How to get divorced if it’s your only option

B1If a married couple has decided on getting divorced, the process may seem daunting and uncomfortable. However, it can be done efficiently, but there may still be a lot of emotional difficulty involved. It’s important to note that divorce is a last resort in a marriage. If it’s a civil marriage, it needs to be dissolved by a court, and like a court case, good grounds for the divorce have to be given. Divorce isn’t a do-it-yourself matter.

What reasons are good reasons?

  1. Firstly, and most importantly, you have to be absolutely certain that divorce is the only option for you and your spouse. This is because you would have to prove to a court that you and your spouse can’t live together anymore and there is no possibility of reconciliation or for you two to love one another again. An unconsciousness or mentally ill spouse, for example, could also be a valid reason for divorce.
  2. Other forms of proof or grounds needed for a divorce are evidence that you and your spouse haven’t been living together for a very long period of time, one of the partner’s cheated, one partner left or that there was abuse involved in the relationship, such as physical abuse.

Steps to take

  1. The first step is to prepare a summons for a court. Going through a Family Court will be cheaper than a High Court. The summons would include details such as who will have custody of the children and how the other parent will see the children, if there are children involved. Other details would include maintenance and how property will be split.
  2. You can consult an attorney beforehand to help you with the divorce summons and the court proceedings. The Sheriff of the Court will serve the summons to the other spouse or ‘defendant’. In some cases, the defendant may decide to oppose the summons, in which case their attorney will send back a plea (answer to the summons).
  3. The two parties may try reach a settlement agreement before the hearing. Regardless of whether or not the they have reached an agreement the case will still be heard in a court before a decree of divorce is issued. As mentioned earlier, divorce has to go through a court.
  4. After the summons has been submitted to the court a hearing date will be set. A divorce order will be granted after the judge at the hearing has settled everything and confirmed what has been presented as grounds for the divorce.

References

  • Anderson, AM. Dodd, A. Roos, MC. 2012. “Everyone’s Guide to South African Law. Third Edition”. Zebra Press.
  • Westerncape.gov.za. Western Cape Government. Getting Divorced Page. [online] Available at: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/service/getting-divorced/ [Accessed 25/05/2016].

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

An ex-spouse refusing to pay maintenance?

B2If a couple has gotten divorced and they have a child, then it’s the responsibility of both parents to support the child. The duty to pay maintenance cannot be avoided, regardless of either parents’ situation. If one parent refuses to pay maintenance, then the other parent can go to a court and make a claim. Being a single parent doesn’t mean being the only one to contribute to maintenance.

What should I do about it?

To deal with a spouse who refuses to pay maintenance you would first need to inform the maintenance officer. The maintenance officer can apply to the court for:

  1. A warrant of execution;
  2. An attachment order against the defaulter’s salary;
  3. An order to attach any debts; and
  4. A criminal prosecution.

Does the non-paying parent have a defence?

The only defence that a parent could have for not paying maintenance is having a lack of income. However, if the parent is unwilling to work, such as laziness, then this will not count as a defence. Failure to pay maintenance is taken very serious, guilty parents won’t get much sympathy from the court or others. If the parent is capable of working, then they will be expected to pay maintenance.

But I can’t find my ex-spouse?

Non-paying parents may think that they’re being clever by changing their address and not notifying the court. This is considered a criminal offence, and will result in punishment. Fortunately, it’s not the responsibility of the single parent to find anyone. A maintenance investigator will track down and find a non-paying parent.

How to claim maintenance

If you want someone to pay maintenance or believe that they are not paying the proper amount, then you can follow these steps at your local magistrate’s court. Remember to go the court in the district where you live.

  1. Go to the court and complete the form “Application for a maintenance order (J101)”.
  2. Also submit proof of your monthly income and expenses.
  3. A date will be set on which you and the respondent (the person whom you wish to pay maintenance) must go to the court.
  4. A maintenance officer and an investigator will investigate your claim and look into your circumstances.
  5. The court will serve a summons on the respondent.
  6. The respondent then has to either agree to pay the maintenance, or challenge the matter in court.

If found liable to pay maintenance

If the court finds someone liable for paying maintenance, it will make an order for the amount of maintenance to be paid. The court will also determine when and how the payments must be made. There are several ways the payments could be made. The court can order that the maintenance be paid at the local magistrate’s office or that the amount to be paid into the bank account chosen by the person claiming. The payments could also just be made directing to them. According to the new Maintenance Act (1998), an employer can deduct payments from an employee’s salary, if they’re liable for paying maintenance.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

Claiming maintenance from parents living in foreign countries

B2A major concern many parents have revolves around the existence of maintenance orders from a South African court which requires enforcement against a non-compliant person who resides in a foreign country.

