01/07/2023 Bertus Preller Children, Cohabitation, Life Partnerships, Living Together, Parental Rights, Same Sex Couples artificial fertilisation, Bertus Preller, best interests of the child, Children’s Act 38 of 2005, Children’s Court, Constitutional Court, constitutional defects, constitutional invalidity, discrimination, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, Divorce News, Family Law, family life, marital status, parental rights and responsibilities, Parliament, permanent life partners, remedy, right to dignity, sexual orientation Landmark Ruling: South Africa’s Constitutional Court Declares Section 40 of the Children’s Act Unconstitutional, Affirming Parental Rights for Same-Sex Couples. VJV AND ANOTHER v MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ANOTHER ZACC 21 - 29 JUNE 2023 The Constitutional Court ruled on an application for validation of a constitutional invalidity that… READ MORE
01/07/2023 Bertus Preller Children, Life Partnerships, Living Together, Relocation best interests of minor children, cohabitation, Constitutional Court, discrimination, Divorce, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, Divorce News, equality, human dignity, landmark judgement, married parents, Mediation in Certain Divorce Matters Act 24 of 1987, never-married parents, Office of the Family Advocate, Section 4, South Africa, South African Constitution relocation Landmark Constitutional Court Ruling: Equal Access to Family Advocate Services for All Parents in South Africa. CENTRE FOR CHILD LAW V T S AND OTHERS ZACC 22 - 29 June 2023 THE FACTS The facts of the Centre for Child Law v T S and Others… 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