The termination of a marriage can be an emotional, difficult and stressful time, as well as a legally complex process. If you need help with a divorce, our seasoned team of divorce lawyers is here to handle your matter with the utmost respect and sensitivity, guiding you every step of the way, and ensuring a fair resolution that enables both parties to ultimately go on to the next chapter of their lives.
Divorce falls into two categories, namely uncontested or unopposed divorce, and contested or opposed divorce.
Uncontested/unopposed divorce
The most preferable and least expensive way of getting divorced is that of uncontested divorce. In the case of uncontested or unopposed divorce, the spouses come to an agreement about the terms of the divorce by consulting with our divorce lawyers. The aim is for you both to work together to agree on issues such as child arrangements as well as how your assets will be divided. The next step is for a settlement agreement to be drafted and a parenting plan too, where the couple has children. Only one party appears in court to obtain a decree of divorce incorporating the terms of the settlement agreement reached between the parties, with there being no formal trial.
Contested/opposed divorce
A divorce is contested or opposed, where the parties are unable to come to an agreement about the division of their assets, spousal maintenance, and when in the case of minor children, there is disagreement about the awarding of primary care and child maintenance. In this case the court will usually make a decision about the issues in dispute.
To institute a divorce action, the defendant must be personally served with a summons.
The various steps are as follows:
One could expect an uncontested divorce to take about 6 to 8 weeks and a contested divorce anything from between three months and three years, sometimes 4, if the matter is dealt with in the High Court.
It is the right of either party to get divorced and it is a court of law that will decide if there are grounds for divorce. According to South African law, grounds for divorce is the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
An irretrievable breakdown of the marriage is where the court deems the marriage relationship to have broken down to such an extent that there is no reasonable prospect of the marriage relationship being restored. In such a case a decree of divorce will be granted by the court on the grounds of an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
Where deemed necessary we provide comprehensive assistance by engaging the services of various experts, such as accountants, forensic auditors, clinical and industrial psychologists, private investigators, property valuers, receivers and liquidators.