In South Africa, finding the right divorce lawyer to handle your legal matters can prove to be essential as the break-up can be quite traumatic especially where children and child custody cases are involved.
Lawyers need to be sensitive and help you through the process with understanding and care, making sure that your best interests are maximised at all times.
These lawyers will help you in every area of a separation and divorce including maintenance disputes, custody disputes, divorce mediation and prevention of family violence or harassment to name but a few.
There are a great number of good South African divorce attorneys throughout the country and if you need help negotiating your separation or divorce, you will be able to find the right attorney for you.
When would you need a divorce attorney?
May seem like an odd kind of question but there are many couples that go through a separation thinking they can handle all legal matters themselves!
If you are going through a divorce or separation, or if you want to get divorced or separated, it is a good idea to find a divorce attorney to help you to negotiate the process correctly.
Even if you and your partner or spouse are amiable towards each other and happy to handle things fairly, it is still a good idea to get a professional to help you handle things properly.
If you and your partner or spouse are not on good terms and if you are in a struggle over assets you own, custody of animals or children, properties you own, spousal or child maintenance that may or may not be due, settlements, debt and anything else that you jointly own, it is absolutely essential that you get a professional to help you with the process.
When is the best time to get a divorce attorney?
It is important to have the advice of a good attorney from the very beginning of the divorce process.
If you start out thinking you do not need one and that you and your partner or spouse can manage things between the two of you, and then you find that things are not going well, it is still not too late to find a divorce attorney.
However, having the advice, assistance and representation of a good divorce attorney from the very beginning of your divorce or separation process is incredibly helpful and reassuring in this tumultuous time.
There are many ways to find a good divorce attorney in South Africa.
- Ask friends, family and acquaintances to recommend a good divorce attorney.
- Look online with a simple Google search, in online classifieds, the Yellow Pages or other listings.
- Look at print classifieds, advertisements in local newspapers or listing in national newspapers.
- Take note of any television advertisements for attorneys.
However, to get you started, the following is a list of a few South African divorce lawyers that you could contact:
- Nise Low Law
- Riette Oosthuizen Attorneys
- Houghton Harper Attorneys
- Bouwers Attorneys
- McWilliams and Elliott Attorneys
- Jose and Van Niekerk Inc.
- Riekie Erasmus Attorneys
- Greyling Orchard Attorneys
- Halse, Havemmann and Lloyd Attorneys
What makes a good divorce attorney?
A good divorce attorney should have the following points:
- He or she should come from a reputable law firm that has a good reputation and a great track record, as well as a base of happy and satisfied customers.
- He or she should have studied at a reputable law school and have the right qualifications.
- He or she should have some experience, particularly in the field of divorce and family law.
- He or she should preferably specialise in divorce law and should have done so for some time.
- He or she should put the client at ease, provide information without being asked and make time to answer questions and address concerns.
What to avoid in divorce lawyers in South Africa
A divorce attorney who does not specialise in divorce law, who has little to no experience, comes from a lesser-known firm and who has a bad track record should be avoided.
Final note
There are South African divorce lawyers available in this country that have extensive experience specifically in South African divorce law and will be only to willing to help and advise you in your particular circumstances. Do some extensive research online and you will soon have access to some of the country’s top legal divorce lawyers.