Drum – 22 August 2019

http://www.drum.co.za 22 AUGUST (^2019) | 41
Doyouhavea legalproblembutcan’tafford
a lawyer?
Nthabicanhelpyou.Writea lettertoDRUM,PO
Box653284,Benmore2016.Ifyouhaveemail,
[email protected], orSMSyour
questiontoAusiNthabion36489.EachSMScostsR1,50.
Youdon’thavetouseyourrealname.
ASK
NTHABI
‘Youhavenooptionbutto
sell the house if you can’t buy
your ex out’
NthabisengMonarengholdsLLBand
LLMdegreesfromtheUniversityofthe
Witwatersrand,Johannesburg.Nthabihas
morethan 10 years’experienceinthelegalfield,
specialisinginfamilylaw.She’swrittenbooks
onfamilylawandisa familylawmediator.
MYMANDOESN’TWANT
TOWORK
Myhusbandrefuses
towork,sayinghe
doesn’thavetosince
we’rerentingoutproperties
andthattheincomeis
enoughtosustainus.The
realityis thatisn’ttrue.We
aren’tfinanciallystableand
havelotsofdebtwe’restill
paying.HowcanI divorce
himwithoutsharingassets?
ANONYMOUS,MIDRAND
There’snolawthatsays
anadultmustwork.But
thereisa lawthatstates
thatmarriedspousesarelegally
obligedtosupporteachother.
If youaremarriedincommunity
ofproperty,50%ofallassets
belongtoyourhusbandandyou
havenochoicebuttoshareall
assets.
Assetsaren’ttheonlythings
thatwillbeshared,debtswillbe
sharedaswell.
AMI OBLIGEDTOPAY
TAXANDRATES?
Whathappensif
youdon’tpaytax
andrates,including
water,foryears?I livein
a township
ANONYMOUS,TEMBISA
Ratesandtaxesarea
monthlyfeethatmustbe
paidtothemunicipality
forprovidingservices.Thisfee
mustbepaidbyhomeowners,
eventhosewhostayintownships.
If youdon’tpayforyour
servicesthemunicipalitycan
obtaina courtjudgmentto
attachyourpropertyandsell
it onauctiontorecoverthe
outstandingmoney.
LANDLORDGAVE
IMMEDIATENOTICE
I have been renting
a house since March

2017. Last week the
      landlord unexpectedly sent
      me a Whats App message
      demanding I move out

immediatelyand that he

wantshishouse keys back.

I respondedthat I don’t have

anywheretogo.

WhatI should do? I don’t

wantmyfamily to end up on

thestreets.

ANONYMOUS,SOWETO

Thelandlord has breached

thelawby giving you

animmediate notice to

vacatethehouse.He needs to

giveyounoticeas per your lease

agreement.

If theleaseagreement is silent

onwhenyoucanvacate, you have

anoptionofstaying until the

leaseagreementcomes to an

endorrequestthat you be given

a reasonabletime period to look

foranalternativeplace to stay.

Youdon’thaveto move out

andif thelandlord sends you

harassingmessages, you can get

a protectionorder against them.

DNATESTNEEDEDTO

CONFIRMPATERNITY?

I am a 32-year-old

woman. I’m five

months pregnant and

my boyfriend is refusing to

take responsibility. He says

I should get a court order for

DNA testing to make sure

it’s his baby. Only then will

he take care of me and the

baby.

ANONYMOUS,UMLAZI

Your boyfriend has no

legal duty to take care of

you as you are a girlfriend

and not a wife. You will have to

wait until you give birth to get

financial assistance from him.

Once you have given birth, go

to the maintenance court and

open a file for maintenance.

Your boyfriend, if he still denies

he’s the biological father, will be

ordered to take DNA tests and

this will be paid by him.

In the meantime, use govern-

ment services during your

pregnancy as healthcare is free

for pregnant mothers and for

children.

I’mconsideringa divorceandwanttokeepour

house. Am I forced to sell, or can I keep it? You

previously advised someone that they had the

option to buy their partner out. What if I don’t have

the money, want to stay in the house and my husband

is the one who applied for the divorce?

ANONYMOUS,MIDRAND

During a divorce you have an option of buying out your

ex-spouse or selling the house. If you don’t have the

money to buy your ex-spouse out, you have no choice but

to sell the house. This applies even if the divorce was initiated by

your husband. Even if he has an affair you will still be forced to

sell the house if you cannot buy him out.

CAN I KEEP MY HOME

AFTER DIVORCE?

ADVICE