About our Family Law & Private Law
At Ebersohns, we understand that family law matters are deeply personal, sensitive, and often emotional. Navigating these complex areas requires not only expertise but also empathy and understanding. Our Family Law attorneys are deeply committed to providing our clients with tailored legal solutions that protect and advance their interests and ensure the best possible outcome for their loved ones and families. With over 40 years of combined experience in Family Law and Private Law practice, we are proud to be a trusted name in the industry, providing clients with expert guidance through some of life’s most challenging moments.
The First Choice in Family Law & Private Law Matters
When it comes to family and private law, we are the first choice for individuals who require clear, compassionate and practical legal advice. Our reputation is built on our ability to handle sensitive matters with discretion and professionalism, ensuring our clients’ needs are met with the utmost care.
Our firm is well-respected in the legal industry, not only for our legal expertise but also for the strong relationships we have cultivated with social workers, child psychologists, financial experts, and other professionals. These relationships allow us to offer well-rounded, informed advice and to ensure the best possible outcomes for our clients.
Our Family Law and Private Law Team
From complex divorces to relocation and child custody cases, our attorneys have the depth of knowledge and skill to navigate the most complicated legal issues. Our long-standing presence in the field has earned us a reputation for excellence and reliability, and we pride ourselves on providing clients with the results they deserve.
What sets us apart from our colleagues is our keen understanding of the nuances of family and private law, along with our ability to handle cases with the sensitivity and finesses they deserve.
We understand the emotional and practical challenges our clients face, and we work tirelessly to offer legal strategies that prioritise their best interests and expediate the finalisation of their matters. Whether it’s a divorce, adoption, surrogacy, or any other private law matter, we ensure our clients receive the support they need throughout the legal process.
Enquire Today
Enquire today about our Family & Private Law
Divorce
Divorce is one of the most emotionally taxing events in a person’s life. We understand the intricacies of divorce law and provide expert guidance to help our clients navigate the legal process. Whether it’s an amicable divorce or a contested matter, we work diligently to protect our client’s interests, whether it involves children, property, or financial settlements.
Contested and Uncontested Divorce
We handle both contested and uncontested divorce proceedings, ensuring that each step is managed efficiently and with the appropriate legal strategy.
Divorce Mediation
We offer mediation services for clients seeking to resolve their divorce matters amicably. Our experienced team help parties reach fair agreements without the need for lengthy court battles.
Property Division
We assist in the fair division of assets, including the negotiation of property settlements, taking into account the terms of ante – nuptial agreements, contributions, and other relevant factors.
Spousal & Child Maintenance
We provide legal support in matters of spousal and child maintenance, ensuring that clients and their children receive fair financial support in accordance with their rights.
Contact and Support
We guide our clients through contact (child custody) disputes, ensuring that arrangements are always made in the best interests of the child.
Adoption
Adopting a child is one of the most fulfilling experiences in life, but it also requires a legal process that ensures the child’s rights are protected. We guide adoptive parents through each step of the adoption process, ensuring compliance with all legal requirements and offering expert advice throughout.
Domestic Adoption
We assist with the legal process of adopting a child within South Africa, ensuring that the adoption complies with the Children’s Act and other relevant regulations.
International Adoption
We offer guidance for families seeking to adopt children from abroad, managing the complex legal and regulatory frameworks involved in international adoption.
Step-Parent Adoption
We assist step-parents in adopting their partner’s children, facilitating a smooth process and ensuring that all necessary legal steps are taken.
Adoption Disputes
In cases of contested adoptions or disputes, we represent clients and help resolve issues in a way that observes, protects and advances the child’s best interests.
Surrogacy
Surrogacy can be an immensely rewarding path for families, but it also requires careful legal planning. Our team is experienced in surrogacy agreements and the legalities surrounding the process, including the protection of both intended parents and the surrogate.
Surrogacy Agreements
We draft and negotiate surrogacy agreements to protect the legal rights of all parties involved, ensuring clarity on parental rights and responsibilities.
Parental Orders
We assist intended parents in securing parental orders, ensuring that the legal process aligns with the best interests of the child.
Dispute Resolution
In the event of conflicts or disagreements during the surrogacy process, we provide expert legal support to resolve issues in a fair and legally sound manner.
