17/04/2026 Bertus Preller Alter ego trust, Attorney and client costs, Costs, Divorce, Insolvent spouse litigation, Out of community of property, Piercing the corporate veil, Procedural Law, Punitive Cost Orders, Punitive costs orders, Redistribution Claim, Rule 47 Uniform Rules of Court, Section 23(6) Insolvency Act, Section 34 Constitution access to courts, Section 7(3) Divorce Act, Security for costs, Security for costs, Trust joinder divorce, Trusts, Trusts, Vexatious Litigant, Vexatious litigation alter ego doctrine, attorney and client costs Scale B, corporate veil family law, discretionary remedy security for costs, divorce litigation strategy, divorce trusts South Africa, family law South Africa, Fusion Properties v Stellenbosch Municipality, impecunious spouse constitutional rights, insolvent spouse litigation, joinder of companies divorce, joinder of trusts divorce, piercing the corporate veil, redistribution claim trusts, redistribution of assets, Rule 47 Uniform Rules of Court, section 23(6) Insolvency Act, section 34 Constitution access to courts, section 7(3) Divorce Act, security for costs, Shepstone & Wiley v Geyser, tactical litigation abuse of process, trust beneficiary divorce South Africa, trust joinder divorce, unrehabilitated insolvent divorce, vexatious litigation divorce, Welgemoed AJ, Western Cape High Court, ZAWCHC 2026 Piercing the Veil and Opening the Courthouse Doors: How South African Courts Refuse to Let Security for Costs Become a Weapon of Oppression in Divorce Litigation — M.A.V. NO and Others v E.V (Case No. 8692/2020) [2026] ZAWCHC 167 (14 April 2026). The Facts: Divorce, Sequestration and a Web of Trusts and Companies The matter of M.A.V. NO and Others v E.V (Case No. 8692/2020) ZAWCHC 167 (14 April 2026) concerns an… READ MORE
06/03/2026 Bertus Preller Alimony, Best Interests of the Child, Children, Divorce, Duty to court, Duty to maintain, Financial non-disclosure, Interim Maintenance, Maintenance, Non-disclosure consequences, Rule 43, Rule 43 Applications, Rule 43 orders, Spousal Maintenance, Trusts, Trusts, Variation Rule 43(6) Pleading Poverty While Plundering the Pot: The Courts Draw a Hard Line on Rule 43(6) Abuse — C V S v S V S (18688/2022) [2026] ZAWCHC 30 (16 February 2026). The Facts: A Pattern of Non-Disclosure and Deliberate Financial Engineering In C V S v S V S (18688/2022) ZAWCHC 30 (16 February 2026), Holderness J was confronted with what… READ MORE
27/01/2026 Bertus Preller Adultery, Divorce, Exceptional circumstances separation, In Community of Property, Infidelity, Liquidator, Liquidator, Receiver Divorce, Separation Applications, Separation of issues, Trusts, Trusts accrual system, conceptual separability, convenience test, De Wet NO v Jurgens, divorce litigation, divorce proceedings, divorce South Africa, Estate Sayle, family law South Africa, Gillespie v Gillespie, interim maintenance, joint estate division, marriage in community of property, matrimonial property law, Matrimonial Property Regime, NK v KM, receiver and liquidator, separation of issues, strike date, T.S.Y v L.E.Y, TD v LD, trust assets joint estate, undivided share, Wilson J, ZAGPJHC 34 You Can’t Have Your Divorce and Keep the Estate Too: T.S.Y v L.E.Y (2022/3952) [2026] ZAGPJHC 34 (26 January 2026) on the Inseparability of Divorce and Asset Division in Marriages in Community of Property. The Factual Matrix: A Long-Separated Couple and the Quest for a "Clean" Divorce The applicant, TSY, and the respondent, LEY, married in community of property on 27 July 1989. The… READ MORE
27/04/2024 Bertus Preller Accrual Calculation, Divorce, Hiding Assets, Marital Regimes, Trusts, Trusts accrual system, alter ego, asset protection, Badenhorst v Badenhorst, best interests of children, Constitution, Divorce, economic inequality, equality, estate planning, fact-specific enquiry, gender, Judicial Discretion, Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984, piercing the trust veneer, RP v DP, sections 9 and 28, sham trust, substantive equality, transformative constitutionalism, trusts, unfair discrimination, Van Zyl v Kaye Piercing the Trust Veneer in Divorce: A Constitutional Approach to Achieving Equity (Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984; Badenhorst v Badenhorst 2006 (2) SA 255 (SCA); RP v DP 2014 (6) SA 243 (ECP)). Introduction The accrual system, as set out in the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984 (hereafter referred to as the MPA), is a matrimonial property regime that aims to recognise… READ MORE
