18/01/2024 Bertus Preller Cohabitation, Common Law Marriage in South Africa, Common Law Wife, Life Partnerships, Living Together, Universal Partnership Asset Division, cohabitation, Cohabiting Couples, Contemporary Society, Evolving Norms, Family Law, Historical Origins, Landmark Cases, legal challenges, Legal Framework, Legal Protections, legal recognition, Marriage Alternatives, Modern Relationships, non-marital relationships, Partnership Criteria, Partnership Dissolution, relationship dynamics, Relationship Rights, Roman Law, Roman-Dutch Law, South African Law, Support Obligations, Universal Partnerships UNLOCKING THE LEGAL MYSTERIES OF UNIVERSAL PARTNERSHIPS: NAVIGATING SOUTH AFRICA’S MODERN RELATIONSHIP LANDSCAPE. OVERVIEW OF LEGAL RECOGNITION OF UNIVERSAL PARTNERSHIPS Definition and Essence Universal partnerships, in legal terms, refer to a form of partnership where individuals share their lives and resources in a… READ MORE
08/04/2023 Bertus Preller Cohabitation, Common Law Marriage in South Africa, Common Law Wife, Divorce, Marriage cohabitation, common law marriage in South Africa, Divorce, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, life-partnership, marriage, marriage in South Africa, marriage stats Marriage in decline the latest statistics reveal a downward trend in South Africa. Introduction: Recent data released in February 2023 by Stats SA indicates a consistent decline in marriage rates in South Africa over the past decade. The Department of Home Affairs registered… READ MORE
22/03/2023 Bertus Preller Cohabitation, Common Law Marriage in South Africa, Common Law Wife, Interim Maintenance, Life Partnerships, Living Together, Maintenance, Rule 43 Bertus Preller, cohabitation, common law marriage in South Africa, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, Family Law, life-partnership, maintenance Life Partnerships and Maintenance – Dissenting Judgement E.W v V.H [2023] ZAWCHC 58 (17 March 2023) There is no doubt that the matter of E.W v V.H (12272/2022) ZAWCHC 58 (17 March 2023) will advance to the Constitutional Court for clarity on whether a duty of… READ MORE
17/03/2023 Bertus Preller Cohabitation, Common Law Marriage in South Africa, Common Law Wife, Life Partnerships, Living Together, Maintenance Life Partnerships – Maintenance – Missed Opportunity – EW v VH & Women’s Legal Trust Centre, case no. 12272/2022. In previous articles I wrote about an application in the Cape High Court, extending the common law regarding to maintenance to partners in a life partnership. A descending judgement was… READ MORE
29/01/2023 Bertus Preller Cohabitation, Common Law Marriage in South Africa, Common Law Wife, Life Partnerships cohabitation, common law marriage in South Africa, declining marriage rate, Divorce, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, Family Law, life-partnership, marriage, marriage in South Africa, marriage statistics, marriage stats The Declining Marriage Rate in South Africa. Marriages are increasingly becoming less common in South Africa. According to the Marriages and Divorce, 2020 report published by Statistics South Africa, the total number of people getting married has… READ MORE
13/01/2023 Bertus Preller Common Law Marriage in South Africa, Common Law Wife, Interim Maintenance, Life Partnerships, Living Together, Maintenance, Rule 43 cohabitation, cohabitation agreement, common law marriage in South Africa, common law wife, Divorce, ex lege duty of support between life-partners, life partnerships, life-partnership, living together Landmark Application, Interim Maintenance in a Life Partnership. In earlier articles I made mention of an application that will be argued in the High Court Cape Town on 20 January 2023 before 3 Judges. The Women’s Legal Centre… READ MORE
09/01/2023 Bertus Preller Common Law Marriage in South Africa, Common Law Wife, Life Partnerships, Living Together, Universal Partnership Civil Partnership, cohabitation, cohabitation agreement, common law marriage in South Africa, Divorce, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, Family Law cases, Family Law News, family law news South Africa, universal partnership Judge finds a Universal Partnership in a Cohabitation Relationship Introduction In the recent case of LM v RK ZAWCHC 1; 1 All SA 738, Nziweni AJ found that a universal partnership existed in a cohabitation relationship. Living together does… READ MORE
21/12/2022 Bertus Preller Alimony, Cohabitation, Common Law Marriage in South Africa, Common Law Wife, Interim Maintenance, Life Partnerships, Living Together, Maintenance, Rule 43 cohabitation, Cohabitation contracts, common law marriage, common law marriage in South Africa, common law wife, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, ex lege duty of support between life-partners, Family Law, Family Law cases, Family Law News, life partnerships, life-partnership, maintenance and life partnerships THE COMMON LAW MARRIAGE IN SOUTH AFRICA NEW DEVELOPMENTS – PART TWO OF FOUR. In Part One, which can be read here, I dealt with developing the common law in regard to maintenance for partners in heterosexual permanent Life Partnerships / Cohabitation/ Common Law… READ MORE