on you proving that your child needs the requested amount. If you do not have proof, or cannot prove it, even if you show that the father can afford it, the court won’t order him to pay it. The court would only order him to pay what is fair and proved. Therefore, always ensure that you keep proof of your income and expenses up to date and ready to provide it to court. Download your Child Maintenance Calculator, click here.

Have a family Law appointment with us

We have an online appointments system which enables you to save valuable time and cut straight to the chase. There is, therefore, no need for you to visit our offices (unless it is best for you to do so, or is your most preferred option). You may set up telephonic or video consultations should you wish to do so. You can, therefore, stay in the office or on the couch in the comfort of your own home when dealing with us. We are therefore physical, online, set-up and ready to meet with you. Make your appointment online for a consultation today. If you find any of our articles, free resources and posts

interesting, or possibly useful to others, please like and share it on Social Media by clicking on the icons below. Should you require any other legal services and advice, not related to family law, visit Private Legal. Or click here for the details of Cape Town Advocate, Muhammad Abduroaf. Purchase a Consultation with us from our Online Shop, by clicking here.

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw