Divorce Diaries: Anti-Dissipation Orders in Action
When you’re going through a divorce it’s common to suspect your ex is selling off assets on the sly or concealing them from you outright. The paranoia is justified: you could leave the marriage with a lot less than your fair share. A recent SCA (Supreme Court of Appeal) battle over an ex-husband’s decision to sell his property without telling his ex-wife raises further concerns. Why did his ex-wife’s “anti-dissipation interdict” fail, and what can you do to avoid the same fate?
New ruling on divorce assets: How does it affect you?
“…the inequality at hand is caused when, after the conclusion of the marriage, a distortion is caused by the fact that one spouse contributes directly or indirectly to the other’s maintenance or the increase of the other’s estate without any quid pro quo.” (Extract from judgment below) You may have read of the recent High […]
Divorce: Claiming Interim Maintenance and a Contribution to Legal Costs
Even if your marriage is collapsing around you, you might be afraid to sue for divorce because you have no money to survive on, plus you know that a hotly contested divorce might take years to finalise while your breadwinner spouse fights you tooth and nail every step of the way. How will you support […]
Spousal Maintenance After Divorce and the “Clean Break” Principle
“The clean break principle after divorce has found resonance with our courts for many years. The aim of this principle is to ensure that the parties become financially independent of each other as soon as possible after divorce.” (Extract from judgment below) Our courts always prioritise the interests of children in any marital breakup, and […]
Who Gets the House on Divorce?
Historically 44% of South African marriages have ended in divorce, and there has reportedly been a 20% surge in new divorce applications since lockdown. For those unfortunate couples whose marriages do eventually fall apart, often the most important asset in play from both a financial and an emotional perspective is the family home. So it […]