The rights of parents to have contact with their children during the holiday season

It is that time of the year where schools are closed and most parents can take off work. This is either due to being allowed to take some leave days or the business itself is closed during that period. Whatever the reason, parents wants to spend time with their children during the holidays. And rightfully so. If parents are children live in the same home, there would not be much of a problem regarding contact. Or no problem at all. Parents and children would see each other every moring and before going to sleep. The challenge arise when parents and children do not live in the same home.

Parenal Responsibilities and Rights of parents

Alot has been written on the top of parental responsiblities and rights on this website. Extensive reference is made to relevant sections of the Children’s Act. However, to simply things, parental responsiblities and rights refers to the parental responsiblities and rights a parent has to look after a child. That can be in the form of food, shelter, clothing, education, visitation and so on. Basically, to form part of the child’s life in a meaningful way. Parental responsiblities and rights refers to  responsiblities and rights. They go hand in hand. You cannot say you have a right to have contact with your child, but not interested in execising your responsibility of feeding and clothing the child. The law does not work that way.

What should parents do if they are not allowed contact during the holidays?

Firstly, it is the right of the child to have contact with both parents during their school holidays. It not not neccessary the right of the parents as the law focuses of what is best for the child. Seconldy, it is the duly and responsiblity of both parents to ensure that they make it possible for both parents to have contact with the minor child. This is so, despite the issues and differences the parents might have.

What do you do if contact is frutrated?

If they cannot come to an agreement, then it is stronly recommened that they have the issue mediated as soon as possible. There are many people that can assist in mediaton. That can be someone you both trust and respect or a professional personal trained in family mediation. With regard to someone you trust and respect, it could be your religious leader, family elder or a trusted friend. Regarding professionals, that can be a social worker, lawyer, pyschologist or someone with mediation training. It is best to make use of some who has family law experience. However, it is not always neccessary depending on the issues at hand.

What do I do if mediation is now possible or unsuccessful?

Mediation will not always be successful. Howewer, depite it now always being successful, many benefits comes from a mediation session. For one, the parents would be one step closer in understanding what the issues are, at least from the other side. That can be invaluable as it often happens, couples usually speak or argue past each other when they are alone. In a mediation setting, whether formal or informal, the are forced to listen to each other. However, if the mediation session is unsuccessful or not possible, then the the law comes into play. Before going to court, you may want to consider seeing an attorney or advocate if you can afford it. They may consider the option of sending the other parent letter and try to resolve the matter out of court. Often it works and it is something you may wish to consider. However, if it is something you cannot afford, or it does not yield any noteworthy results, then approaching the court is your next option. This we deal with next.

When to approach the Court when it comes to care and contact disputes?

It does not benefit the child nor you to execise contact or care which is not adequate. In other words, if you should have more contact to your child, you should fight for it. The same applies to a parent who is abusing his or her parental responsibilities and rights. If you feel that they are doing so, the situation must changes which is in the child’s best interest. This could mean affording him or her last contact and care. Therefore, if speaking to the other party, mediation, or lawyer’s letter does not work, then taking it to a court of law is the only viable option. The Court is the upper guardian of all minor children. Therefore, it overrides the rights of both parents. It can therefore limit, take it away or increase or assign parental rigths. Ultimatley, the Court would decide what is best for the minor child involved.

Can I urgently have contact to my child during the holiday season?

If you are denied adequate contact rights to your minor child, you have the right to urgenly approach the court to relief. The High Court would need to be approach for urgenly relief. The Children’s Court may be able to assist, but not as fast as the High Court would. However, the High Court can be expensive if you are making use of attorney and advocates. Therefore, to avoid approaching the High Court and have your matter heard in the Children’s Court, do not wait until the last minuite to enforce your rights. Especially when it comes to end of year holdiday contact.    
Posted on by Telelaw

The rights of parents to have contact with their children during the holiday season

It is that time of the year where schools are closed and most parents can take off work. This is either due to being allowed to take some leave days or the business itself is closed during that period. Whatever the reason, parents wants to spend time with their children during the holidays. And rightfully so. If parents are children live in the same home, there would not be much of a problem regarding contact. Or no problem at all. Parents and children would see each other every moring and before going to sleep. The challenge arise when parents and children do not live in the same home.

