A marriage may be dissolved by a court on the following grounds:
The irretrievable breakdown of the marriage;
The mental illness;
The continuous unconsciousness, of a party to the marriage.
RULE 43 APPLICATION
When a divorce is taking too long, Divorce inc can assist you to claim maintenance pending divorce from your Spouse. This is done in terms of Rule 43 of the High Court and Rule 58 of the Magistrates Court. In the law, the rule can be used to claim one or more of the following:
- Interim custody of the children;
- Interim maintenance of the wife or minor children;
- An order to enforce payment of debt of estate e.g Bonds, vehicles, school fees and medical aid;
- An order for contribution towards legal costs.
A rule 43 application deals with maintenance, custody of and access to children as well as maintenance and contributions to legal costs on an interim basis while the parties are litigating.
A rule 43 hearing is done on papers only with no oral evidence being given by either party. It is very important you utilise an attorney to prepare your papers to present to the high court in this application as the high court needs the papers to be precise, providing all the information they need to make a ruling.
The main reason for using an attorney in a rule 43 application is that the discision of the High Court cannot be appealed. The decision stands until the divorce is finalised or a settlement is reached between the parties.
Many of the cases involving rule 43 applications are brought by wives seeking maintainance for themselves and children during the divorce process and to provide a contribution towards legal expenses. Divorces often take more than a year to finalise and the rule 43 application is there to protect the wife and children against non payment.