24/06/2025 Bertus Preller Abduction, Best Interests of the Child, Children, Contempt of Court, Costs, Habitual Residence, Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Holiday Travel, Immigration, International Divorce, International Family Law, International Travel, Joint Decision Making, Parental Alienation, Parental Rights, Punitive Cost Orders, Relocation attorney and client scale, best interests of children, care and contact assessment, child abduction, child custody orders, contempt of court, contempt proceedings urgency, cross-border custody disputes, cross-border litigation, divorce proceedings, Easter holiday dispute, emergency passports, family court jurisdiction, Hague Convention, hearsay evidence, international child retention, international enforcement, judicial authority vindication, Jurisdictional Challenges, mala fides presumption, postponement applications, punitive costs, sine die postponement, South African Family Law, suspended imprisonment, Swiss courts, travel documentation, Western Cape High Court, wilful non-compliance When Easter Holidays Turn Into International Child Retention: T.A.M-W v C.M.M (2025/030666) [2025] ZAWCHC 217 (23 May 2025) and the Limits of Cross-Border Contempt Orders. Key Takeaways This landmark judgment demonstrates that South African courts will not hesitate to use their full arsenal of sanctions when parties deliberately flout agreed court orders, particularly where children's… READ MORE
12/10/2024 Bertus Preller Costs, Divorce, Procedural Law, Separation Applications asset dissipation, Asset Division, attorney-client scale, business interests, community of property, costs order, court ruling, Divorce, evidentiary rules, Gauteng High Court, hearsay evidence, inadmissible evidence, joint estate, Legal Requirements, matrimonial dispute, Matrimonial Property Act, prejudice, prima facie case, Section 20, South Africa, Urgent Application, urgent relief, ZAGPPHC Divorce Drama Derailed: BTTM v NKM (054684 2024) [2024] ZAGPPHC 992 Exposes Pitfalls of Hasty Matrimonial Asset Division – (1 October 2024). Background: A Marriage in Community of Property Heads for Divorce In the bustling corridors of the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria, a matrimonial dispute unfolded that would… READ MORE
02/02/2024 Bertus Preller Appeal, Mootness, Procedure admissibility, appeals, appellate proceedings, civil union, Court Rulings, customary marriage, division of estate, finality in trials, hearsay evidence, Herbstein and Van Winsen, jurisprudence, Legal Framework, Legal precedents, legal principles, lobola, Marital Disputes, matrimonial benefits, matrimonial property, mootness doctrine, N B v T B, Narius Moloto v The Pan Africanist Congress Of Azania, new evidence, practical effect, South African Law, Superior Courts Act, ZAECMHC Navigating Marital Disputes and New Evidence in Appeals: Insights from N B v T B and Another. – N B v T B and Another (2669/2021; CA 81/2022) [2024] ZAECMHC 8 (30 January 2024), also cited as N.P.B v T.I.B and Another – Appeal (CA 81/2022) [2024] ZAECMHC 4 (30 January 2024). Introduction In the case of N B v T B and Another (2669/2021; CA 81/2022) ZAECMHC 8 (30 January 2024), the court was presented with an appeal against the decision… READ MORE