Legal News – MVH Attorneys

National Wills Week: Do You Really Need 6 Types of Will?

Aug 27 LawDotNews

At the heart of your estate planning is your will (“Last Will and Testament”). Without it, you lose your right to choose your heirs, to choose the executor of your estate, and to choose who will look after your children and your family trusts when you die. But there’s lots of online chatter about other types of “will” such as offshore wills, digital wills, business wills, ethical wills and living wills. What are they and do you really need to put them all in place?

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Better Late Than Never: Marriage Law Drags Itself into the 21st Century

Aug 27 MVH Attorneys

For decades, South African law used the husband’s legal home at the time of marriage to decide which country’s law governed a couple’s financial and property rights when they had ties to more than one country. A recent Western Cape High Court judgment declared that rule unconstitutional and introduced a gender-neutral framework for deciding which country’s law applies. Courts elsewhere in the country are not bound by the judgment but are likely to follow it.

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A Pothole Causes You to Crash. Can You Sue the Government?

Aug 27 LawDotNews

In most cases hitting a pothole results in a damaged tyre or wheel. But for one unfortunate motorcyclist who hit a 60cm behemoth near George, it meant losing a leg. The High Court held the Department of Infrastructure liable for his damages, finding that the roads authority had failed to detect, repair or warn road users about a dangerous defect it knew, or should have known, about.

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Can Your Neighbour’s CCTV Camera Point into Your Property?

Aug 27 MVH Attorneys

Home security cameras are increasingly common, but protecting your property does not give you an unrestricted right to monitor your neighbours. A dispute between Cape Town neighbours has clarified where the line may be drawn. The bottom line? CCTV surveillance of a neighbour’s private spaces can infringe their constitutional rights to privacy and dignity.

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Dodgy Deck: When a Property Defect is Your Problem, Not the Seller’s

May 26 LawDotNews

“The buyer needs a hundred eyes, the seller not one.” (George Herbert) A Marina Da Gama property. A collapsed wooden deck. A purchase price of R1.55 million and repair costs claimed of just over R100 000. The facts are not […]

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Estate Planning: The Ambush Tax Lurking in the Wings

May 26 LawDotNews

“I can’t afford to die; I’d lose too much money.” (George Burns, comedian) At the heart of any estate plan lies your will. Pair it with a file containing all the information and documents that your executor and heirs will […]

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Your Property Purchase Collapses: Can You Get Your Deposit Back?

May 26 LawDotNews

“A creature with a big enough head to make a contract should have the sense to make one it can keep.” (Barbara Kingsolver) A R1.725 million deposit. A bank guarantee that never arrived. A property that ultimately sold for significantly […]

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Married Out of Community of Property? You May Still Be Entitled to a Share

May 26 LawDotNews

Couples who sign antenuptial contracts often believe they have permanently settled the question of money in their marriage. What is mine stays mine. What is yours stays yours. Not so fast. The Constitutional Court recently expanded access to redistribution orders for spouses married out of community of property without accrual, particularly where strict enforcement of an antenuptial contract would produce unfair financial consequences at divorce. A 2025 KwaZulu-Natal High Court judgment shows what the redistribution remedy can deliver in practice.

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Bodies Corporate and HOAs: Apply Your Rules With Common Sense, or Else

Apr 28 MVH Attorneys

“Good rules make good neighbours.” (Old proverb, updated) The many benefits of living in a residential complex come, naturally enough, with obligations as well as rights. With its innate potential for conflict between competing rights, community living requires a fine […]

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Bad Manager or Workplace Bully? Where the Law Draws the Line

Apr 28 MVH Attorneys

“To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.” (Elbert Hubbard) An unpleasant boss. A strained working relationship. A manager whose style leaves much to be desired. Sound familiar? For many employees, the line between a miserable workplace and an […]

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The Transfer Process – Diagram

Feb 04 MVH Attorneys Property Law & Conveyancing

Ever wondered how the property transfer process works? Have a look at the document below for a quick and easy summary of this process. Feel free to contact us should you have any further questions

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THE IMPORTANCE ON THE ANTENUPTIAL CONTRACT (ANC)

Feb 04 MVH Attorneys ANTENUPTIAL CONTRACT marriage contract NOTARY NOTARY SERVICES PRENUP

Why bother with an ANC? After all, you and your future spouse are going to be together forever right?… or perhaps with all the wedding preparation, the ANC has not even crossed your mind. In South Africa the law provides […]