Yearly Archives: 2019

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Property Sales and Trusts: Demand Proof of Trustee Authority

“If you want to make your house easy to sell, make it easy to buy” (Anon) You are overjoyed at receiving a good offer for your property – not easily achieved in these hard times and of course you certainly don’t want to do anything to jeopardise the sale. But perhaps do that little bit extra homework before accepting the offer if it comes from a trust. The pitfall here – and it’s one that perennially takes sellers by surprise – is

Visiting South Africa with Kids Just Became Easier – Here’s What You Need to Know

“We’re all going on a summer holiday…” (Cliff Richard) With the Festive Season (and our Summer Holidays!) well and truly upon us, you may be inviting family or friends to visit you from overseas with their children, or perhaps you are a foreigner planning a family trip to South Africa. Either way here’s some good news in the form of a welcome concession from government in regard to the documentation you will need to produce on entry.  In a nutshell foreign children

All Companies: Prepare for the Mandatory New CIPC Compliance Checklist

The CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission) has announced that its new “compliance checklist” requirement, voluntary until now, becomes mandatory for all companies and close corporations from 1 January 2020. You must complete the checklist before submitting your annual return. So firstly check when your due date for the annual return is – for companies you will have 30 business days from the day after its date of registration, whereas for close corporations you will have the two months from the first day of

Property Owners, Buyers and Agents: Lost Title Deeds and Bonds – Don’t Delay!

“He who hesitates is lost” (Wise old proverb) In January 2019 new amendments to Regulations for the replacement of lost title deeds (and similar documents like mortgage bonds and notarial bonds – see below) were published. They were very onerous and slated to come into effect at short notice, but after criticism they were suspended – until now. Revised amendments have been published, to come into effect on 1 January 2020. Firstly, what is a “Title Deed”? A title deed (deed of transfer) is

Your Website of the Month: A Festive Season Home Security Checklist

Every year the criminal fraternity welcomes the onset of the Holiday Season – lots of empty homes, lots of high-value new gadgets around, lots of relaxed homeowners letting their guard down… Here’s how to foil the bad guys while enjoying your year-end break as a time of celebration and relaxation, not a time of worrying about whether your home-sweet-home will be ok without you, and stressing over the aftermath of a burglary (or worse). “Locking Up For The Holidays: Your Home Security

“Seller’s Remorse” and “Subject to Sale of the Buyer’s Property” – Can They Sink the Sale?

“If you don’t like where you are, move. You are not a tree” (Jim Rohn) The upcoming festive season, with its mass migrations of happy holiday-makers to their dream destinations, has always been a busy time for both sellers and buyers. In these hard times however, an increasing number of sellers are feeling pressured to accept offers well under their expectations, so cases of “seller’s remorse” are much more likely now than they have been for many years. The question is, just

About To Marry? Don’t Forget Your ANC and the 3 Types of Marriage

“And she’s got brains enough for two, which is the exact quantity the girl who marries you will need” (P.G. Wodehouse) Wedding Season being once again well and truly upon us, the chances are high that even if you yourself aren’t contemplating marriage you know of someone who is. If so, please think of forwarding this article to them. Planning and preparing for your wedding is an exciting and busy time, and your ‘To Do’ list will be a long one. Plus you

Employees on Probation: Can You Dismiss for Poor Performance?

“… arbitrators should hesitate to interfere with employer’s decisions on whether probationary employees have attained the required performance standard, or with the standards themselves” (extract from judgment below) Our laws allow employers to hire new employees on a probationary basis, and doing so can give both parties time to assess how good the “fit” actually is and whether the employee should become a permanent one. Employers must however avoid falling into the trap of thinking that they can dismiss a probationary employee

It Pays to Report Crime! First Offender’s 20 Years in Prison Confirmed for R4.9m Fraud

“The scourge of white collar crime, especially fraud, is currently the order of the day in our country. Fraud is a cancer that is crippling our country from the core and takes away from the poorest of the poor” (extract from judgment below) It is tempting sometimes to think that the high levels of criminal activity plaguing us at every level of our society are here to stay and that it is pointless reporting crime when you fall victim to it.  But

Your Websites of the Month: Buying or Selling Anything? How to Use Facebook Marketplace

By all accounts Facebook Marketplace is giving Gumtree, OLX and other online classifieds a real run for their money in both the personal and business markets. It is now used every month by 800 million people in 70 different countries. Have a look at Facebook’s “How Marketplace Works” guide here for a step-by-step guide on buying and selling anything, sorting by distance or new listings, notifications, following, safety and trust issues and so on.  For more ideas, and for 5 ways to use Facebook