Parenal Responsibilities and Rights of parents

Alot has been written on the top of parental responsiblities and rights on this website. Extensive reference is made to relevant sections of the Children’s Act. However, to simply things, parental responsiblities and rights refers to the parental responsiblities and rights a parent has to look after a child. That can be in the form of food, shelter, clothing, education, visitation and so on. Basically, to form part of the child’s life in a meaningful way. Parental responsiblities and rights refers to  responsiblities and rights. They go hand in hand. You cannot say you have a right to have contact with your child, but not interested in execising your responsibility of feeding and clothing the child. The law does not work that way.

What should parents do if they are not allowed contact during the holidays?

Firstly, it is the right of the child to have contact with both parents during their school holidays. It not not neccessary the right of the parents as the law focuses of what is best for the child. Seconldy, it is the duly and responsiblity of both parents to ensure that they make it possible for both parents to have contact with the minor child. This is so, despite the issues and differences the parents might have.

What do you do if contact is frutrated?

If they cannot come to an agreement, then it is stronly recommened that they have the issue mediated as soon as possible. There are many people that can assist in mediaton. That can be someone you both trust and respect or a professional personal trained in family mediation. With regard to someone you trust and respect, it could be your religious leader, family elder or a trusted friend. Regarding professionals, that can be a social worker, lawyer, pyschologist or someone with mediation training. It is best to make use of some who has family law experience. However, it is not always neccessary depending on the issues at hand.

What do I do if mediation is now possible or unsuccessful?

Mediation will not always be successful. Howewer, depite it now always being successful, many benefits comes from a mediation session. For one, the parents would be one step closer in understanding what the issues are, at least from the other side. That can be invaluable as it often happens, couples usually speak or argue past each other when they are alone. In a mediation setting, whether formal or informal, the are forced to listen to each other.

However, if the mediation session is unsuccessful or not possible, then the the law comes into play. Before going to court, you may want to consider seeing an attorney or advocate if you can afford it. They may consider the option of sending the other parent letter and try to resolve the matter out of court. Often it works and it is something you may wish to consider. However, if it is something you cannot afford, or it does not yield any noteworthy results, then approaching the court is your next option. This we deal with next.

When to approach the Court when it comes to care and contact disputes?

It does not benefit the child nor you to execise contact or care which is not adequate. In other words, if you should have more contact to your child, you should fight for it. The same applies to a parent who is abusing his or her parental responsibilities and rights. If you feel that they are doing so, the situation must changes which is in the child’s best interest. This could mean affording him or her last contact and care.

Therefore, if speaking to the other party, mediation, or lawyer’s letter does not work, then taking it to a court of law is the only viable option. The Court is the upper guardian of all minor children. Therefore, it overrides the rights of both parents. It can therefore limit, take it away or increase or assign parental rigths. Ultimatley, the Court would decide what is best for the minor child involved.

Can I urgently have contact to my child during the holiday season?

If you are denied adequate contact rights to your minor child, you have the right to urgenly approach the court to relief. The High Court would need to be approach for urgenly relief. The Children’s Court may be able to assist, but not as fast as the High Court would. However, the High Court can be expensive if you are making use of attorney and advocates.

Therefore, to avoid approaching the High Court and have your matter heard in the Children’s Court, do not wait until the last minuite to enforce your rights. Especially when it comes to end of year holdiday contact.

 

 

Related Post

What are the legal implications of a step-parent adopting a child in South Africa? Is it possible and  what are the rights of the biological parents?