Child Custody and Parenting Plans
Child custody and parenting plans are central to family law disputes, especially in divorce proceedings. Our attorneys are dedicated to helping parents come to fair, child-focused custody arrangements.
Custody Disputes
We represent parents in custody disputes, advocating for the best interests of the child while ensuring fair access and parental rights.
Parenting Plans
We assist parents in creating comprehensive parenting plans that outline care and contact arrangements, maintenance obligations and decision-making processes.
Wills
Nobody likes to contemplate their own death but still more painful is the thought of causing their loved ones further suffering during such a difficult time. This is where we come in. At Ebersöhns Attorneys, we know that the best thing that one can leave your loved ones is a well drafted Will.
The Need For A Will
A Will is a written, legal document in which a person, referred to as the testator/testatrix, stipulates how they wish their estate to be handled and distributed after their death. Note that your estate is made up of your assets (such as property, money, vehicles, furniture etc) and your liabilities (any debts and liabilities).
A Will is an important tool for everybody no matter how big or small their estate is. The complexity of the Will is determined by the person’s assets and liabilities, whether minor children are involved, any business interests held and whether estate duty falls due for payment or not.
In your Will you will be able deal with the following issues:
- Nominating a guardian for any minor children
- Dividing your assets and thereby ensuring that your surviving spouse and your children are taken care of. You can, for example, create a trust in your Will, nominate those persons whom you trust to be the trustees of the said trust, which trustees will then take care of your children, utilising the assets / monies in the trust, according to the minor children’s needs
- Nominating an executor for your estate
- Preferences regarding your burial/cremation.
It is also important to revisit one’s Will every few years, as one’s circumstances may have changed since the Will was prepared. Therefore, an updated Will is essential.
Intestate Succession
Should a person die without leaving a legally valid Will, their assets and property will be distributed in terms of the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987. This Act sets out certain prescribed beneficiaries – the legal spouse, children (including illegitimate children) and blood relatives – who will inherit from the deceased estate in prescribed proportions according to a prescribed process. The deceased’s wishes are not taken into consideration at all.
Therefore, the said Act takes away any choices that you may have had in the distribution of your estate. Hence, why it is so important to have a properly drafted Will.
Compassionate Guidance Through Life’s Most Challenging Times
If you are facing a family law matter or a private law issue, Ebersohns is here to provide the expert legal counsel and support you need. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and take the first step toward resolving your legal matters with confidence and care.
Our Strategic Advantage
Over 40 Years of Combined Experience
Our team brings more than 40 years of combined experience in family and private law, handling everything from straightforward divorce matters to complex surrogacy and adoption cases.
Respected Industry Reputation
We are well-respected in the industry for our legal expertise, professionalism, and commitment to protecting our clients’ rights.
Expert Support and Network
We collaborate with the best social workers, psychologists, and other experts in the field, ensuring that our clients receive the most comprehensive support possible.
Tailored Legal Solutions
We understand that each family law matter is unique, and we tailor our legal services to meet the specific needs and goals of our clients.
Learn About Divorce and Family Law
Divorce may be one of the most painful and stressful times a person will experience as it may uproot their entire life and cause great emotional turmoil and distress. Divorce proceedings affect all members of the family and may have a profound impact on their physical, physiological, mental, emotional and financial well being.
We are committed to minimizing the emotional and financial stress of divorce on all members of the family. We pride ourselves on ensuring that the divorce proceedings are handled as cost effectively and expeditiously as possible, so you can get on with building a better future.
Our dedicated team of attorneys will assist you every step of the way, not only advising you of your rights and explaining the procedure but ensuring that you are informed on the progress of your matter every step of the way.
There are three distinct types of divorces in South Africa:
TYPE 1: UNCONTESTED DIVORCE
The uncontested divorce is the quickest and most inexpensive type of divorce. It requires both spouses agreeing that they want a divorce and working together to agree on the terms of such divorce, such as maintenance, the division of assets, primary residence and care of the children.
Read more
The spouses may elect to consult with and appoint an impartial attorney to manage their interests and draft the official settlement agreement on their behalf. This settlement agreement embodies the terms agreed to between the spouses and is signed by both of them. The signed settlement agreement is then made an order of court.
Uncontested divorce proceedings may be finalized in a matter of weeks.
