Think before you sign: 5 things to consider before signing a contract
The simple definition of a contract is where an offer by one party is accepted by the other party. These parties are the contracting parties. There will be no agreement between the parties if there is a counteroffer to an offer. However, if a counteroffer is accepted, there is an agreement or consensus between the […]
Antenuptial contracts are an important investment
Nearly 24 000 divorce forms were submitted in 2019 and divorce rates decreased year-on-year since 2017, Stats SA revealed in its latest report on marriages and divorces released in 2021. The numbers further illustrate a decrease in marriages, with the age of those getting married for the first time increasing. South Africa’s divorce rate is […]
Why co-executors of a will can’t act independently
A mother and an adult child were appointed as the co-executors of their late husband/father’s estate. One co-executor, who wanted to sell their family home, signed a sale agreement without the consent of the other. However, the sale agreement of their family home will not be valid. Where an immovable property has been acquired by […]
Is it possible to avoid bond cancellation costs?
When you cancel your mortgage bond, most banks will contractually charge you a cancellation fee. Such fees can be for early termination of the bond or for giving less than 90 days’ notice of your intention to cancel, but is there a way to avoid these costs? Unless your mortgage agreement is silent on the […]
My business is in financial distress – what are my options?
South Africa’s triple threat of load-shedding and the dramatic increases in fuel along with inflation have left many of the country’s small and medium enterprises in dire straits at a defining crossroads: do they continue trading and hope that things will improve, whilst risking incurring further debts, or do they cut their losses and give […]
Does liquidation automatically lead to terminating the business’s lease?
A landlord who has multiple commercial properties, which are rented out to businesses, has one longstanding tenant who is going under financially and has two years left on the rental agreement. Is the law cut and dry, allowing the landlord to terminate the tenant’s lease if the business becomes insolvent? In general, rental agreements will […]
Remission of rent in the case of sub-leases
With the onset of the Covid pandemic, commercial rental properties saw a staggering increase in remission claims of lessees who could no longer actively enjoy the use of their rental spaces. But can a lessee claim for remission if it was a sub-lessee that was deprived of their property use? In a recent Western Cape […]
The importance of good corporate governance
There was a time when a business’s sole objective was to turn a profit at the end of the day. That’s not the case anymore. Today, a business’s responsibility to its employees and the community is as important as its annual turnover. That responsibility begins with corporate governance. From technological developments, climate change, societal demands […]
Recovering arrear maintenance: How far is too far?
In a recent judgement of the Johannesburg High Court, the court proved that it was willing to go to extreme lengths to help recover maintenance that had fallen in arrears. The applicant in the case was a mother of two minor children who brought an urgent application against the father for maintenance that had been […]
Can levies in arrears simply be written off?
Even as a sense of normalcy is returning to our lives, homeowners and body corporates are still coming face to face with the continued effects of the pandemic. With financial strain continuing to darken the lives of many homeowners, the question becomes is it legal to allow leniency in the payment of levies. As the […]