How should co-executors of a deceased estate act?
“My mother and I have been appointed as co-executors of my late father’s estate. My mother wants to sell our family home, but I don’t want to. She has however gone ahead and signed a sale agreement without my consent. Can she do this and sell the house without my...
How are maintenance orders granted during a divorce?
The court may grant an order that one party should pay the other party spousal maintenance during and after divorce proceedings. Whether a spouse is entitled to receive spousal maintenance rests in the hands of the court and is regulated by section 7 of the Divorce...
Living in a mixed-use building: What to look out for
ven before the pandemic changed the way we see our home and work environments, with many finding for the first time that these two could be the same place, centrally located accommodation had already been taking the real estate world by storm....
Can I run a business from a residential property?
“I’m looking at buying an old house and renovating such to use as offices for my general medical practice. In the area that I’m looking at there are a number of small businesses also operating from houses. However, I want to make sure I’m allowed to run my practice...
CCTV cameras in the workplace? Allowed or not?
“We have had a spate of thefts in our business over the last few months. Yet none of our employees ever see anything or know anything, which have us thinking that the thefts may be wider than just one or two employees. We are considering installing CCTV cameras to...
SOUTH AFRICA – THE FIRST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO REGISTER A PATENT FOR AN INVENTION MADE BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is a highly controversial topic which is the subject of many conversations worldwide. One such example of AI which has recently become the topic of conversation is the Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience...
Defamation: What are the requirements?
The Bill of Rights as contained in the South African Constitution protects human dignity. Defamation violates a person’s dignity, and more specifically his or her reputation or fama. It thus follows that a person who is defamed must have legal recourse to protect and...
WAIVER OF A RIGHT OR OBLIGATION IMPOSED BY THE TERMS OF A CONTRACT
Background: One often reads a clause along the following lines in agreements: “The suspensive condition is inserted for the sole benefit of Party 1 and may therefore only be waived by Party 1 in writing.” What does it mean when such a clause is included in a contract?...
Posting pictures without Consent – Will it land you in trouble?
Introduction On the 13th July 2021 the Information Regulator of South Africa (the “Regulator”) released a media statement warning the public against the processing of personal information of data subjects without their consent. This came about as photographs of former...
Prescription: Have my debts prescribed?
What is prescription? As a general rule, prescription occurs when a debtor’s liability to pay a specific debt is extinguished as a result of the passing of a prescribed time period. As soon as a debt prescribes, a debtor is no longer under any obligation to pay it. It...