Beware The Badly Worded Bond Clause! “The terms of the contract are the decisive criterion by which any potential expiry of a deadline has to be determined” (extract from the judgment below) A recent High Court decision provides yet another reminder to have your property sale agreement drawn (or at least checked) by a professional....Read More

Don’t Just Leave Your Loved Ones Assets – Leave Them a Legacy! “A Legacy Letter is a way for you to share your values, life lessons, cherished memories, hopes for your family’s future, and anything else that is really important to you.” Estate planning is key to ensuring that your loved ones are properly catered...Read More

Workplace Harassment: The New Code in a Nutshell “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”...Read More

Property Owners: Your Rates Could Quadruple for Unauthorised Land Use “The said penalty … was imposed due to the fact that the property was being used in contradiction to its zoning” (extract from judgment below) Municipalities all have the right (and the duty) to regulate land use in their areas, and amongst other sanctions, properties...Read More

The National Credit Act What is an arms-length transaction? An arms-length transaction is when there are two parties transacting independent from each other. The Act will apply to an arms-length transaction. Section 4 provides a guideline on where there are exceptions to this rule. What are the limits for the lending of monies? The Act...Read More

“A prodigal is a person who, through some defect of character or will, squanders his or her assets with such abandon that he or she threatens to reduce himself or herself and/or her dependents to destitution” (extract from judgment below) What can you do when someone you know (often but not always an elderly relative...Read More

Exemption Clauses and Thieving Employees: Can You Sue (or Be Sued)? “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...Read More

Don’t Accidentally Disqualify Your Chosen Heirs from Inheriting! “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....Read More

Property Owner and Body Corporate Liable After Child’s Electrocution? A recent High Court decision saw both a sectional title unit owner and his cupboard contractor held liable for damages suffered by an 11-year-old boy electrocuted by a communal tap. The complex’s body corporate and an electrician were also sued but escaped liability. The reasons given...Read More

Debtor Not Paying? Consider a Liquidation Application “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...Read More