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Guides

Plain-language explanations of each process. Each guide is published only once every legal statement in it has been checked against the Act or official source it cites. Each one shows the date of that check, and says whether a legal practitioner has also reviewed it.

Divorce

Divorce in South Africa: the three routes, step by stepWhat happens, in what order, what it usually costs, how the money is worked out, and what most often goes wrong.
Rule 41A: what the mediation notice means and what to do with itThe notice that comes with every new High Court case, what each side must say and by when, whether you can be forced to mediate, and what is different in Gauteng.
Rule 43: interim maintenance, care, contact and a contribution to costsWhat a spouse can ask a High Court for while a divorce is still running, what each side files and when, and what the court can do.

Children: care and contact

Maintenance

Child maintenance: how the maintenance court worksWhere to go, what happens in what order, how the amount is shared between parents, and what can be done when it is not paid.

Safety and protection orders

Protection orders: step by stepWho can apply under the Domestic Violence Act, what counts as domestic violence, what happens in what order, and what a court can order.

Unmarried parents

Unmarried fathers: when you have rights, and what to do if they are disputedThe two ways an unmarried father gets full parental responsibilities and rights under section 21, what happens when the mother disagrees, and what an agreement can do.

Money and property

Married in or out of community of property, and the accrual: what it means on divorceThe three ways of being married, how to tell which is yours, how an accrual claim is worked out line by line, and what each spouse can and cannot do with shared property.

Muslim and customary marriages

Ending a Muslim or customary marriage: what the law now coversHow a Muslim marriage and a customary marriage are ended by a court, what the court can order, and what this guide has not yet been able to check.