Legal news and commentary from the offices of Simon Dippenaar
A fair regime, but how is the accrual calculated? No one marries intending to divorce. We’re sure that Bill and Melinda Gates would never have imagined, 27 years ago when they tied the knot, that they’d one day be announcing their divorce to the world. If they had, they might have drawn up an antenuptial […]
“Silver splitters” – what are the issues for later-life divorce? The average age for divorce in South Africa is 41 for women and 45 for men. 44% of divorces happen between five and nine years of marriage. But there is a growing trend for couples to divorce later in life, personified in the high-profile divorce […]
It’s time to free yourself from your manipulative former husband, says Mariella Frostrup Reprinted from the Guardian – 2020-09-06 This reader’s dilemma from the UK’s Guardian newspaper caught our eye. It is not uncommon for divorced co-parents to continue in an emotionally dependent and unhealthy relationship. The constant contact of raising children can make it […]
Judges emphasise that procedural fairness must be upheld Reprinted from groundup.org.za, by Tania Broughton – 2020-09-04 Three appeal judges in the Western Cape provincial division have laid down guidelines on how eviction orders, in domestic violence matters, should be dealt with. Photo: Brian Turner via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) A magistrate ruled that a husband accused of […]
We’ve all heard about the long arm of the law. While that arm may be long, it’s not always very strong. I have been embroiled in a particularly emotional matter. My client had been struggling under the pressure of her narcissistic husband for years. Eventually, she could take it no more and found temporary accommodation […]
What is the average retainer fee for a divorce lawyer? Generally, the average retainer fee for a divorce lawyer should cover a number of hours so that the law firm can schedule and prioritise a new case. We recommend that you budget 10 to 20 hours as a start. The actual hourly rate will depend […]
A little-known section of the Wills Act can have serious consequences The High Court of the Western Cape recently heard a case challenging the constitutionality of Section 2B of the Wills Act. The wording of the Act itself is confusing, so we’ll try to explain it in simple terms. If you are going through a […]
Posted on Apr 8, 2020 by Divorce Attorney Cape Town NEW DIRECTIVE ISSUED PERMITTING TRAVEL BETWEEN CO-PARENTS We are past the halfway point of lockdown. I doubt anyone would say it is flying by. For most, the lack of exercise, the absence of social contact, and the sheer monotony of staring at the same four […]
You want to get a divorce but aren’t sure where to start or what to do You want to start a divorce. It’s a frightening prospect. You entered married life full of hope, and the breakdown of your marriage is inevitably sad and disappointing. But ending it and starting again is daunting, which […]
by Divorce Attorney Cape Town HOW TO DIVORCE FROM ABROAD IF MARRIED IN SOUTH AFRICA OR MARRIED TO A SOUTH AFRICAN International South African divorce is more common than many people realise. Perhaps you went on holiday abroad. You met the love of your life. You married and settled down in a foreign country. Only […]
How to set yourself up for independent financial security. Your matrimonial property regime forms the basis of how your assets will be divided in the event of divorce. However, once your divorce has been finalised by the courts, you will need to unpick what was once your merged finances and set yourself up for independent […]
Deliberate parental alienation harms the child more than the parent When divorcing or divorced parents engage in tactics that give rise to parental alienation, the individual who suffers the most is the child. It may be tempting for an aggrieved parent suffering through an acrimonious divorce to want to portray the other parent in the […]
