“A court shall not authorise execution against immovable property which is the primary residence of a judgment debtor unless the court having considered all relevant factors, considers that execution against such property is warranted” (High Court Rules) Selling a house in execution is not as simple as getting judgment and sending the Sheriff of the [...]
“… for the benefit of immunity from liability for its debts, those running the corporation may not use its formal identity to incur obligations recklessly, grossly negligently or fraudulently. If they do, they risk being made personally liable.” (Quoted in the judgment below) Particularly in hard times, it is not at all uncommon to find [...]
“The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” (Spaghetti Western, 1966) A common myth – one that can get you into a whole lot of trouble if you aren’t alive to it - is that verbal contracts are not legally enforceable in South Africa. The opposite is true. With very few exceptions, our law will hold [...]
“Love is grand. Divorce is a hundred grand.” (Anon) Trusts may be formed for a variety of reasons, and the purpose and structure of each trust will inform the choice of trustees. When it comes to families aiming to preserve and protect family assets for future generations, often both spouses are appointed not only as [...]
“Taxpayer: One who doesn’t have to pass a civil service exam to work for the government” (Anonymous) “Tax Freedom Day” is the first day of the year on which we South Africans (we’re talking about the “average” taxpayer here) have finally earned enough to pay off SARS and to start working for ourselves. This year [...]
“Signs of the "Great Resignation" are rippling across South Africa” (Business Insider report, 22 April 2022) The global pandemic-induced “Great Resignation” trend is upon us, and both employers and employees need to be aware of how our law views the whole question of employee resignation. A recent Labour Court decision gives some valuable guidance - [...]
“The criterion that harassment involves unwanted conduct distinguishes acts of harassment from acceptable conduct in the workplace” (extract from the Code, emphasis added) With effect from 18 March 2022, a new “Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the Workplace” came into effect. Every employer and employee should know about it. The [...]
"Where one of the parties wishes to be absolved either wholly or partially from an obligation or liability which would or could arise at common law under a contract of the kind which the parties intend to conclude, it is for that party to ensure that the extent to which he, she or it is [...]
“Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” (Ambrose Bierce) Your will (“Last Will and Testament”) will always be the keystone of your estate planning, and a recent High Court decision sounds yet another warning to beware the “do your own will” concept. By not having his will drawn by a [...]
"When debtors once have borrowed all we have to lend, they are very apt to grow shy of their creditors' company" (John Vanbrugh) Bad debt is a major issue for many businesses in these hard economic times – not taking robust steps to collect it could be fatal to your own financial position. So if [...]