03/04/2024 Bertus Preller Contempt of Court, Divorce, Settlement agreements, Trusts, Trusts accountability, Asset Division, beneficiary interests, compliance, contempt of court, court judgment, divorce order, divorce settlement, duty, Family Law, fiduciary responsibility, Johannesburg High Court, joint action, legal obligations, Legal proceedings, legal remedy, M.F v V.F case, Property Division, property sale, settlement agreement, South African trust law, trust administration, Trust assets, trust deed, trust law, trust management, trust property, trustee conduct, trustees Duties of Trustees Unveiled: Insights from the M.F v V.F Case Analysis – M.F v V.F and Others (2003/22202) [2024] ZAGPJHC 318 (2 April 2024). The Facts Mr. M F (the applicant) and Mrs. V F (the first respondent) were married until their divorce on 15 July 2005. The divorce order incorporated a settlement agreement,… READ MORE
23/03/2024 Bertus Preller Accrual Calculation, Appeal, Divorce, Marital Regimes, Trusts, Trusts accrual system, alter ego trust, Antenuptial Contracts, Asset Concealment, asset protection, Divorce, equitable division, estate calculation, financial manipulation, financial strategy, judicial interpretation, Legal precedents, legal remedies, marital rights, marital wealth, matrimonial disputes, matrimonial property, Paf v Scf, Property Division, South African Law, spouse entitlements, Trust assets, Trust Property Control Act, trust veil Unraveling Trust Assets in Divorce: Navigating South African Matrimonial Law. Trust Assets in Matrimonial Disputes: Navigating South African Legal Waters In South African family law, the treatment of trust assets in matrimonial disputes, particularly during divorce proceedings, presents a complex… READ MORE
27/08/2023 Bertus Preller Alimony, Arrears, Divorce, Financial Disclosure, Maintenance, Marriage, Pension Funds, Spousal Maintenance, Trusts Annuities Tax Implications, Appeals Court, Asset Base, Bertus Preller, Burden of Proof, Case Law, Cost of Appeal, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, Divorce News, divorce settlement, Economic Uncertainty, Elderly Parties, Family Law, Financial Circumstances, Judgment Reversal, legal precedent, Legal Thresholds, maintenance, Maintenance Order, Pacta Sunt Servanda, South African Law, Trustee, Variation Application CHANGING FORTUNES, UNCHANGED OBLIGATIONS: HOW A COURT ON APPEAL WEIGHED FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES IN VARIATION OF A MAINTENANCE ORDER L.J v P.H.A.J (HCA35/2022) ZALMPPHC 49 (18 July 2023) INTRODUCTION This case was an appeal to the High Court Limpopo Division against the rulings made by an Acting Magistrate, who… READ MORE
27/07/2023 Bertus Preller Alimony, Children, Divorce, Interim Maintenance, Maintenance, Parental Rights, Rule 43, Spousal Maintenance, Trusts Adequate Housing, Bertus Preller, child maintenance, Children's Act 38 of 2005, Constitutional Rights, Contact rights, court order, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, Divorce News, divorce proceedings, Equality of Arms, Family Law, financial disclosure, Legal Costs, maintenance, Maintenance Order, Marital Assets, Parental Responsibilities, Primary Residency, right to dignity, Rule 43, South African Law, spousal support Equality of Arms Upheld: Court Orders Husband to Contribute R805,903 Towards Wife’s Legal Costs in Rule 43 Proceedings. Y.M v T.J.M (26526/2022) ZAGPPHC 582 (13 July 2023) The case involved a dispute between two parties identified as Y.M. and T.J.M. This was an application in terms of Rule… READ MORE
21/04/2023 Bertus Preller Alimony, Interim Maintenance, Maintenance, Marriage, Rule 43, Trusts Divorce, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, Divorce News, Family Law, interim maintenance, maintenance, new case law, Rule 43 Rule 43 Application – Husband’s wealth managed in a Trust taken into consideration. Wife succeeds in claiming R 200 000 per month. S, G N v L, J (Case No: 2023/004861) ZAGPJHC 336 (12 April 2023) The applicant approached the court in terms of Rule 43, seeking interim maintenance and a contribution… READ MORE
11/08/2022 Bertus Preller Divorce, Financial Disclosure, Trusts Bertus Preller, Divorce Attorney Cape Town, Divorce Attorney South Africa, Family Law, Trusts and divorce Supreme Court of Appeal finds Trust Assets Not Part of Accrual – Divorce. MJ K v II K (360/2021) ZASCA 116 This appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) was about a divorce case where the parties were married out of community… READ MORE