10/09/2025 Bertus Preller Abuse of Process, Costs, Divorce, Divorce summons prerequisite, Maintenance, Procedural Law, Procedure, Rule 43, Rule 43 Cost Contributions, Rule 58 2018 Rule 43 amendment, child custody applications, Court Jurisdiction, divorce attorneys, divorce law procedure, divorce practice, divorce summons prerequisite, divorce summons timing, family court procedures, family law practitioners, High Court Gauteng, in limine objections, interim applications, interim maintenance, interim relief requirements, legal costs contribution, legal procedural requirements, litigation prerequisites, matrimonial action pending, matrimonial disputes, matrimonial interim relief, matrimonial law compliance, matrimonial proceedings, pendente lite applications, pending divorce requirement, Procedural Compliance, procedural defects, Rule 43 applications, South African Family Law, Uniform Rules of Court No Divorce Summons, No Rule 43 Relief: A.C v H.C (2024/148225) [2025] ZAGPJHC 741 (28 July 2025) Confirms Procedural Prerequisites for Matrimonial Interim Applications. Factual Background and Procedural History The case A.C v H.C (2024/148225), decided on 28 July 2025 in the Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg, addressed a Rule 43 application for interim relief… READ MORE
03/09/2025 Bertus Preller Litigation misconduct, Rule 47, matrimonial disputes, divorce proceedings, Security for costs, Vexatious Litigant, Vexatious Proceedings Act abuse of process, access to courts, appellate litigation, attorney threats, Constitutional Court, Constitutional Rights, corporate veil piercing, costs orders, court orders enforcement, divorce proceedings, domestic violence court, frivolous litigation, incola litigant, judicial restraint, legal harassment, Legal Practice Council, litigation misconduct, maintenance court jurisdiction, matrimonial disputes, persistent litigation, procedural defects, procedural fairness, Rule 47, section 34 Constitution, section 36 Constitution, security for costs, trust litigation, vexatious litigant, vexatious Proceedings Act When Persistence Becomes Vexatious: Ten Failed Applications and a Constitutional Reckoning in L.M.W v C.R.W (12866/2014) [2025] ZAWCHC 395 (1 September 2025). A Decade of Persistent Litigation: The Factual Matrix The factual landscape of this matter presents a striking example of how matrimonial disputes can spiral into prolonged abuse of court processes.… READ MORE
25/08/2025 Bertus Preller Children, High Court exclusive jurisdiction, Interdict, Leave to appeal Superior Courts Act, Lis alibi pendens family law, Procedural Law, Procedure, Relocation, Urgency, Urgent applications appellate review discretion, best interests child principle, child relocation South Africa, Children's Court powers, Children’s Act 38 of 2005, compelling reasons appeal, constitutional children's rights, cross-border child disputes, custody relocation assessment, expert assessment relocation, family law jurisdiction, final interdict requirements, High Court exclusive jurisdiction, international child removal, leave to appeal Superior Courts Act, lis alibi pendens family law, non-joinder expert witness, parental cooperation relocation, reasonable prospects success, section 17 Superior Courts Act, Section 28 Constitution, statutory interpretation children's legislation, upper guardian role, urgency child matters, Western Cape High Court High Court Jurisdiction Over Child Relocation Upheld: N.T.R-F v J.A.L (Leave to Appeal) (2025/076576) [2025] ZAWCHC 377 (18 August 2025) – Expert Assessment Requirements and Appellate Prospects. Factual Matrix: Relocation Assessment and Parental Cooperation in Cross-Border Child Relocation The factual foundation of this Western Cape High Court decision reveals the complex procedural and substantive challenges inherent in… READ MORE
