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Ken and Busi, are a young couple who graduated from college last year and recently secured employment. They have been together for 6 years.
Securing permanent employment came with tears of joy, as they are now hopeful that their plans of settling down will start to take shape. At the centre of those plans is jointly owning a home before marriage, a home they have since identified just a few blocks from where Busi rents an apartment.
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There are a number of reasons why couples may opt to remain unmarried. The reasons are various, from estate planning to career considerations, religious reasons, family relations and even the lure of independence as an individual.
The ever-changing business environment saw the discontinuance of Close Corporations (CC) as necessary in order to adapt to the prevailing economic climate.
Since the coming into effect of the new Companies Act 71 of 2008 as amended (the Act), no new Close Corporations will be registered.
In this age of massive information dissemination on the cyberspace, the growth of information sources on various platforms has led us to believe that many people are now familiar with what marriage in community of property is, at least in its most basic form. For laymen that is enough and useful, because to go anywhere beyond that point would require a qualified legal practitioner to assist e.g. divorces, Antenuptial Contracts etc.
In South African law, a number of contracts may be entered into verbally or in written form. It remains the choice of the parties, their requirements and what is convenient for them on whether to conclude their agreement in writing or orally. Sometimes it is about the cost as well. Legal Practitioners charge a fee to draft and facilitate the execution of a contract between the parties.
For those who have visited the desert and experienced sand dunes, you have probably seen how quickly their shape changes as the wind blows over them. Some of you have been to the beach and probably written names of your loved ones in the sand along the shoreline, only to have them washed away by an incoming wave. In both cases, what was written or seen is no more.
Welcome, this is the risk of a verbal contract.
Growing up in our infant years, we used to play ‘imaginary family house.’ This was a game whereby we would find a suitable place in the backyard and divide roles amongst ourselves and our friends. One would be chosen to act as the father, another as the mother, and others as the children. Of course, sometimes there would be disputes between two boys who both would want to act as the father especially if the girl he liked was chosen as the mother for that particular day.
Contracts are part of our everyday interaction with each other, on so many levels e.g social, commercial, religious etc. At the mention of the word “contract” the first thing that clicks in many people’s minds is a long document with terms and conditions, in small fine print, full of legal jargon. Indeed, the majority of what can be accepted as contracts and used as such are in written format.
Verbal contracts are recognized and binding in South African law. Nonetheless, it still remains the burden of the claimant to prove the existence of such a contract where disputes have arisen. This is not easy, as the party who is alleged to have breached the contract will certainly not give in to anything easily, but try to beat the allegations of the claimant by all means necessary.
South Africa introduced the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020 when it was signed into law in May 2021, but is yet to come into operation. The need for such a law in its form is open to discussion by all stakeholders but there is general consensus of the need to create a regulatory framework to curb the scourges that it was promulgated to provide for and advance cyber security.
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