Maintenance Archives - Ashersons Attorneys

31 Oct 2018

When is a Debtor “Insolvent”? A Case of Arrear Maintenance Illustrates

If you are owed maintenance you have a variety of enforcement options open to you and should ask your lawyer for advice on which is the best for your particular claim and circumstances. A recent High Court judgment of V v V (7833/2016) [2018] ZAGPPHC 505 confirms that one of the weapons in your legal armoury is the sequestration application. And as the defaulter’s desperate attempt to avoid sequestration in this particular case illustrates, even just the threat of sequestration can be a powerful motivator to settle up, regardless of whether your claim is based on maintenance arrears or on any…

Child Maintenance in Arrears? The Contempt of Court Enforcement Option

Our law, in protecting the interests of children in particular, provides you with an array of options when it comes to enforcing payment of maintenance orders. One of them is to ask the court to jail the defaulter for “contempt of court”. The idea of course is that the threat of a stint behind bars is likely to extract payment out of even the wiliest of maintenance dodgers. How does it work and what must you prove? A High Court case Deenanath v Deenanath and Others (11852/2015) [2016] ZAKZDHC 44 illustrates - “Pay up or go to prison” – what you…

In the Wings – New ways to chase Maintenance Defaulters

The latest amendments to the Maintenance Act, which was adopted on the 9th of September, will have maintenance defaulters clutching at straws. The amendment is aimed at making it easier to enforce payment of arrear debts. Of particular significance is the provision which allows defaulters to be registered with credit bureaus, which essentially prevents them from obtaining further credit until the outstanding amount has been settled. In spite of the fact it has yet be gazetted, the amendments have been welcomed with open arms and can be seen as a victory for society as a whole (unless you’re a maintenance…