When getting divorced, always consider: Child Maintenance, Child Custody, Parenting Plans, Assets and your Legal Options

1. Divorce – your legal options

Our law offices have a number of legal options that can be well explained for you by the legal expert. Divorce can be a costly affair, leaving a burning hole in your pocket. However, with the right legal expert on board, this needn’t be the case. The creators of this website had made free, expert legal advice easily accessible for your convenience. For more on your legal options and ideas for your divorce, see the following links:
  1. How to Change your Matrimonial Property Regime
  2. Do your own Unopposed Divorce. No lawyers needed and its Free.
  3. Parental Rights of Divorced Muslim parents after a Talaq or Faskh
  4. Free Online Divorce Assistance Form – DIY Cape Town South Africa
comprising of:
  1. Divorce guide
The free divorce starter toolkit provides you with the necessary tools to attend to the unopposed divorce on your own. The tools include a template Summons, Particulars of Claim and a Notice of Set-Down. Should you wish to have a one on one legal consultation with legal expert himself, then do feel free to call our law offices on 021 424 3486 for an online appointment today. Are you unable to take off from work to personally come and see us? No problem. We cater for telephonic consultations as well, whereby you could consult with us in the comfort of your own home. This applies to those residing out of the Western Cape as well. For some free helpful, online divorce tools, visit our Free DIY Online Tools to get Divorced. Call our law offices on 021 424 3486 for an online appointment today.  

2. Assets and Divorce

We often find that two people who wish to get divorce sometimes fail to understand how their assets are divided in a divorce. At this point, the most important part is ensuring that you get what you deserve in your divorce. This phenomenon can be stressful on the partner who is the bigger income earner – or particularly the partner that owns shares and property. Most of the time, he/she wants to know if their spous can claim accrual in the event of a divorce. Our legal expert therefore urges you to have an Anti – Nuptial Contract (ANC) in place which can protect your assets in the case of a divorce.

3. Having a parenting plan in place

A parenting plan is an agreement between the two parents in which both parents found a common ground with regards to visitation rights with their children. The agreement should however, reflect the child’s best interest. As for drafting your parenting plan, we able to tailor your parenting plan according to the unique circumstances in a manner that will benefit both. The aim when drafting a parenting plan is to ensure that the children gets maximum benefit from both parents so that they don’t feel lost in the process of a divorce. Lets face it, divorce is as hard as it is and even more so, when children are involved. The last thing you’d want is have them suffering in the process. For more on child custody, divorce, child maintenance and professional legal drafting, call our law offices on 021 424 3487 for an online appointment today. Do feel free to visit our Parenting Plans Questions and Answers page for your convenience. Call our law offices on 021 424 3486 for an online appointment today. Get connected with us!

4. Child Maintenance

A divorce is always tough. However, a divorce involving children becomes even tougher due to the myriad of factors involved which opens a whole new can of worms for other legal issues. Child Maintenance and Child Custody can complicate and drag the whole process, unfortunately. Do not despair. In the How to Apply for Child Maintenance at Court – Step by Step Guide and Advice, our legal expert explains this process in an accurate, detailed manner:

