Divorce Law/Act

There are several areas of divorce to consider, and each element has to be concluded legally and in accordance with the law. The courts and divorce lawyers Johannesburg have to, in some instances, make life changing decisions on behalf of minor children and disgruntled partners. This is a monumental responsibly, and precisely why divorce law is in place. A legal decision has to be drawn from somewhere, and drawing a conclusion from a place of opinion is biased and does not act in the best interest of parties involved in divorce.

South African divorce law is based on a no fault system, which means that parties of marriage can get divorced without having to prove that one of the spouses are at fault. This means that no court has the power to stop divorce. The court can, however, delay or postpone a divorce process to encourage reconciliation between the parties. Divorce lawyers Johannesburg are often faced with fairly smooth divorce cases, like uncontested divorce, for instance. In these instances the divorce lawyers Johannesburg merely take care of the legalities such as dealing with the administrations and legally finalising the division of assets, debts, and drafting parenting plans, where children are involved.

Similarly, in light of the no fault system, spouses can no longer sue third parties for crossing the marital line. In recent years, a spouse who was cheated on had a legal right to sue the lover. The courts did away with this notion because, often times, adultery and abandonment is a side effect of a marriage that has already broken down, and is seldom the cause for the marriage to break down. However, when it can be proven that the adultery is cause for the breakdown of the marriage, the court may rule in favour of the innocent party. Divorce lawyers Johannesburg, and the plaintiff of a divorce case, no longer need to prove to the court that the defendant is at fault.

The biggest disputes in divorce is usually the children and where their primary place of residence will be. In disgruntled divorce situations, the spouses may threaten each other with the amount of involvement one spouse may have in the child’s life, or threaten to deny one parent access to the child all together. The court acknowledges this and agrees this only hurts the child. Unless a parent inflicts abuse on a child, he/she has the right to be a part of the child’s life, or rather, the child has the right to have both parents present in his/ her life. Divorce lawyers Johannesburg have to assist in providing the court information which will determine with which parent the child will live primarily, based wholly on the child’s best interest. Divorce lawyers Johannesburg work closely with other professionals to determine the best interests of the child. The notion that a woman should be given primary custody to the child just because she is the mother is no longer entertained. Similarly, a parent may not be disregarded as the child’s place of primary residence based on sexual orientation. Children of divorce may also express with which parent they wish to live and several factors will be taken in to account to determine if the child is emotionally, mentally, and intellectually capable to express such a preference. Divorce lawyers Johannesburg may appoint, following instruction from the court, social workers and psychologists to determine what scenario will be in the child’s best interest.

Divorce lawyers Johannesburg look at these areas of divorce before presenting a case to the court.