South African law allows its citizens to claim maintenance from a parent living in a foreign country. The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act 80 of 1963 is a piece of legislation which regulates foreign maintenance processes. To obtain maintenance for minor children in any foreign country it is advisable that an order for the maintenance of the minor children has first been made by a South African court.

It is important to note that not all foreign countries are recognised under the Reciprocal Enforcement of Orders Act.  Chief Directorate: International Legal Relations in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) has a list of proclaimed countries. This means such countries have a special arrangement with South Africa whereby maintenance orders granted in one country can be enforced in another.

The following documents where applicable must be transmitted to Head Office from our courts:

  • four certified copies of the provisional court order;
  • an affidavit by the complainant or an officer of the court as to the amount of arrears due under the order;
  • the deposition or evidence of the complainant;
  • physical, and or working address of the defendant;
  • a photograph and description of the defendant;
  • the original exhibits (marriage certificate, birth certificate, photographs etc.) referred to in the complaint’s deposition or evidence duly endorsed as prescribed/affidavit;
  • three certified copies of the documents referred to in (b) and (c) above and in the event of the High Court, four copies as well as an additional copy of the court are required.

Countries recognised under the Reciprocal Enforcement of Orders Act:

Australia, Canada, Cocoa (Keeling) Islands, Cyprus, Fiji, Germany, Guernsey (Bailiwick of Hong Kong), Isle of Jersey, Isle of Man, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norfolk Island, Sarawak, Singapore, St Helena, Swaziland, United Kingdom, United States of America, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

If the foreign country in question does not have a reciprocal enforcement agreement with the Republic, the second option is to launch formal proceedings in the courts of the foreign country based on an already existing maintenance order. This option in most cases, tends to be an expensive process, takes an indeterminable amount of time and doesn’t always render favourable results.

References:

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

Maintenance

A3BWhat can you do to enforce a maintenance order against a person who is responsible for paying maintenance, but fails to do so or is paying too little?

When someone fails to pay maintenance in terms of a maintenance order you have the option of lodging a complaint against them with the Maintenance officer, stating that the person is legally liable to maintain, for example, yourself or your minor child(ren) and is not doing so. The Maintenance officer must investigate the complaint and may then institute an enquiry in a maintenance court. The Maintenance officer, not the complainant, decides whether to institute an enquiry.[1] In investigating a complaint about maintenance, the Maintenance officer may obtain statements or any relevant information pertaining to the payment of maintenance. An enquiry under the Maintenance Act is a procedure which empowers people to enforce their rights and those of their child(ren) at the State’s expense. During the course of a maintenance enquiry the parties usually come to an agreement and seek to withdraw the proceedings, or have the terms of the agreement made an order of court, which cannot be disregarded by the magistrate.[2] If the parties cannot come to an agreement the matter will be referred to the maintenance court.

Whenever a person against whom a maintenance order has been issued under the Act fails to make any payment in accordance with that order, the order is enforceable in respect of any amount that person has failed to pay, together with any interest:

  1. by execution against property;
  2. by the attachment of emoluments; or
  3. by the attachment of debt.

If a maintenance order made under the Act remains unsatisfied for a period of ten days from the day on which the amount became payable or the order was made, the person in whose favour the order was made may apply to the maintenance court in which the order was made: 1) for authorisation of the issue of a warrant of execution, 2) for an order for the attachment of emoluments or 3) for an order for the attachment of debt. The application must be accompanied by a copy of the maintenance order or other order in question and a statement under oath stating the amount that the person against whom the order was made has failed to pay.[3]

Subject to the defence that failure to make a payment in terms of a maintenance order is due to a lack of means, a person who fails to make a particular payment in accordance with a maintenance order is guilty of an offence and liable to conviction with a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, or to imprisonment without the option of a fine.[4]

On the application of the public prosecutor and in addition to or instead of imposing a penalty, a court convicting any person of the offence of failing to make a payment in accordance with a maintenance order may grant an order for recovery from that person of the amount he or she has failed to pay, together with any interest.[5]

Your best option would be to approach the Maintenance officer in order to reconcile the outstanding amounts. Thereafter, if the person still fails to effect payment, you can approach an attorney to either proceed with execution of the order, if the person has sufficient movable or immovable property, or obtain an emolument order which will be served upon the employer of the person (ordering the employer to pay the maintenance), or you may approach the maintenance court for an order for the attachment of any debt accruing, then or in the future, to the person responsible for paying maintenance.

[1] The Maintenance Act 99 of 1998.

[2] Young v Young 1985(1) SA 782 (C).

[3] The Maintenance Act 99 of 1998.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)