14/08/2025 Bertus Preller Divorce order enforcement, Divorce settlement defects, Litis contestatio, Procedure, Rescission applications, Rescission applications, Settlement agreement interpretation, Settlement agreement variation, Settlement agreements, Urgency, Urgent applications, Validity Divorce Settlement Agreement Alienation of Land Act, bond approval, breach letters, Case Law Analysis, Co-ownership, Consent Papers, conveyancing, divorce order enforcement, estate agents, Family Law, forum selection, High Court jurisdiction, judicial comity, litis contestatio, marital property disputes, matrimonial property, Powers of Attorney, property transfer disputes, Regional Court jurisdiction, rescission applications, Rule 6(12), sale agreements, sectional title, Self-Created Urgency, South African property law, urgent applications, urgent motion proceedings, void ab initio, Western Cape High Court Self-Created Urgency and Invalid Property Agreements: Key Lessons from SPR v NV (2025/119985) [2025] ZAWCHC 346 (13 August 2025). Factual Matrix: Divorce Order Enforcement and Property Transfer Disputes The matter concerned the enforcement of a Regional Court divorce order incorporating a consent paper, where former spouses held immovable property… READ MORE
12/08/2025 Bertus Preller Adult Children, Alimony, Arbitration, Arrear Maintenace, Arrear Maintenance, Arrear Maintenance Variation, Arrears, Best Interests of the Child, Child Maintenance, Child protection, Children, Division of Estate, DNA testing, Financial Disclosure, Interim Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance Calculator, Maintenance Court, Marriage, Procedural Law, Procedure, Rule 43, Rule 43 Contempt, Rule 43 Cost Contributions, Rule 43 orders, Rule 58, Spousal Maintenance best interests of the child, calculate child maintenance, calculate spousal maintenance, child maintenance South Africa, child support arrears, Children’s Act maintenance, Divorce Act South Africa, divorce maintenance law, divorce settlement South Africa, emoluments attachment order, garnishee order South Africa, interim maintenance South Africa, lifelong spousal maintenance, maintenance amendment act 2015, maintenance calculation formula, maintenance calculator South Africa, maintenance court procedure, maintenance court South Africa, maintenance enforcement South Africa, maintenance variation South Africa, major child maintenance South Africa, parental duty of support, post-divorce maintenance, rehabilitative maintenance, Rule 43 maintenance, Section 7(2) Divorce Act, South African Maintenance Act, spousal maintenance South Africa, token maintenance Child and Spousal Maintenance in South Africa: Complete Guide to Legal Duties, Court Processes, and Case Law (2025 Edition). Introduction Child and spousal maintenance are critical aspects of family law in South Africa, ensuring that dependents are cared for financially when families break up or circumstances change. Maintenance generally… READ MORE
08/08/2025 Bertus Preller Arrear Maintenance, Arrear Maintenance Variation, Arrears, Contempt of Court, Costs, Divorce, Interim Maintenance, International Divorce, Maintenance, Medical incapacity, Procedure, Punitive Cost Orders, Rule 43, Rule 43 Contempt, Rule 43 Cost Contributions, Rule 43 orders, Rule 58, Variation Rule 43(6) attachment of assets, contempt of court, cross-border maintenance, currency considerations, disability pension, divorce proceedings, enforcement mechanisms, foreign curatorship, international family law, Lekhuleni JD, maintenance arrears, maintenance enforcement, maintenance obligations, medical incapacity, party and party costs, Pendente Lite, Rule 43 orders, Rule 43(6) variation, skiing accident, spousal maintenance, stroke defence, Swiss curatorship, Swiss francs, Trust assets, warrants of execution, Western Cape High Court, wilful contempt When Strokes Don’t Stop Support: Medical Incapacity Fails as Maintenance Defence in NLD v ML (Case No 5785/22) [2025] ZAWCHC 337 (6 August 2025). Factual Matrix: When Medical Incapacity Meets Maintenance Obligations The parties in this matter, heard before Lekhuleni J, were married in Switzerland on 23 June 2000, with their marriage remaining subsisting… READ MORE
