Suing a Debtor – Make Sure Your Victory Isn’t a Hollow One
“Pyrrhic victory”, n. A very costly victory, wherein the considerable losses outweigh the gain, so as to render the struggle not worth the cost (Wiktionary) With our economic woes unlikely to abate any time soon, expect an increasing number of your debtors to find...
Your Website of the Month: A Month-by-Month Personal Financial Planner for 2021
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” (Benjamin Franklin) We have all been battered by the economic fallout from the lockdowns. Now more than ever before we should pro-actively take control of and manage our finances through the crisis. A personal financial...
Is Your Will Valid?
“Death knocks at all doors alike” (John Dunton 1692) Sooner or later we must leave our families to face life without us, and of course these are particularly dangerous times for us all. Make sure that your own affairs are in order now – A valid will is the only sure...
Don’t Fall Victim to a Ponzi Scheme in 2021!
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” (wise old adage) 2021 could well be a bumper year for Ponzi schemes (and their equally evil cousins, pyramid schemes). They flourish in all countries and at all times, but with our pandemic-related economic woes and...
Building a Home in 2021: The Dangers of Not Being NHBRC Compliant
“Home, Sweet Home” 2021 is shaping up to be a busy year for both property sales and home builders, thanks in no small measure to the pandemic-induced concept of “work from home, live anywhere”. If you are one of the many landowners about to invite a team of...
Workplace Bullying – Can You Claim Constructive Dismissal?
“…it has been suggested that bullying refers to any unfavourable or offensive conduct on the part of a person or persons, which has the effect of creating a hostile workplace environment… In these terms, bullying includes a wide range of insulting, demeaning or...
Life Partners – You Still Need a Will and a Cohabitation Agreement!
A recent High Court decision has been widely viewed as an important victory for the rights of unmarried opposite-sex life partners. Until now, if one such partner died intestate (without making a will), the other could not inherit on the same basis as could a married...
Your Website of the Month: Starting a Business in 2021
Whether 2020’s lockdown gave you a great idea for a new business, put you out of a job, or killed your old business, 2021 may well be a year full of new opportunities. If the excitement and rewards of entrepreneurial life appeal to you, have a look at “Starting a...
Before You Buy or Sell Property this Festive Season…
“Who acts in haste repents at leisure” (Aesop) Our Festive Season is always a busy time for property sales, and this year should be no different - pent up demand, increased affordability, relocations, record low interest rates and availability of bonds are all factors...
What Must You Prove to Remove a Trustee?
“…where there is disharmony, the essential test is whether it imperils the Trust estate or its proper administration” (extract from judgment below) Trustees are of course supposed to work together to protect and further the interests of their trust and its...
Grandparents – When Must You Pay Maintenance?
“An inability on the part of the parents to maintain a child must be established before a grandparent will be legally liable to do so” (extract from judgment below) One wonders how many grandparents are aware of (let alone plan for) the possibility that they may have...
Cannabis in the Workplace: Can You Dismiss?
A recent CCMA (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration) ruling, in which an employee’s dismissal for smoking cannabis before work was set aside and he was re-instated, has garnered a lot of media attention. Unfortunately, some of the resultant articles...