It often happens that a couple marries and there are step-children involved. A spouse would therefore have a child from a previous relationship. The previous relationship could either have been a marriage or just a romantic experience. Sometimes, the step-parent would want to adopt the child, affording him or her legal rights and responsibilities over the child. This is the case, even if the other parent is still alive and in the picture. It may happen that a parent is not much involved in a child’s life and would not mind that the other parent who cares for the child have his or her spouse adopt the child. By doing so, the child would have the step-parent’s surname. The responsibility towards the child would now also fall on the step-parent. Whatever the reason, this article deals with the legal aspects. As you would see further below, an adoption order has the following effect: (a) confers full parental responsibilities and rights in respect of the adopted child upon the adoptive parent; (b) confers the surname of the adoptive parent on the adopted child, except when otherwise provided in the order; (c) does not permit any marriage or sexual intercourse between the child and any other person which would have been prohibited had the child not been adopted; and (d) does not affect any rights to property the child acquired before the adoption. (3) An adopted child must for all purposes be regarded as the child of the adoptive parent and an adoptive parent must for all purposes be regarded as the parent of the adopted child. The law dealing with adoptions is the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 (the Act). Chapter 15 of the Act which deals with it is quite extensive. It starts at section 228 and ends at section 253. We will first deal with the issue as which child may be adopted. For a full view of the Act and the relevant sections, click here. Child who may be adopted 230.(1) Any child may be adopted if- (a) the adoption is in the best interests of the child; (b) the child is adoptable; and (c) the provisions of this Chapter are complied with. (2) An adoption social worker must make an assessment to determine whether a child (3) A child is adoptable if – (a) the child is an orphan and has no guardian or caregiver who is willing to adopt the child; (b) the whereabouts of the child’s parent or guardian cannot be established; (c) the child has been abandoned; (d) the child’s parent or guardian has abused or deliberately neglected the child, or has allowed the child to be abused or deliberately neglected; or (e) the child is in need of a permanent alternative placement. Next, we deal with who may adopt a child. Persons who may adopt child 231.(1) A child may be adopted- (a) jointly by- (i) a husband and wife; (ii) partners in a permanent domestic life-partnership; or (iii) other persons sharing a common household and forming a permanent family unit; (b) by a widower, widow, divorced or unmarried person; (c) by a married person whose spouse is the parent of the child or by a person whose permanent domestic life-partner is the parent of the child; (4 by the biological father of a child born out of wedlock; or (e) by the foster parent of the child. Lastly, should all go well, the court would make an adoption order. The next section of the Act deals with the effect of the adoption order. Effect of adoption order 242.(1) Except when provided otherwise in the order or in a post-adoption agreement confirmed by the court an adoption order terminates – (a) all parental responsibilities and rights any person, including a parent, step-parent or partner in a domestic life partnership, had in respect of the child immediately before the adoption; (b) all claims to contact with the child by any family member of a person referred to in paragraph (a); (c) all rights and responsibilities the child had in respect of a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) immediately before the adoption; and (d) any previous order made in respect of the placement of the child. (2) An adoption order – (a) confers full parental responsibilities and rights in respect of the adopted child upon the adoptive parent; (b) confers the surname of the adoptive parent on the adopted child, except when otherwise provided in the order; (c) does not permit any marriage or sexual intercourse between the child and any other person which would have been prohibited had the child not been adopted; and (d) does not affect any rights to property the child acquired before the adoption. (3) An adopted child must for all purposes be regarded as the child of the adoptive parent and an adoptive parent must for all purposes be regarded as the parent of the adopted child.

What are the rights of step-parents and his or her spouse after the step-parent adopted the child?

Once a child has been adopted by a step-parent, the court can order that both the step-parent and spouse (other biological parent) are the holders of parental responsibilities and rights. This issue was dealt with in the case of Centre for Child Law v Minister of Social Development (21122/13) [2013] ZAGPPHC 305; 2014 (1) SA 468 (GNP) (30 October 2013). The court stated the following: [14] The advice allegedly given by officials of the Children’s Court to prospective applicants for adoption that, in terms of s. 242 of the Act, the granting of an application for adoption by a step-parent will automatically terminate all rights and responsibilities of the parent in respect of the child, ignores the exception provided for in the preamble of s. 242. In terms thereof, an adoption order terminates those rights “except when provided otherwise in the order…………… The Children’s Court therefore has a discretion to order that the rights and responsibilities of a child’s parent or guardian will not terminate upon the grant of an adoption order in favour of the step-parent. It will, save in exceptional circumstances, clearly be in the best interests of the child that such an order be made. The Children’s Court is obliged to function in a manner which in each case promotes the best interests of the child and should, except where there are sound reasons not to do so, make an order that the granting of an adoption order in favour of a step-parent will not terminate the responsibilities and rights of the child’s parent or other guardian. In this case, the court made the following order: [17] In the result, I grant the following order: 1.It is declared that section 230(3) of the Children’s Act, 38 of 2005, does not preclude a child from being adoptable in instances where the child has a guardian and the person seeking to adopt the child is the spouse or permanent domestic life-partner of that guardian. 2.It is declared that section 242 of the Children’s Act, 38 of 2005, does not automatically terminate all the parental responsibilities and rights of the guardian of a child when an adoption order is granted in favour of the spouse or permanent domestic life-partner of that guardian, having regard to the discretion which section 242 affords the court to order otherwise. 3…

What are the rights of the step-parent and the biological parent’s post-adoption?

