The overall purpose of the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act 95 of 1998 (“the Act“), and its core function, is to protect the public by requiring the registration of home builders.  This will ensure that consumers are not exposed to unscrupulous and incompetent home builders, building contractors and developers or to the potential risk of … Continue reading Is your home builder registered in terms of the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act 95 of 1998?

In terms of the Contingency Fees Act 66 of 1997 (“the Act”) a client can choose to enter into a Contingency Fee Agreement with his/her attorney and/or advocate. Should the client not want to enter into a Contingency Fee Agreement, his/her attorney will have him/her sign a Fee Agreement in terms of which the client … Continue reading Contingency Fee Agreement Explained

Emolument attachments: to what extend can a company can interfere with the proceedings: in re: African Development Bank v Nseera; in re Nseera v Nseera (A479/2017) (2018) ZAGPPHC 672 (2018) 3 ALL SA 646 (GP)  In June 2017, Africa Development Bank brought an unsuccessful Application in terms of Section 28 (2) of the Maintenance Act … Continue reading Emolument attachments

PERMANENT LIFE PARTNERSHIPS: IS THERE A JOINT ESTATE AND IF SO, HOW WOULD IT BE DIVIDED ON TERMINATION OF THE PARTNERSHIP? Uncertainty regarding permanent life partnerships and how to divide the joint estate which the partners have built up during the partnership has surrounded the law for many years but have finally been clarified by … Continue reading Permanent Life Partnerships

“Virtual currencies, perhaps most notably Bitcoin, have captured the imagination of some, struck fear among others, and confused the heck out of the rest of us….” In a climate characterized by the exponential growth in technological innovations resulting in the world moving into the cyber space, the development of digital money was almost inevitable as … Continue reading The call for Bitcoin Regulation

One of the most widely interpreted and misunderstood Acts in South Africa in my opinion has to be the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998. This Act provides for the proper governance and procedural structure of the customary law marriages. Even after years of its promulgation, there is still majority of people living … Continue reading Customary Marriages in South Africa

Section 14 of the Children Act 38 of 2005 recognises the right of children to be assisted in vindicating their rights in court and this right is also entrenched by section 28 of the Constitution of South Africa. Generally it is accepted that the biological parents or guardians of the of the child will assist … Continue reading When does it become a necessity to appoint curator ad litem to protect the interests of children in actions brought against the Road Accident Fund?

Jordaan and Others v City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and Others [2017] ZACC 31 This article highlights important points taken from the above mentioned case. The Constitutional court decision laid to rest the question as to whether historical municipal debt is permitted to be extended and transferred to a new owner who purchases the property. … Continue reading Your debts – not mine! Victory for new property owners

Risk-only life policies with a beneficiary clause, the proceeds thereof do not form part of the deceased’s estate, neither the joint estate even if the deceased was married in community of property. Upon death, the question of which property formed part of the deceased’s estate during his life time is inevitable, so does the question … Continue reading Risk-only life policies with a beneficiary clause

On the menu Material Transfer Agreements Presented by Dr Marietjie Botes On 20 July 2018 SA’s first official MTA was published in Government Gazette no.41781 Biological materials previous used exclusively for research purposes – now seen as having direct commercial value MTA’s evolved into hybrid form, including complexities of IP licence agreements Concern that public … Continue reading Learn while refueling during your lunch hour!