Drum – 01 August 2019

42 | 1 AUGUST 2019 http://www.drum.co.za

Doyouhavea legalproblembutcan’tafford

a lawyer?

Nthabicanhelpyou.Writea lettertoDRUM,PO

Box653284,Benmore2016.Ifyouhaveemail,

[email protected], orSMSyour

questiontoAskNthabion36489*.*EachSMScostsR1,50.

Youdon’thavetouseyourrealname.

ASK

NTHABI

‘Themunicipalityis

within it’s right to take

legal action’

Nthabiseng Monareng holds LLB and

LLM degrees from the University of the

Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Nthabi has

more than 10 years’ experience in the legal field,

specialising in family law. She’s written books

on family law and is a family law mediator.

MYGIRLFRIEND

INFECTEDME

I hadunprotected

sexwithmy

girlfriendandsix

monthslaterI tookan

HIVtest– somethingI do

regularly.Mytestresults

camebackpositive.

Mygirlfrienddidnot

discloseherHIVstatus

tome,andI suspectI

contractedthevirusfrom

her.

CanI bringa caseagainst

herforinfectingme?If

so,whatarethelegal

requirementforsuch

a case?

ANONYMOUS,MAHIKENG

Suingsomeonefor

infectingyouwithHIV

isn’taneasycasetowin.

Youareresponsiblefortaking

careofyourself,whichincludes

havingprotectedsex.Ifyou

haveunprotectedsex,you

areactingnegligentlyand

voluntarilyputtingyourselfat

risk.Nooneislegallyobliged

todisclosetheirhealthand

medicalinformation,andthis

includesyourgirlfriend.

Thereisnoproofthatsheis

HIV-positiveandevenifshe

was,thereisnoproofthatshe

infectedyou.Yourchancesof

successatcourtareveryslim.

HEWANTSTOADOPT

MYSON

I havea sonfroma

previousmarriage

andmyhusband

wantstoadopthim.What

isthelegalprocessforthis

kindofadoption?

ANONYMOUS,PRETORIA

The starting point is

to speak to your son’s

biological father and

request his consent. If he

refuses, the adoption will not

happen. If he agrees, approach a

social worker who will help you

with the process.

An application will be made

to the children’s court. The

biological father must grant

written consent and has up to

60 days after this to change

his mind and withdraw the

agreement.

I WANTTOCLEAR

MYNAME

I was under debt

review for three

years and have now

paid my debts. I want my

name cleared from the

credit bureaus. Someone

told me I need to bring a

high court application.

Is there a way to have

my name cleared without

going to court?

ANONYMOUS,MANGAUNG

You don’t have to bring

forward a high court

application. Your

debt counsellor must issue a

clearance certificate to all your

creditors and all credit bureaus.

They also need to give you the

clearance certificate.

If the debt counsellor refuses,

you can report them to the

National Credit Regulator.

CANAPENSIONERSUE

FORMAINTENANCE?

Can a South African

Social Security

Agency (Sassa)

recipient also receive

maintenance from

someone else?

I’m a social worker and

would like to assist an old

woman to sue her child for

maintenance.

ANONYMOUS,EMALAHLENI

A Sassa recipient

isn’t prevented from

receiving financial help

from other family members.

If the living expenses of the

old woman are not fully covered

by the money she receives

from Sassa, you can help her

open a maintenance file against

her child at the maintenance

court.

CanI asa co-ownerofa housethatI wasn’t

livinginbeheldliablefortheunpaid

municipalbills?I havenocontactwiththe

otherco-owner,myex-boyfriend,whowasliving

inthehouseforsixyearsuntilheabandonedit.I’ve

nowreceiveda letterofdemandfromtheattorneys

ofthemunicipalityforR85 000 forunpaidratesand

taxes.CanI beheldliableeventhoughI wasn’t

stayingthere?

ANONYMOUS,MAMELODI

As co-owner of the house you are jointly liable for the

rates and taxes of the house until your 50% share of

the house is owned by someone else. The municipality

is within its right to take legal action against you, even if you

haven’t lived in the house.

MY EX LEFT ME IN DEBT

ADVICE