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Legal Talk

Legal Talk

Author: Fawzia Khan
Date: 2014-05-30
Being confronted with the reality that your marriage has broken down so completely that there is no reasonable possibility of you and your spouse reconciling is an incredibly difficult emotional time for any person.

The stress, anger and hurt which is so characteristic during this time also means that a person who wants to start divorce proceedings needs to be able to separate this emotional rollercoaster experience from what will be required of him or her in order that the divorce process can commence and to ensure that he or she gets the best and fairest deal at the end of the day.

It's therefore imperative to try to keep as clear a head as possible and gather as much information and evidence to hand to your attorney. If a couple is married in community of property, both of them equally share all the assets and liabilities in their estate.

This means that both parties have a right to fifty percent of the other spouse's pension or provident fund, retirement annuities, endowment policies, bank accounts, investments, shares, immovable property and so on.

If the couple were married by ante-nuptial contract with the accrual system in place, they would need to determine the value of their assets, so that the appropriate calculation and adjustment can be made regarding that spouse's assets which had increased more than the other, for the duration of the marriage.

In my practice, I've found that many people undergoing a divorce would do their utmost to prevent their spouse from gaining access to his or her financial and property records. For that reason, getting as much financial information as early as possible would clearly be an advantage.

The documents to take to your divorce attorney would include the following: -

* All bank statements in the name of your spouse or in the name of any Company, Close Corporation or Trust in which your spouse has shares, or members interest or is a beneficiary in;

* Trust Deeds in which you or your spouse or the minor children are beneficiaries;

* In the case of companies, copies of Articles of Association or Memorandum of Incorporations

* In the case of close corporations, copies of the Founding Statement;

* Details of all pension or provident fund or retirement annuities;

* Details of all investment accounts;

* Copies of any lease or rental agreement of immovable property either as a tenant or as a landlord;

* Copies of all credit agreements with any financial institutions;

* Details of any mortgage bond on immovable or movable property;

* Details of any loan agreements made either as a lender or borrower;

* Copies of any shareholder or partnership agreements;

* Copies of insurance policies;

* Details of all income tax records'

* Details of where title deeds to immovable property are housed;

* Details of all motor vehicles, boats, aircraft registered in you and your spouse's name;

* Copies of credit card statements.

By providing your attorney with all this information, you can draw up a more realistic schedule of assets and liabilities and also puts your attorney in a stronger position to negotiate a better deal for you in a possible settlement agreement.

Know your rights! 
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