The short answer You can lodge a complaint with the Legal Practice Council and lay criminal charges with the police. The whole question Dear Athalie I tried to buy a plot in Cape Town for R200,000. The lawyer who was managing the sale process told me to deposit R100,000 to the seller and the other R100,000 to the lawyer's trust account. I didn't...

The short answer The divorce order, which is binding on both parties, does not in itself vest ownership in the other spouse, although it does create the right to enforce transfer. The whole question Dear Athalie My ex-wife, with whom I was married in community of property, refuses to sign off on her share of the house for which there was a joint bond,...

Legal Resources Centre says these delays are “incredibly worrying” By Bernard Chiguvare Refugees living in Limpopo say they have not been able to renew their status for a number of years at the Department of Home Affairs. As a result they cannot get social grants for their children. The Legal Resources Centre says people not being able to renew permits at...

Ruling on the display of the flag in private homes to be determined at another hearing, if brought before a court By Tania Broughton The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ruled that displaying the old South African flag is hate speech, unfair discrimination on the basis of race, and harassment, upholding an Equality Court ruling. The SCA however amended the...

The short answer If your parents were married in community of property, which is likely, then the RDP house belongs to them both, jointly. The whole question Dear Athalie My late father drew up a will that leaves his RDP house to me and two of my siblings in the event of his death, but we want to transfer the deed from his name to...

A new means test and bank verification process has resulted in far fewer people getting the grant By Liezl Human The R350 Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant should be increased to R413 in line with inflation, say the Institute for Economic Justice and the the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa. The organisations noted with concern that the only aspect...

The short answer If your injury happened less than two years ago, your injury on duty case should still be open. The whole question Dear Athalie I was injured on duty, but now I have been retrenched because I cannot do my work properly. The doctor says I may have to use crutches or a wheelchair. Can I reopen my worker's compensation case? The long answer An injury...

The short answer Yes, both partners in a civil union can choose what surnames they will be known by. The long answer The Civil Union Register allows both spouses to choose the surnames by which they will be referred after their marriage, and Part E of the Civil Union Register allows them to indicate the surnames they wish to be recorded in...

Jason Brickhill, director of litigation at SERI, remembers how Equal Education and the Legal Resources Centre built the school infrastructure norms and standards case By Matthew Hirsch Jason Brickhill, director of litigation at SERI and keynote speaker at the first Yoliswa Dwane Public Lecture, remembered how the case for school infrastructure norms and standards was built. “It is a profoundly important...

Children are far behind in learning to read and it is getting worse By James Stent Basic literacy among children in South Africa has declined, a new report from the 2030 Reading Panel has found. Most children leave grade one without knowing the alphabet, while 82% of grade 4 children cannot read for meaning. Only the Western Cape and Gauteng are...