How to Apply for Child Maintenance at Court – Step by Step Guide and Advice

Step 1 … Get hold of all your proof of income. E.g. pay slips. If you are not working for an employer, you should get hold of proof that you earn a certain amount of money per month. If you are unemployed, that is in order. Get together a list of all monthly expenses incurred for yourself and your children. This would include rent, groceries, clothes, entertainment etc. This information is required when filling in the maintenance application form that is dealt with in Step 2 below. Find out all the details of the person from whom you are requesting maintenance from, e.g. his/her home and work address and identity number. Step 2 … Go to the Maintenance Court closes to your area and obtain an “Application for Maintenance Order Form” also referred to as “Form A”. Use the information you have gathered in Step 1 and fill in the form. The form is in the form of an affidavit and you therefore have to swear to the correctness of the information under oath and sign. Therefore, do not hide any information for the Court. Caution: If your information is not 100 % correct, you may be cross-examined on such correctness in Court and if it is found that you were not totally honest, this would not be in your favour. If you require any assistance in filling in the form, the maintenance officers would be happy to assist you. Once you have filled in the Application for Maintenance Order Form, return it to the maintenance officer who will process it for you. If the maintenance officer can provide you with a reference/case number there and then, request it. The Maintenance Court will send you and the person you are claiming maintenance from a letter or subpoena to appear at the Maintenance Court for an inquiry with the maintenance officer. Diarise the date immediately and make arrangements with your work and a babysitter as soon as possible. If you miss the date, it can take months to get another. Step 3… From the time you left the office of the maintenance officer and even from the time you decided to claim maintenance, keep all receipts you received for any items bought for you and your child. Therefore, if you buy nappies for your child or even a toy, keep that receipt as if it is gold. This is due to you having to prove to the court that you really do spend money on the child and you have the receipts to prove it. You will soon hear from the Maintenance Court where they will be giving you a date to appear back at the Maintenance Court for an inquiry. They would either inform you by post or by a subpoena. On that date both you and the person from whom maintenance is claimed would have to appear. If you are planning on making use of a legal representative, inform him/her early about the date so that he/she can be available to assist you at Court. In the notice to appear for the maintenance enquiry it is requested that you bring proof of all expenses and income for you and your child. This is why it is so very important for you to keep all proof of expenditure in a safe place. Hint: If you can afford to, bring original proof of expenditure and income and a photocopy thereof. The original you would then be able to take back home and bring it back when requested and the copy will stay in the Court file. Step 4 … This step deals with the maintenance enquiry where you and the person from whom you are claiming maintenance from will appear before a maintenance officer. The maintenance officer will speak to each of the parties and look at the documents provided. Each party will get a chance to explain why he/she requires maintenance and also why he/she can’t afford the maintenance requested. The maintenance officer will as far as possible try to resolve the matter there and then without it having to go to court. If the parties can agree to an amount, this amount can be made an order of court. If however an agreement cannot be reached at this stage, the matter, depending on the Court will either be referred to a prosecutor or for trial. Remember, if you are a father or a person currently paying maintenance / child support, a reduction is possible. The same goes for an application for an increase in maintenance / child support Download the Free Child Maintenance Calculator and start the process regarding child Maintenance today. You would be guided on the law and how much maintenance may be claimed. For more free expert, legal advice on Child Maintenance, click on the following links below:
  1. How to Apply for Child Maintenance at Court – Step by Step Guide and Advice
  1. Child Maintenance Question. How much should I pay or contribute as a parent?
  2. Child Support or maintenance claims. Does an unemployed father pay?
  3. Non-compliance with Maintenance Orders — Civil and Criminal Remedies
  4. Tricks and tips on how to win your child maintenance case
Do you wish to consult with us telephonically or face to face? Feel free to make an online appointment via our website, or call our law offices on 021 424 3487 for an online appointment today.

5. Child Custody

We have fathers coming to visit our law offices on a regular basis – asking us: What do we do from here? How do I obtain visitation rights? Am I entitled to child custody? These are the common concerns our single fathers face and therefore, we have put together well thought out, free expert advice articles that can help you put things into perspective. Simply click on the links below: For a one on one professional legal consultation with the family legal expert, call our law offices for an online legal appointment today! For additional expert, legal advice information that can be helpful with your divorce, click on the following links below:
  1. How to Change your Matrimonial Property Regime
  2. Do your own Unopposed Divorce. No lawyers needed and its Free.
  3. Parental Rights of Divorced Muslim parents after a Talaq or Faskh
  4. Free Online Divorce Assistance Form – DIY Cape Town South Africa comprising of:
  5. Divorce guide
  For a one on one professional legal consultation with the family legal expert, call our law offices for an online legal appointment today!  

When getting divorced, always consider: Child Maintenance, Child Custody, Parenting Plans, Assets and your Legal Options

1. Divorce – your legal options

Our law offices have a number of legal options that can be well explained for you by the legal expert. Divorce can be a costly affair, leaving a burning hole in your pocket. However, with the right legal expert on board, this needn’t be the case.