TYPE 2: MEDIATED DIVORCE
Mediated divorces are costlier and take longer to finalise than uncontested divorces. This type of divorce may also subject spouses and family members to higher levels of emotional distress, particularly in instances where one of the spouses does not want to divorce.
Read more
This type of divorce essentially entails that spouses who are unable to agree to the terms of a divorce settlement employ the services of an attorney and/or professional mediator to help them negotiate and conclude such an agreement on terms which are satisfactory to them both.
The aim of the mediation is to assist the spouses in setting aside their short-term differences and focus on reaching a reasonable and amicable settlement that will allow them to move on with their lives and build a better future.
Once the parties have successfully mediated the dispute, their attorney or attorneys can draft the official settlement agreement, which is signed by both spouses and then made an order of the court.
Mediation may drastically reduce the cost associated with contested divorce proceedings and may be finalised in a matter of a few months.
TYPE 3: CONTESTED DIVORCE
Contested divorces are the least favourable of the three types of divorce. These divorces may, in some instances, take years to finalise and may cause significant emotional and financial harm to all family members.
Read more
Contested divorces occur when spouses cannot agree on the terms and conditions of their divorce. The most common disagreements relate to maintenance, division of assets and child care. In some instances, one or both spouses refuse to settle for emotional reasons.
In a contested divorce both spouses would need to appear in court several times in order to allow the court to determine the terms of their divorce.
This can result in very high legal costs, severe emotional trauma and may take three years or longer to finalise.
Interim Maintenance
As mentioned above, contested divorces may take some time to finalise. In some instances, divorce proceedings may even stretch over a number of years, depending on the complexity of the matter. In many cases parties need to obtain urgent relief from the Court regarding certain aspects of the divorce, which cannot wait until the trial. Rule 43 applications were specifically designed to deal with these cases.
Rule 43 Applications
Rule 43 of the High Court Rules makes provision for a process whereby a party to divorce proceedings may approach the Court on a fairly urgent basis to obtain interim relief pending the finalisation of the divorce proceedings. The said application deals with the following aspects, namely:
- maintenance for one of the parties pending the finalisation of the divorce;
- maintenance for the children pending the finalisation of the divorce proceedings;
- interim custody of the children;
- interim contact and rights to access in respect of the children;
- a contribution towards the legal costs of one of the parties to the divorce proceedings.
Whatever path your divorce takes, our dedicated team of attorneys will be at your side to support and guide you through the process as painlessly as possible.
Cohabitation Agreements
One of the most common myths about cohabiting or living together is that the parties enjoy similar benefits and/or responsibilities to a married couple. This is simply not the case, irrespective of how long the parties have been living together.
Unfortunately, despite the increasing numbers of couples choosing to live together, South African law does not recognise cohabitation as a legal relationship. Therefore, there is no law regulating the rights and duties of cohabiting parties. It thus falls to the parties in such a relationship to do so themselves. One of the best ways to do this is to enter into a cohabitation agreement.
A cohabitation agreement is a contract entered into between the two parties either living together or looking to start living together which sets out their rights and obligations during their relationship and regulates the financial and other consequences should the relationship end, either due to the parties breaking up or one party dying.
General topics that the parties will cover by means of such an agreement are:
- who pays the rent;
- who pays for the household expenses;
- the one party does not have a claim to the other’s party’s property (i.e. what is mine is mine);
- whether the parties have a duty to maintain each other; and
- what happens in the event that parties no longer want to live together, and more specifically what happens to the property that they jointly purchased.
Where parties cohabitate, there is no reciprocal duty of support between them as there is between married spouses. Should one party have maintained the other, they will not be able to claim back that money when the relationship ends. There is also no enforceable right to claim maintenance from the other, either during or after the relationship.
The parties must also bear in mind that cohabiting parties do not have any right to any assets in the other party’s deceased estate if that party were to pass away without leaving a Will. They will not be automatically regarded as an heir or dependant, as a married spouse would be. Indeed, the Intestate Succession Act, 1987, clearly sets out that the beneficiaries are, in the first instance, a spouse or descendants or both. In the event of there being no spouse or descendants, the estate devolves upon other more distant family members. The only way for a party to ensure that his / her estate is distributed to the cohabiting party, as he / she wishes, is to make specific provision for this in his / her Will. It is therefore very important to have an up to date Will.
