Divorce can be a costly and traumatic process, and if you and your ex-spouse are still co-trustees of your family trusts afterwards, you may well find the situation untenable.

A recent High Court fight over a “not the Titanic” divorce saw ex-spouses both applying for the removal of the other as trustee. In deciding the case, the Court addressed questions of a trustee’s duties, whether a trustee must be impartial, and the grounds on which it will remove a trustee.

We’ll close with a piece of advice on how to avoid the situation these ex-spouses found themselves in.

What happens when a body corporate, in trying to trace a leak while carrying out its duty to properly manage the sectional title scheme, is refused access by a “recalcitrant” owner?

We address that question with reference to a High Court decision which saw the unit owner in question concede access to the body corporate only at the very last minute, and then try to dodge liability for costs by attacking the validity of the body corporate’s “round robin” resolutions.

We end off with a strong warning from the Court to approach the Community Schemes Ombud with such disputes rather than the High Court wherever possible.

There is a pervasive myth that in South Africa you can’t be held to a verbal agreement. In fact the opposite is true, and with only a few exceptions contracts do not have to be written down and signed to be fully valid and enforceable. 

We discuss what verbal agreements aren’t binding, the danger of not being careful in agreeing to things orally, and four very good reasons why the “verbal contract” is one to be avoided at all costs. 

We conclude with a note on the concept of contracting electronically - a scenario carrying both risks and benefits.

As pandemic restrictions ease around the world, many businesses forced by lockdown to “go remote” are torn between returning to office and keeping everyone working remotely. An increasing number are opting for one or other hybrid model, which can come with major benefits but also major challenges.

One of those challenges is the risk of losing a cohesive company culture built up over years and perhaps decades of in-office teamwork.

Have a read of PwC’s “Three ways to prevent hybrid work from breaking your company culture” here for some ideas on mitigating that risk.