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Property Buyers: The Danger of Not Doing Your Financial Homework
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You sell a property but when it comes to the crunch the buyer can’t pay the required deposit. You have to cancel the sale and can only resell at a lower price and by paying an estate agent to help you. Can you claim damages to cover all your losses from the defaulting buyer?
Or perhaps you are on the other side of the coin, a buyer about to sign a sale agreement. How certain should you be that you can meet all the obligations you are committing yourself to, and what happens if you breach the agreement?
A recent High Court decision, in which a defaulting buyer not only lost her property but is now down some R280k plus some serious legal costs, provides key lessons for both buyers and sellers.
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Understanding Your Legal Obligations as an Employer of Domestic Workers
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Domestic workers play a crucial role in many of our households, helping us in the home with various tasks such as cleaning, gardening, cooking, childcare and the like.
As an employer of a domestic worker, be aware of your legal obligations to ensure a fair and lawful working relationship. Our courts are not lenient with employers who act unfairly or in contravention of our employment and labour laws!
In this article, we’ll discuss who falls into the definition of “domestic worker”, then outline some of the key requirements you must adhere to, explaining them in simple, practical terms without overwhelming legal jargon.
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Maintenance Claims and Life Partners
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Couples in permanent life partnerships should take note of a recent High Court decision refusing a partner’s claim for personal interim maintenance after a relationship came to an end. The Court held amongst other things that a “permanent romantic relationship” is not the same as a permanent life partnership in which the partners had agreed to support each other.
The ex-partner must now prove such an agreement (or hope for a change in the law creating an automatic duty of support in such a case). That’s a clear reminder to couples that entering into a cohabitation agreement – as soon as your relationship becomes a permanent one – is the only safe course of action. We’ll explain, and we’ll share some ideas on what should be in your agreement. We end with a reminder to make sure you also have valid wills in place.
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Ponzi Schemes: Another MTI Judgment, Risks and Red Flags
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It’s easy to fall for a ponzi or pyramid scheme. Victims around the world include people from every demographic and walk of life, from captains of industry to desperate pensioners to “Joe and Mary Average”. The fraudsters are skilled at painting a picture of legality, genuine and sustainable business models, security of investment, and huge profits. It’s only when the whole scheme collapses (inevitable if it’s a pyramid), that it dawns on investors that they’ve probably lost everything. Then liquidators come knocking, demanding repayments and disallowing claims.
The latest round in the MTI saga, in which the High Court declared MTI’s business model an “illegal and unlawful scheme”, provides yet another warning to avoid anything “too good to be true” …
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Legal Speak Made Easy
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“Amicus Curiae”
Literally meaning “Friend of the Court”, this is an impartial person or organisation allowed by a court to help it by providing information, expertise or insight (legal or factual) into issues before the court in a particular case.
These issues would normally be of a public interest nature, such as human rights or constitutional questions in which the court is likely to be assisted in determining the matter by being offered a broader view and more comprehensive information or insight than would usually be provided by the actual parties to the case.
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