Obviously, the contents and nature of the cohabitation agreement will very much depend on the parties’ particular circumstances and needs. We will help you to prepare this agreement, clearly setting out all the necessary provisions and ensuring that it is fair to both parties. We view this work as an investment in our future relationship with you and your partner.
If properly drafted and formalised, this agreement will provide peace of mind to the parties and grant them substantial protection. Although it is not enforceable against third parties, a properly drafted agreement will be legally binding on the two cohabiting parties.
Domestic Violence
Sadly, South Africa has one of the highest incidences of domestic violence in the world. We at Ebersöhns Attorneys are here to help.
THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT 116 of 1998
The Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 (the Act) was promulgated in 1998 to deal with domestic violence in South Africa and gives us the necessary tools to help you out of this awful situation.
The aim of the Act is to provide people who are experiencing domestic violence with the maximum protection of the law. This is done by creating various legal consequences for domestic abuse and obliging law enforcement bodies, such as the South African Police Service, to protect victims as far as possible. The Act also provides for the obtaining of protection orders by victims of domestic violence.
The Act further stipulates that this protection is extended to men, women or children who find themselves in a domestic violence situation. Anybody may be a victim of domestic violence. All the Act requires is that the victim is in a domestic relationship with the abuser. A domestic relationship is very widely defined as a relationship between the victim and the abuser, be it through marriage, cohabiting or dating, or even just living in the same home, whether as family members or simply residents in the same premises. That is, the abuser can be anyone that you currently or previously live or lived with and includes family members, intimate partners and others.
The definition of domestic violence is also very wide and includes abusive behaviour in the following forms:
- physical abuse
Any act or threat of physical violence which may cause physical pain, injury, suffering or bodily harm. It includes behaviour such as depriving the victim of sleep, forcing them to engage in drug/alcohol use and even refusing them access to medical care when needed. It also includes inflicting physical injury onto other targets, such as children or pets, in order to cause psychological harm to the victim. - sexual abuse
Any conduct that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the sexual integrity of the victim, including but not limited to rape and marital rape. - emotional, verbal and psychological abuse
Degrading or humiliating conduct towards the victim privately or publicly, including insults, ridicule and displaying obsessive possessiveness or jealousy. It also includes controlling the victim, isolating the victim from friends and family and denying the victim access to money or other basic necessities. It even covers conflicting actions or statements that are designed to confuse and create insecurity in the victim so that they come to doubt themselves and even believe that the abuse is their fault. - economic abuse
The unreasonable limitation or deprivation of financial resources to which the victim is entitled under law or requires out of necessity and/or the unreasonable disposal of household effects or other property in which the victim has an interest. This is done to prevent the victim from being financially independent, forcing them to depend on the abuser financially. - intimidation
Uttering or conveying a threat, or causing a victim to receive a threat, which induces fear. The abuser may use a variety of intimidation tactics include smashing things in front of the victim, destroying property, hurting the victim’s pets or showing off a weapon. - harassment
Engaging in a pattern of conduct that induces a fear of harm in the victim, including repeatedly watching, calling or sending letters or objects to the victim and even loitering near their home or place of work. - stalking
A long-term pattern of persistent contact with, or attempts to contact, the victim, whether through direct communication or indirectly, via technology. - damage to property
Wilful damage to, or destruction of, the victim’s property or anything that the victim values. - entry into property
Entry into the victim’s home without consent (where the parties no longer live together). - any other controlling or abusive behaviour
Any conduct that harms, or may cause imminent harm to, the safety, health or wellbeing of the victim, including any threats against a victim’s children.
Protection Order
A protection order is also known as a restraining order or domestic violence interdict. It is a court order issued at the victim’s request ordering an abuser to stop the abuse. It applies whether they commit the abusive act themselves or even get someone to help them to commit such acts.
The protection order may also set certain conditions aimed at preventing the abuser from harassing or abusing the victim again. For example, it may prevent economic abuse by ensuring that the abuser continues to pay rent or interim maintenance.
If the abuser disobeys a protection order, whether interim or final, the Act makes it clear that the South African Police Service must come to the victim’s assistance. The South African police will arrest the abuser as he / she is contravening a court order. Furthermore, the police will also accompany the victim to his / her home to remove his / her personal items.