Once the step-parent adopts the child, he or she has full parental responsibilities and rights as outlined above., The court can also order that you retain your parental responsibilities and rights over your child. At the same time, unless there is a post-adoption agreement stating otherwise, the other parent loses all his or her rights over the child.
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I was unhappy with the decision of the Maintenance Court, so I appealed to the High Court of South Africa

I had a very terrible experience in the maintenance court recently. I am the mother of two minor children, ages seven and eight. They were both born and raised in South Africa. The father of my minor children has not been involved in their lives since they were very young. Soon after my second child was born, the father of my minor children went missing. All I had was the details of his sister. However, she also did not know where he was. Or at least that is what she told me.

I had to care for the minor children on my own

It is hard being a single parent. I had to attend to all their needs and expenses without the assistance of the biological father. This was very hard as a single parent. I had some help from my parents, but they are retired and have limited means. At least I saved on daycare costs, as they would collect and take the minor children to daycare while I was at work.

Finding the biological father via Facebook

Two years ago, I found out all the whereabouts of their biological father via social media. He posted pictures of himself attending a work function on Facebook.  I then approached the biological father through his work and asked him for assistance regarding the maintenance of the minor children. Both the minor children would have attended school the following year, and I would not have been able to pay the school fees alone.

The father’s refusal to pay child support

The father was adamant that he could not afford to pay child support and told me to apply for a childcare grant. He must have been earning a considerable income, seeing that he was working in a senior position at the company. Furthermore, as shown on his social media profile, he lived an extravagant life. I could not accept that the father was not willing to take any responsibility for the minor children.

Seeking legal assistance from a lawyer and the maintenance court

I then approached an attorney for assistance in obtaining child maintenance from the biological father. I could not afford the legal fees to assist me going forward, as I could not afford to pay for the minor children’s school expenses. I then approached the maintenance court for assistance, and on his advice, the maintenance clerk assisted me in launching an application for child maintenance against the biological father. The biological father was a party in the maintenance court proceedings, and we both appeared before the maintenance officer.

Father’s lack of co-operation

The biological father was not very cooperative in this matter. He did not provide his banking details and said he had not been working for a very long time. After I complained about the documentation he disclosed, the maintenance court instructed the maintenance investigator to investigate the biological father’s affairs. The investigator then found out that the father was earning a large income and had been working since I last saw him many years ago. The maintenance officer uncovered the father’s pay slips and bank statements, revealing his substantial income. The maintenance officer’s investigation revealed the father’s investments and assets, including an immovable property and two cars.

Formal maintenance enquiry – What a disappointment

The matter is then sent for a formal maintenance enquiry before a maintenance magistrate. This is where the problems occurred. The maintenance court never considered any of the information I provided them regarding the expenditure of the minor children. They mainly focused on my ability to care for the minor children and simultaneously disregarded the fact that the father earned much more and could maintain the minor children. The maintenance court wanted me to look after the needs of the minor children on my own and for the father to pay a small amount of maintenance towards the minor children. Once all the evidence had been presented to the maintenance magistrate, she ruled that the father would pay a small amount of maintenance towards minor children. Although the father earns much more than me, he was only ordered to pay approximately 10% of the minor children’s expenditure. I was very disappointed about this.

Taking the Maintenance Court on Appeal

I then again approached an attorney for legal assistance in this regard. All I could do was ask the attorney for advice regarding my case. The attorney advised me that, given the circumstances and the evidence presented, I should appeal the decision of the maintenance magistrate. This is what I did. I appealed on my own and requested reasons for the magistrate’s decision. The magistrate decided that because I earn a salary and the minor children live with me, I should pay most of the minor children’s expenditures. According to my attorney, this was not in line with the law and should not be allowed. The magistrate made a mistake when it ordered the father to pay only 10% of the minor children’s expenditure despite him earning much more than me.

Appealing the maintenance court decision to the High Court

The appeal proceeded to the High Court, where I was successful. The High Court reviewed the maintenance court’s evidence and concluded that the magistrate erred in his decision. The High Court further ordered that the biological father should pay for half of all the minor children’s expenditures. This included medical aid, educational expenses, and day-to-day expenses. I am very grateful to the High Court for assisting me in this matter and collecting the significant state’s decision.

Assistance with an Appeal to the High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal or the Constitutional Court

Should you require assistance with an appeal to the high court, Supreme Court of Appeal, or constitutional court, feel free to contact the firm of Adv. Muhammad Abduroaf.      

Posted on by Telelaw

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