13/07/2025 Bertus Preller Best Interests of the Child, Child protection, Children, Children's Court, Conduct of Childcare Experts, constitutional rights of children, Family reunification, Foster care, Grandparents Rights, Kinship care, Parental Rights, Procedural Law, Section 28 Constitution 4 July 2025, best interests of the child South Africa, Cape Town High Court, care and contact orders, child custody South Africa, child protection, child removal South Africa, child witness protection, Children’s Act 38 of 2005, Children’s Court appeal, constitutional rights of children, Dr Astrid Martalas, ex parte court orders, family law South Africa, family reunification judgment, foster care legal challenge, High Court appeal 2025, kinship care, legal precedent family law, legal safeguards in child care, Magistrate Sipoyo judgment, no-contact order South Africa, Parental Rights, procedural fairness South Africa, psychological harm attachment, Rule of Law family matters, S.E.T and Others v Department of Justice, Section 28 Constitution, ZAWCHC 282 “Torn Apart Without Cause”: High Court Slams Children’s Court in S.E.T and Others v Department of Justice and Another (A83/2024) [2025] ZAWCHC 282 (4 July 2025). The Factual Matrix: Arrests, Allegations and the Path to Atlantis Court This matter originated in deeply troubling circumstances involving two minor children, a six-year-old girl (X) and a one-year-old boy… READ MORE
17/04/2025 Bertus Preller Appeal, Division of Estate, Divorce, Procedural Law, Recission of Divorce Orders Cape Town High Court, Court Jurisdiction, divorce order, final judgment, Firestone principle, functus officio, gross irregularity, in community of property, joint estate division, judicial authority, Judicial Review, legality review, magistrates court, PAJA, Property Division, Receiver appointment, review application, Superior Courts Act, Trencon substitution, Western Cape When Magistrates Overreach: G.W.X. v Magistrate of Western Cape Blue Downs Mashala N.O & Another (17268/2024) [2025] ZAWCHC 142 (27 March 2025). Background to the Review Application: The Divorce Orders in Question The recent Western Cape High Court judgment in G.W.X. v Magistrate of Regional Division of Western Cape Blue Downs Mashala… READ MORE
27/02/2025 Bertus Preller Best Interests of the Child, Children, Costs, Parental Alienation, Procedure, Relocation attorney-client costs, best interests of child, Cape Town High Court, Child Relocation, children's act, co-holder rights, co-parenting decisions, dance education, dance talent, Hermanus relocation, Judge Pangarker, maintenance increase, maintenance variation, material non-disclosure, mediation withdrawal, non-disclosure penalties, Parental Rights, parenting plan, professional assessment, punitive costs order, Rule 6(12), school change dispute, Section 31 Children's Act, Self-Created Urgency, South African Family Law, urgent applications Dance Dreams vs Parental Rights: How Self-Created Urgency Cost a Mother in C.H v L.H (32/2025) [2025] ZAWCHC 11 (23 January 2025). The Facts: Dance Dreams and Relocation Dispute In the recent Western Cape High Court case of C.H v L.H (32/2025) ZAWCHC 11 (23 January 2025), Judge Pangarker was tasked with… READ MORE