The creators of this website had made free, expert legal advice easily accessible for your convenience. For more on your legal options and ideas for your divorce, see the following links:

  1. How to Change your Matrimonial Property Regime
  2. Do your own Unopposed Divorce. No lawyers needed and its Free.
  3. Parental Rights of Divorced Muslim parents after a Talaq or Faskh
  4. Free Online Divorce Assistance Form – DIY Cape Town South Africa

comprising of:

  1. Divorce guide

The free divorce starter toolkit provides you with the necessary tools to attend to the unopposed divorce on your own. The tools include a template Summons, Particulars of Claim and a Notice of Set-Down.

Should you wish to have a one on one legal consultation with legal expert himself, then do feel free to call our law offices on 021 424 3486 for an online appointment today.

Are you unable to take off from work to personally come and see us? No problem.

We cater for telephonic consultations as well, whereby you could consult with us in the comfort of your own home. This applies to those residing out of the Western Cape as well.

For some free helpful, online divorce tools, visit our Free DIY Online Tools to get Divorced.

Call our law offices on 021 424 3486 for an online appointment today.

 

2. Assets and Divorce

We often find that two people who wish to get divorce sometimes fail to understand how their assets are divided in a divorce. At this point, the most important part is ensuring that you get what you deserve in your divorce.

This phenomenon can be stressful on the partner who is the bigger income earner – or particularly the partner that owns shares and property. Most of the time, he/she wants to know if their spous can claim accrual in the event of a divorce.

Our legal expert therefore urges you to have an Anti – Nuptial Contract (ANC) in place which can protect your assets in the case of a divorce.

3. Having a parenting plan in place

A parenting plan is an agreement between the two parents in which both parents found a common ground with regards to visitation rights with their children. The agreement should however, reflect the child’s best interest.

As for drafting your parenting plan, we able to tailor your parenting plan according to the unique circumstances in a manner that will benefit both. The aim when drafting a parenting plan is to ensure that the children gets maximum benefit from both parents so that they don’t feel lost in the process of a divorce.

Lets face it, divorce is as hard as it is and even more so, when children are involved. The last thing you’d want is have them suffering in the process.

For more on child custody, divorce, child maintenance and professional legal drafting, call our law offices on 021 424 3487 for an online appointment today.

Do feel free to visit our Parenting Plans Questions and Answers page for your convenience.

Call our law offices on 021 424 3486 for an online appointment today.

Get connected with us!

4. Child Maintenance

A divorce is always tough. However, a divorce involving children becomes even tougher due to the myriad of factors involved which opens a whole new can of worms for other legal issues. Child Maintenance and Child Custody can complicate and drag the whole process, unfortunately.

Do not despair. In the How to Apply for Child Maintenance at Court – Step by Step Guide and Advice, our legal expert explains this process in an accurate, detailed manner:

How to Apply for Child Maintenance at Court – Step by Step Guide and Advice

Step 1 …

Get hold of all your proof of income. E.g. pay slips. If you are not working for an employer, you should get hold of proof that you earn a certain amount of money per month. If you are unemployed, that is in order.

Get together a list of all monthly expenses incurred for yourself and your children. This would include rent, groceries, clothes, entertainment etc. This information is required when filling in the maintenance application form that is dealt with in Step 2 below.

Find out all the details of the person from whom you are requesting maintenance from, e.g. his/her home and work address and identity number.

Step 2 …

Go to the Maintenance Court closes to your area and obtain an “Application for Maintenance Order Form” also referred to as “Form A”.

Use the information you have gathered in Step 1 and fill in the form. The form is in the form of an affidavit and you therefore have to swear to the correctness of the information under oath and sign. Therefore, do not hide any information for the Court.

Caution: If your information is not 100 % correct, you may be cross-examined on such correctness in Court and if it is found that you were not totally honest, this would not be in your favour. If you require any assistance in filling in the form, the maintenance officers would be happy to assist you. Once you have filled in the Application for Maintenance Order Form, return it to the maintenance officer who will process it for you. If the maintenance officer can provide you with a reference/case number there and then, request it. The Maintenance Court will send you and the person you are claiming maintenance from a letter or subpoena to appear at the Maintenance Court for an inquiry with the maintenance officer. Diarise the date immediately and make arrangements with your work and a babysitter as soon as possible. If you miss the date, it can take months to get another.

