Legal News – MVH Attorneys

Renegotiating After You’ve Signed: The Email That Ended a Property Sale

Sep 24 LawDotNews

After their bond was withdrawn, the buyers were given time to arrange new finance. Instead, one of them emailed the conveyancer saying they would only apply for another bond after the seller repaired an alleged defect or agreed to reduce the price. The seller understood this to mean that the buyers would not proceed on the terms they had already accepted. She cancelled the sale, and the High Court agreed that she was entitled to do so. The buyers lost the sale and the money already paid and faced further financial consequences.

0

Was it Even His Signature? How to Overturn a Fraudulent Will

Sep 24 LawDotNews

It’s unfortunately all too common a tale. Out of the blue, an older person, rendered vulnerable by age or illness, acquires a new “friend”. Before anyone in the family realises what’s going on, their loved one has died, and the fraudster claims to be sole heir in terms of a last-minute will. No surprise then that our courts must often determine whether a deceased person’s last will was tainted by incapacity, undue influence, fraud, or even forgery. The sad tale of a 90-year-old man who left behind two conflicting wills is a good example of how our courts approach these situations.

0

Employ a Foreign National? What You Must Check Now, and What Could Change

Sep 24 LawDotNews

Under the current law, it is already illegal to employ someone who is not legally entitled to work in South Africa. This applies to businesses and to households employing foreign domestic workers, nannies or gardeners. A new Bill proposes additional duties and higher penalties for employers, but these changes are not yet law. Employers should therefore comply with the existing law and remain alert to the proposed changes.

0

Can Your Complex Cut Off Your Biometric Access Over Unpaid Levies?

Sep 24 LawDotNews

Your fingerprint suddenly stops working at the estate gate. You can still get home, but only through the visitors’ lane. Can your homeowners’ association cut off your biometric access because it says you owe levies? A recent High Court judgment says an association cannot use biometric access to enforce an alleged default. The case also confirms that biometric access to your home can be protected as part of your possession of the property.

0

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?

0

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.

0

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.

0

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.

0

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 […]

0

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 […]

0

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

0

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 […]