02/07/2025 Bertus Preller Divorce, Divorce settlement defects, Liquidator, Procedural Law, Receiver Divorce, Recission of Divorce Orders, Settlement agreement finality, Settlement agreement interpretation, Settlement agreement variation, Settlement agreements Children's Best Interests, children's inheritance rights, community of property marriages, condonation applications, debt-free property preservation, Divorce Act section 7(8), divorce aftermath litigation, divorce settlement defects, joint estate liquidation, legal representation duties, liquidator appointment applications, matrimonial home disputes, matrimonial property trust, motion proceedings evidence, pension benefits accrual, pension fund entitlements, pension interest claims, Plascon-Evans rule, post-divorce disputes, property occupation disputes, res judicata principles, Rule 42 variation applications, settlement agreement finality, settlement agreement variation, trust beneficiaries protection, trust registration requirements, trustee appointment orders, unrepresented parties divorce Six Years Later: Defective Settlement Clause Triggers Failed Liquidation Bid in PLB v LRB (36798/2014) [2025] ZAGPPHC 600 – 4 June 2025. The Facts: A Matrimonial Home Dispute Six Years After Divorce This case concerned a post-divorce dispute that arose six years after the dissolution of marriage between PLB and LRB, who… READ MORE
29/06/2025 Bertus Preller Costs, Customary Law, Customary Marriages, Motion Proceedings, Plascon Evans Rule, Punitive Cost Orders, Recognition of Customary Marriages Act affidavit conflict, ancestral law, Black Administration Act, civil marriage, customary marriage, customary rites, Deane AJ, estate administration, executor appointment, family law litigation, Germiston, High Court Free State, inheritance law, KwaZulu Natal, legal burden of proof, legal recognition, lobolo, Marital Disputes, marital status dispute, marriage registration, Master of the High Court, matrimonial property, Moloi v Nkosi, motion proceedings, Plascon-Evans rule, QwaQwa, RCMA 120 of 1998, South African Family Law, Zulu marriage customs Moloi v Nkosi and Others (1713/2025) [2025] ZAFSHC 153 (15 May 2025): Customary Marriage Claims Undone by Motion Proceedings and the Plascon-Evans Rule. The Factual Matrix: Competing Marital Claims and the Legacy of Customary Law At the heart of Moloi v Nkosi and Others (1713/2025) ZAFSHC 153 (15 May 2025) lies a bitter… READ MORE
29/06/2025 Bertus Preller Customary adoption, Inheritance rights, Intestate Succession, Master of the High Court, South African succession law 2009 succession law, adoption formalities, cultural legal norms, customary adoption, customary law adoption, customary legal obligations, Eastern Cape High Court, family inheritance law, indigenous legal systems, inheritance disputes, inheritance rights, intestate estate disputes, intestate heirs, intestate succession, legal definition of descendant, legal descendants, Maneli case, Master of the High Court, Maswanganyi case, Plascon-Evans rule, Reform of Customary Law Act, South African Family Law, South African succession law, succession and customary law, Tshali v Nandi, Ubuntu and law, Ubuntu in law, Xhosa customary law, ZAECMHC 39 When Ubuntu Is Not Enough: Customary Adoption and Succession Rights Examined in Tshali and Another v Nandi and Others (5307/2022) [2025] ZAECMHC 39 (20 May 2025). The Factual Matrix: Customary Bonds, Competing Heirs and a Contested Legacy The dispute in Tshali and Another v Nandi and Others (5307/2022) ZAECMHC 39 arose from a heartfelt claim by… READ MORE
12/11/2024 Bertus Preller Antenuptial Contracts, Antenuptial Contracts, Costs, Divorce, Marital Regimes, Procedural Law, Procedure Antenuptial Contract, attorney misconduct, caveat subscriptor, civil procedure, court costs, divorce proceedings, elderly marriage, explanatory affidavits, factual disputes, legal documents, legal presumptions, legal signatures, legal trust, marriage law, matrimonial disputes, matrimonial property, motion application, motion proceedings, notary, oral evidence, personal relationships, Plascon-Evans rule, professional conduct, property regime, Rule 6(5)(g), signing documents, South African Law, wedding gift, wedding MC, Western Cape High Court From Wedding MC to Legal Emergency: How a Rushed Signature Led to a Marriage Property Crisis – B C B v L L B and Others (15788/2024) [2024] ZAWCHC 206 (11 November 2024). The Marriage and the Disputed Antenuptial Contract - A 90-Year-Old Groom and His 60-Year-Old Bride In a remarkable case that recently came before the Western Cape High Court, a marriage… READ MORE
19/08/2024 Bertus Preller Costs, Divorce, Domicile, International Divorce adverse inferences, affidavits, attachment orders, Burden of Proof, costs, credibility, domicile, ex parte orders, full disclosure, incola, international litigation, jurisdiction, Legal Fees, motion proceedings, peregrinus, Plascon-Evans rule, reconsideration applications, residence, South African Law, Uniform Rules of Court Domicile Dilemma: Unraveling Jurisdictional Complexities in J.M v N.C (2023/00100) [2024] ZAGPJHC 762 (16 August 2024). Background: The Legal Dispute Between J.M and N.C The case of J.M v N.C (2023/00100) ZAGPJHC 762 (16 August 2024) originated from a dispute over legal fees between J. Mahomed,… READ MORE
01/03/2024 Bertus Preller Abduction, Children, Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Parental Rights, Relocation, Views of the Child child custody law, child protection law, child welfare, Children's Best Interests, consent and acquiescence, cross-border family law, custody rights, Family Law, Hague Convention, International Child Abduction, international custody battle, Judicial Discretion, Justice Cloete, Legal Analysis, legal decision-making, legal fairness, Legal Jurisdiction, legal precedent, legal proceedings costs, MB v LC and Another, parental disputes, Plascon-Evans rule, South Africa legal system, wrongful retention Justice Prevails: Navigating International Child Abduction Law with Precision and Compassion. – MB v LC and Another (21586/2023) [2024] ZAWCHC 61 (29 February 2024). Introduction and Background The case adjudicated by Justice J Cloete, delves into a dispute under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This matter revolves around… READ MORE