Step 3…

From the time you left the office of the maintenance officer and even from the time you decided to claim maintenance, keep all receipts you received for any items bought for you and your child. Therefore, if you buy nappies for your child or even a toy, keep that receipt as if it is gold. This is due to you having to prove to the court that you really do spend money on the child and you have the receipts to prove it.

You will soon hear from the Maintenance Court where they will be giving you a date to appear back at the Maintenance Court for an inquiry. They would either inform you by post or by a subpoena. On that date both you and the person from whom maintenance is claimed would have to appear. If you are planning on making use of a legal representative, inform him/her early about the date so that he/she can be available to assist you at Court.

In the notice to appear for the maintenance enquiry it is requested that you bring proof of all expenses and income for you and your child. This is why it is so very important for you to keep all proof of expenditure in a safe place.

Hint: If you can afford to, bring original proof of expenditure and income and a photocopy thereof. The original you would then be able to take back home and bring it back when requested and the copy will stay in the Court file.

Step 4 …

This step deals with the maintenance enquiry where you and the person from whom you are claiming maintenance from will appear before a maintenance officer. The maintenance officer will speak to each of the parties and look at the documents provided. Each party will get a chance to explain why he/she requires maintenance and also why he/she can’t afford the maintenance requested. The maintenance officer will as far as possible try to resolve the matter there and then without it having to go to court. If the parties can agree to an amount, this amount can be made an order of court. If however an agreement cannot be reached at this stage, the matter, depending on the Court will either be referred to a prosecutor or for trial.

Remember, if you are a father or a person currently paying maintenance / child support, a reduction is possible. The same goes for an application for an increase in maintenance / child support

Download the Free Child Maintenance Calculator and start the process regarding child Maintenance today. You would be guided on the law and how much maintenance may be claimed. For more free expert, legal advice on Child Maintenance, click on the following links below:

  1. How to Apply for Child Maintenance at Court – Step by Step Guide and Advice
  1. Child Maintenance Question. How much should I pay or contribute as a parent?
  2. Child Support or maintenance claims. Does an unemployed father pay?
  3. Non-compliance with Maintenance Orders — Civil and Criminal Remedies
  4. Tricks and tips on how to win your child maintenance case

Do you wish to consult with us telephonically or face to face? Feel free to make an online appointment via our website, or call our law offices on 021 424 3487 for an online appointment today.

5. Child Custody

We have fathers coming to visit our law offices on a regular basis – asking us: What do we do from here? How do I obtain visitation rights? Am I entitled to child custody?

These are the common concerns our single fathers face and therefore, we have put together well thought out, free expert advice articles that can help you put things into perspective. Simply click on the links below:

For a one on one professional legal consultation with the family legal expert, call our law offices for an online legal appointment today!

For additional expert, legal advice information that can be helpful with your divorce, click on the following links below:

  1. How to Change your Matrimonial Property Regime
  2. Do your own Unopposed Divorce. No lawyers needed and its Free.
  3. Parental Rights of Divorced Muslim parents after a Talaq or Faskh
  4. Free Online Divorce Assistance Form – DIY Cape Town South Africa comprising of:
  5. Divorce guide

 

For a one on one professional legal consultation with the family legal expert, call our law offices for an online legal appointment today!

 

Related Post

Changing your matrimonial property regime from in community of property to out of community of property

Are you married? Do you know what is your matrimonial property regime?

To register your Antenuptial Contact, Click here. Are you married in Community of Property? Do you want to change your matrimonial property regime to Out of Community of Property? Did you not know that a marriage Out of Community of Property was possible when getting married? There is legal relief for you and your spouse.

In Community of Property

All civil marriages are automatically In Community of Property.  This means that there is one estate shared between wife and husband. Therefore, if anyone of the spouses incurs a debt, that debt belongs to both of them.

Out of Community of Property

The other option is to get married Out of Community of Property. This means that there are two separate estates and each party is responsible for his or her own debt. For some people, this would be a better option, especially if you are a business person.

Accrual system

The usual process to be married Out of Community of Property is to enter into an antenuptial contract before the marriage. The contract will have clauses in it stating:
  • That there shall be no community of property;
  • That there shall be no community of profit or loss; and
  • That the accrual system provided for in Chapter 1 of the Matrimonial Property Act, no 88 of 1984 is expressly excluded from the marriage.
However, if you did not do so, there is a way of changing your matrimonial property regime from In Community of Property to Out of Community of Property. For this, you need the consent of the High Court in your Jurisdiction. Here you will make use of section 21 of the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984.