31/07/2025 Bertus Preller Accomodation, Financial Disclosure, Maintenance, Procedure, Rule 43, Rule 43 Cost Contributions, Rule 58, Variation Rule 43(6) child custody interim, child support interim, contempt of court, custody arrangements, divorce attorneys, divorce legal costs, divorce litigation, divorce mediation, divorce proceedings, divorce South Africa, family court procedures, family law South Africa, Family Lawyers, High Court rules, interim maintenance, interim orders, interim relief applications, Legal Separation, maintenance court, maintenance enforcement, maintenance variation, marital dissolution, matrimonial law, matrimonial relief, Pendente Lite, Rule 43, separation maintenance, spousal maintenance, spousal support, temporary alimony Rule 43 Explained: The Complete Guide to Interim Divorce Relief and Maintenance in South Africa. Legal Framework and Purpose of Rule 43 Rule 43 of the Uniform Rules of Court provides an expeditious mechanism for interim relief in matrimonial matters pending the finalisation of a… READ MORE
02/07/2025 Bertus Preller Abuse of Process, Adversarial Legal System, Costs, Divorce, Family Law Court System South Africa, Procedural Law, Procedure, Punitive Cost Orders, Rule 30A, Uniform Form Rules of Court Afrocentrics case, attorney costs orders, Bloem case, civil procedure, condonation applications, court deadlines, court rules compliance, de bonis propriis costs, Family Court, family law proceedings, Helen Suzman Foundation case, High Court Johannesburg, late filing affidavits, legal practitioner conduct, litigation management, motion proceedings, Multi-Links case, Parental Responsibilities, Procedural irregularities, procedural non-compliance, professional conduct, Rule 27, Rule 28, Rule 30A, Rule 6, South African Law, supplementary affidavits, Uniform Rules of Court When Procedure Trumps Substance: Dissecting Rule 30A Non-Compliance in N.S v A.D (2022/257) [2025] ZAGPJHC 632 (20 June 2025). Factual Background: A Tale of Procedural Non-Compliance in Family Law Proceedings The factual matrix in N.S v A.D presents a striking illustration of how procedural non-compliance can derail even the… READ MORE
02/07/2025 Bertus Preller Appeal, Divorce, Procedural Law, Procedure, Rule 42 variation application accrual system, appellate procedures, collateral attack judgments, common mistake divorce, costs follow the cause, divorce decree variation, ex tempore judgment, final judgment finality, fraudulent misrepresentation, High Court North West Division, joint estate division, judicial officers function, legal certainty principles, legal representation errors, litigation finality, marriage out of community of property, matrimonial disputes, Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984, Matrimonial Property Regime, pleadings integrity, pre-nuptial contract, procedural missteps, property division claims, Rule 42 variation application, South African Family Law, Uniform Rules of Court, Zweni case finality When Variation Applications Fail: The Limits of Rule 42 Common Mistake in K.P.M v O.L.M and Another (Reasons) (1751/2008) [2025] ZANWHC 103 (17 June 2025). The Genesis of the Dispute: A Marriage Out of Community of Property Revisited The roots of this protracted legal dispute stretch back to 7 February 1991, when the applicant and… READ MORE
29/06/2025 Bertus Preller Cohabitation, Customary Marriages, Inheritance rights, Interdict, Intestate Succession, Procedure, South African succession law Administration of Estates Act, African customary law, attorney and client scale, cohabitation, customary law marriage, customary marriage, estate administration, estate dispute, estate litigation, estate preservation, executor appointment, High Court Pretoria, inheritance dispute, interim interdict, intestate succession, joint estate, Legal Costs, legal remedy, lobola, matrimonial property, patrimonial rights, Peteke v Khumalo, recognition of marriage, Rule 6(12), section 13, South African Family Law, testamentary rights, Urgent Application, urgent interdict, ZAGPPHC 447 Customary Marriage Dispute Halts Estate Administration: Peteke v Khumalo and Others (2025-009348) [2025] ZAGPPHC 447 (6 May 2025). The Factual Matrix: Disputed Customary Marriage and Control Over the Deceased’s Estate In Peteke v Khumalo and Others (2025-009348) ZAGPPHC 447 (6 May 2025), the applicant approached the High Court… READ MORE