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Chapter 8 - Family Law and Violence against Women

Checklists

Marriage

• Were you married in a church or magistrate's office?
• Or were you married according to customary law?
• Did you sign an ante-nuptial contract with your partner before you got married?
• What was the date of your marriage?

Divorce

• Do you want to separate from your partner or do you want to divorce your partner?
• What are your reasons for wanting a divorce?
• Do you have any children with your partner?
• Does your partner agree to the divorce?
• Can you afford to pay for an attorney to deal with your divorce?
• Do you want to apply for Legal Aid to pay for an attorney?

See Applying for Legal Aid

• Has your husband treated you or your children cruelly or violently while you were married?
• If the children are being maltreated, have you reported the case to Child Welfare or the police?
• Does the father pay any maintenance for the children?

Maintenance

• When were you married?
• Are you living together or apart?
• How many children do you have?
• Where does the father of the children live, and where does he work?
• Have you applied for maintenance to the maintenance court?
• Have you worked out what your living expenses are?

Monthly expenses

Child abuse and neglect

• Has the problem of neglect been referred to the nearest Child Welfare Society?
• Has the problem of abuse been referred to the nearest Child Welfare Society, a social worker or the police?
• Have you applied for a Protection Order under the Domestic Violence Act?

Rape and indecent assault

• Have you been to a doctor for a medical check-up?
• Do you know the name of the person who raped or assaulted you?
• Where does the person live (his address)?
• Have you laid a charge against the person at the police station?
• Have you reported the case to any welfare organisation, for example, Rape Crisis, church welfare organisation, or social work agency?

Monthly expenses

The following section shows you how to draw up a list of expenses when you apply for maintenance. When you are getting ready to go for maintenance from the father of your child or children, you should make a list of what you spend every month. Here is an example of a list as it should be set out for the court enquiry. [The explanation parts in brackets are just there so you can see what goes onto the list and why.]This is a maintenance claim by Ruby Brown to get money from Jack Mhlope for her daughter, Thandi, who is 11 years old. Ruby has 3 other children who are not Jack's children, and her mother lives with them.

APPLICATION FOR MAINTENANCE: CASE NUMBER 276/99

APPLICANT: RUBY BROWN

DEFENDANT: JACK MHLOPE

[Ruby is applying for maintenance so she is called the APPLICANT. Jack is the person from whom she wants the money so he is called the DEFENDANT.]

INCOME PER MONTH:

[This is where Ruby puts down all the money she gets every month. Ruby should put it all down. It doesn't matter where it comes from as long as it isn't money she gets from doing something illegal, like selling dagga or drink or from illegal sex work. It is also a good idea to explain in your list of income and expenses why or how you get that amount.]]

25 hours a week at R15 an hour (R375 per week x 4.3 = R1612.50 per month)[Amounts should be given per month. To calculate a monthly amount multiply the weekly amount by 4.3]

Rent for room from boarder

Income from sale of soft goods (R72 per week x 4.3)

Paid monthly by K Cupido for Daniel

EXPENDITURE PER MONTH:

[Ruby must show how much she spends on Thandi every month. The Maintenance Court will not make Jack pay half of all her expenses which include expenses for children that are not his and her mother.]

R300 per month (R300 divided by 6 = R50)[6 people live in the house (Ruby, mother, Thandi,3 other brothers and sisters). A share for each of them is R50.]

Electricity account is usually R94(R94 divided by 6 = R15.67)[6 people live in the house. A share for each of them is R15.67.]

Meat: R130 per week = R559 per month
Bread and milk: R8.40 per day = R126.42 per month
Vegetables etc: R76 per week = R326.80 per month[6 people live in the house. A share for each of them is R189.87. Although Thandi is only 11 she probably needs as much food as a grown-up.]

Fees: R20 per term x 4 terms x 4 children = R320 per year
Stationery and text books:R100 per term x 4 terms = R400 per year
School dresses: R98 x 6 = R588 per year
Shirts: 8 x R66 = R528 per year
Trousers: 5 pairs x R84 = R420 per year
Shoes: R118 a pair x 8 pairs = R944 per year
Jerseys: R90 x 6 = R540 per year
Socks etc: R130 per year
Total: R3870 per year[Ruby adds up how much she spends on all the children at school for the year. Then she divides by 12 to make that into a monthly amount. Then she divides that amount by 4 to get the total for each child per month.]

Ruby: Truworths budget account R100
Children: Jet budget account R240
Edgars budget account R180
All: Layby General Clothing Store R70[Remember with this one that when Ruby works out what she spends on Thandi's clothes, she doesn't put in her own Truworths account. And where she spends only on the children, she must divide the total by the number of children she has (4) and for the lay-bys she divides it by all of them in the house (6).]

Karate: Thandi, Robert, Kholeka R40 per month each

Ellerines Furniture Store: fridge R130 per month[6 people live in the house. A share for each of them is R21.66.]

All: R100 (generally 1 hospital visit per month each)
Thandi: doctor once a month at R50 a visit
Chemist account for all: R160 per month[Thandi has asthma and so she costs more in doctors and medicine every month. So R120 of the R160 chemist account every month is for Thandi. If Ruby was on medical aid and she paid, say, R200 per month for it, and it helped Ruby and her 4 children, then Jack should be made to pay for Thandi's share of the medical aid (R200 divided by 5 = R40).]

Bus fares for school for 2 children
R6 each per week x 2 x 4.3 = R51.60
Train fares for Thandi+Ruby+one other child
monthly tickets R24 x 3 = R72
Casual fares for all R50

Repayment of loans
Mother: R200 less for her rent / board
Employers: Ruby works for R2 less per hour
than she usually charges, and her employers
pay the children's school fees for her[It is important to work out how much extra you are using every month and to work out where it is coming from. Otherwise you may be accused of lying about your claim for maintenance.]

[This will depend on what Jack earns and what his monthly expenses are. But Ruby should ask for at least half of what Thandi costs. And if she knows that Jack earns a lot more than she does, Ruby should ask for more from Jack.]

[Don't forget to put on your list any OTHER ACCOUNTS / EXPENSES you might have.]Model prepared by Pat Anderson.

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