Getting the High Court’s Consent to change your matrimonial property regime to Out of Community of Property

Once you and your spouse have decided to change your matrimonial property regime to Out of Community of Property, you would need to approach the High Court in your area for consent. If you know the law, legal process, Court rules, and procedure, you and your spouse can do it on your own. If you cannot do it on your own, an attorney would be able to do it for you. This the attorney may attend to with or without the assistance of an Advocate.

Drafting a post-nuptial contract

What they do is draft a post-nuptial contract for you which would outline what matrimonial property regime you want and also how the joint estate should be divided.

Application to the High Court for consent to change your matrimonial property regime to Out of Community of Property

Then they draft a Notice of Motion (notifying the Court what you want) and Founding Affidavit (your affidavit outlining your case etc.). Your case must satisfy the Court that:
  • There are sound reasons for the proposed change of the matrimonial property regime;
  • There has been sufficient notice to creditors regarding the proposed change; and
  • No other person will be prejudiced by the proposed change.
If, however, you cannot make a case for the above, your application may be unsuccessful.

Costs involved in changing your matrimonial property regime

As stated, you have to approach the High Court for consent to change your matrimonial property regime. There, therefore, would be the costs of an attorney who may instruct and advocate, and further costs in drafting and registration of the postnuptial contract. Furthermore, there is advertisement cost involved as you would have to give notice in the Government Gazette and in one or two local newspapers. You would further have to serve your application on the Registrar of Deeds and give notice to your creditors via registered mail. The total costs can range from R 25 000 – 00 should your matter be straight forward, to R 30 000 – 00 should it be more complicated.

Complicated applications to change your matrimonial property regime to Out of Community of Property

Complicated would mean the joint estate has many creditors. Furthermore, there may be many assets in the joint estate that needs to be divided, especially if they are not easily describable. The above-mentioned fee is obviously dependent on your application not being opposed by any interested party. One reason for opposing the application could be that the Joint Estate is deeply indebted to a creditor, and she feels that her claim would be prejudiced by the proposed change. Should your application be opposed for any reason, many more hours will be spent fighting for the success of your application which could costs you a small fortune and you may even be ultimately unsuccessful. Therefore, you would need to advise your legal team of all relevant facts before the application is made.

Time estimates to change your matrimonial property regime to Out of Community of Property

The estimated time in preparing your application, your post-nuptial contract and ultimately obtaining consent from the High Court is about 4 weeks. This is also dependent on whether or not the High Court is sitting within 4 weeks after the drafting of your application. If the High Court is in recess, a few extra weeks may apply. The Court may also want a report from the Registrar of Deeds which could cause delays.

Registering the postnuptial contract

Once your application is successful and the High Court, therefore, gave consent, you will usually have 3 (three) months to register the postnuptial contract. So once consent is granted, you need to see a Notary Public before whom you will sign your post-nuptial contract and then have it registered. This, therefore, needs to be done within the three months of obtaining the consent of the High Court.

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Relocation with my minor child to Indonesia, Denpasar (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 Denpasar, Indonesia

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 five or six) 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 Kuruman or Rustenburg, South Africa, and you want to relocate to Denpasar, Indonesia, 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 Denpasar, Indonesia?

The same applies when it comes to your minor child applying for a South African passport to relocate to Indonesia, 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 Denpasar, Indonesia 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 Denpasar, Indonesia.

What can I do if the other parent does not want to consent to the minor child’s relocation to Denpasar, Indonesia?

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 Denpasar, Indonesia, 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 Denpasar, Indonesia. 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 Denpasar, Indonesia, 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 Denpasar, Indonesia?

If the other parent does not want to consent to the passport application and/or the relocation of the minor child to Denpasar, Indonesia – 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 Denpasar, Indonesia, 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 Denpasar, Indonesia

If you require legal assistance or representation with relocating to Denpasar, Indonesia 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.

Do you require a video legal advice consultation?

Click here and schedule one today!