Family Law is one of the most emotional areas of engagement for the law to negotiate. We have to deal with people’s lives, loves, disappointments, relationships, and what might often be seen as an uncertain future.
For these reasons, our service extends beyond the facts of your case. Our purpose is to partner with you in order to manage the risk elements of your case in a more personal way, and guide you towards a successful outcome.
We understand that your family is important to you and therefore important to us. We strive to approach every matter with trust, care, respect and compassion in order to ease the psychological impact on the family.
Maintenance
Family law is the area of law that relates to the relationship between family members whether they are parents, children, spouses, grandparents or siblings. When it comes to divorce – and where there are children involved – we are aware that every case is different and must be approached with thorough assessment, steering towards co-operation between the parties, and guided by the rules laid down by the law.
- Where children are concerned during divorce, it is often the case that one spouse may be ordered to pay maintenance. Child maintenance may be ordered to be paid until the child turns 18 years old or becomes self-supportive, whichever occurs last.
- Interim maintenance refers to maintenance that is ordered to be paid while the divorce proceedings are still being finalised. A variation to the court order may be brought to the same court when there is a material change in the spouse’s circumstances and he/she is no longer in the same financial position to pay the maintenance amount in terms of the order.
- Both parents have the responsibility to ensure that their children have access to necessities such as: shelter; food; clothing; medical care and schooling.
- Defaulting on maintenance payments is a criminal offence in South Africa. In 2018, certain sections of the Maintenance Act were amended. The sections provide that the details of parents who default on child maintenance will be sent to credit bureaus and the parents may face being blacklisted. Further, that if the defaulter cannot be traced a court may order that a cell phone provider assist and provide the court / maintenance investigator with the contact information of the parent/s.
- When maintenance falls into arrears, the court may order that the maintenance be deducted by the parent’s employer from his/her wages, paid from his/her investments /pension fund, sale of existing assets/property, or issue a warrant of arrest.
- All parents, whether married or not, living together, separated, or divorced, as well as parents of adopted children, have a duty to to support the financial needs of their children.
- The biological grandparents may need to pay maintenance where the parents have proven that they cannot pay maintenance. It is a legal obligation of not only both the biological parents, but also the biological grandparents and legal guardian of the child to pay maintenance.
- If you don’t know the latest whereabouts of your child’s other parent, maintenance investigators can trace them and determine their financial capabilities.
- The court determines how much the reasonable needs of a child would be in the current circumstances. Either parent/party may approach the maintenance court for an increase / decrease or to discharge the maintenance obligation of the child.
Parenting Plans
A Parenting Plan is a useful way of setting out rules of parental rights in an organised agreement between the parents, and indicates how each parent will exercise their parental responsibilities and rights in terms of the minor child after a divorce or separation. Such a parenting plan may be reviewed from time to time to be in line with the developmental changes of the child.
A Parenting Plan solves the following issues:
- where and with whom the child will live primarily
- the exercising of contact with the other parent (the alternate residence)
- maintenance for the child
- schooling and upbringing of the minor child.
Simpsons Attorneys
Simpsons Attorneys Inc. was established in 1998 and is a vibrant and dynamic firm of attorneys in Cape Town specialising in personal injury law and family law.
Family law includes divorces, maintenance orders, parenting plans, relocation plans, domestic violence and protection orders. As some of the most talented and specialised attorneys in the Cape Town area, we are proud to consider ourselves as #AttorneysWithHeart – we will always take your personal needs into consideration, alongside your legal journey.
Find us at: www.simpsons.co.za
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