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Filter: Divorce
When does the Property Transfer clock start in a divorce?

31 March 2025,  Tasmia Ally

A recent Chief Registrar’s Circular has shed light on the challenges of determining the correct transaction date for divorce-related property... transfers—especially when settlement agreements are amended after the divorce. 

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Article
#MandelaDay: gender equality for separated parents

18 July 2024

Gender equality in parental rights is a major goal in the South African legal system. 

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Article
Can you stop your spouse from sharing in your pension fund after divorce?

28 March 2023,  Chang-Lin Dirks

Can a spouse married in community of property at divorce claim that the other spouse forfeits their right to share... in their pension?

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Article
Is an agreement between spouses contrary to the ANC valid?

10 January 2023

Can spouses conclude an agreement which is contrary to their antenuptial contract and which is valid and enforceable?

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Article
Can you claim maintenance for your adult children?

15 September 2022

It has been a well held view in our law that a parent cannot claim maintenance for an adult dependent... child from their divorced spouse. But is this still the case or has a recent Supreme Court of Appeal finding changed the position?

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Article
Will trust assets form part of your estate at divorce?

15 September 2022

Just before a couple married with the accrual system finalised their divorce, the husband created a trust and transferred money... and property to the trust. The result is the husband’s estate is considerably reduced when it comes to the accrual calculation. Is this acceptable and does it mean his estate is reduced, or can his wife claim that these assets transferred to a separate trust be included in the calculation?

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Article
Victory as Muslim marriages are now recognised in South Africa

27 July 2022

Final victory was achieved recently when the Constitutional Court confirmed the SCA’s order of constitutional invalidity in that the Marriage... Act as well as the Divorce Act are declared to be inconsistent with the Constitution in that they fail to recognise marriages solemnised in accordance with Sharia law if they have not been registered as civil marriages.  

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Article
The huge implications new court ruling has for marriage and divorce in South Africa

17 May 2022

A new High Court judgment has far-reaching implications for parties getting divorced and married out of community of property in... South Africa. The effect will be that all parties married out of community of property without inclusion of the accrual system will be able to ask a court for an order for the redistribution of assets, if the necessary requirements are met, regardless of when the marriage was entered into.

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Blog
Can you sequestrate an ex-spouse for failing to pay maintenance?

14 September 2021

My ex-husband is required to pay maintenance every month in terms of our divorce settlement. He has stopped paying, saying... he can’t afford it anymore and is now considerably in arrears. I know he has a lot of financial assets that can cover what he owes me, but he just says he can’t liquidate those now as he will lose money. Can I have him sequestrated so he can pay up?

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Article
Further levelling of the playing field with the new Recognition of Customary Marriages Amendment Act

14 July 2021

My mother is a black woman who has been married since the early 1970’s to my father in accordance with... customary law. They have never concluded a civil marriage, and my mother has also been our home provider while my father worked. Their marriage has become strained over the last couple of years, and I’m worried about my mother, should my father decide to divorce her. What are her marital rights?

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Article
When do maintenance obligations prescribe?

20 May 2021

My ex-husband has for some time now not paid his maintenance as per the court order. Because I had a... job and was earning a basic income, I just left it as I didn’t want the hassle of trying to get him to pay. Now I’ve been retrenched and have asked him to pay his outstanding maintenance, but he refuses and says his attorney told him that his obligation to pay has prescribed. Surely this can’t be right?

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Article
Can your ex-spouse circulate your private information?

10 November 2020

My ex-husband still has access to our shared cloud account. Unbeknown to me this meant he could see all my... back-ups of messages, photos and other personal information. Our divorce did not end well and he is now sharing private and personal information of me with third parties to embarrass me and to try and portray me as a bad parent. What can I do to stop him?

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Article

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