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Your “Last Will and Testament” could be the most important document you will ever sign because it’s the only safe way to ensure that your loved ones are properly provided for after you are gone.
It’s essential therefore to put in place a will that complies with South African law. We’ll discuss the formalities required for your will to be accepted as valid, and we’ll illustrate the importance of complying with them by reference to a case in which a divorced accountant’s emailed “Final will” was not validated by the High Court.
So although the accountant clearly intended to leave his estate to his new fiancée, it instead goes to his ex-wife under his original written will.
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What do you as an employer do when your business needs an employee to be on duty on Saturday mornings, but she declines on the basis that her religious beliefs prohibit her from working on “the Sabbath”? Whose rights trump whose?
This is dangerous ground. Our laws are particularly hard on employers found guilty of “automatically unfair discrimination”, and amongst the many “arbitrary grounds” of discrimination which could underpin such a finding are “religion”, “conscience” and “belief”.
A recent case in the Labour Appeal Court illustrates both how these laws work in practice, and the dangers of failing to comply with them.
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Recent media reports of government plans to regulate Airbnb and other “short-term home rentals” have sent shivers down the spines of many Airbnb owners (and those thinking of buying property for the purpose).
But should you be worried? It’s an important question because short-term letting can be highly profitable for property owners who own or buy the right property in the right place and at the right time.
So let’s have a look at what has actually happened so far. What stage has the proposed new legislation reached and what does it actually provide? And is it possible at this stage to make any sort of informed guess as to what the final outcome might be?
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