Ayesha Karim Attorneys

Directions Website Contact the practice

Ayesha Karim Attorneys Law firm specializing in various aspects of Family Law. Drafting of Wills, Administration

19/10/2026

If we had to be honest with ourselves.

19/09/2026

In South Africa, the SAMRC found that 60.1% of women murdered in 2020/21 were killed by an intimate partner.

And in almost half of those femicide cases, police did not apprehend the perpetrators.

These are not merely statistics. They are questions of prevention, investigation and accountability.

07/09/2026

IIn South African law, maintenance is not automatically 50/50 between parents.

Each parent’s maintenance obligation is determined proportionately according to their respective means, taking into account the child’s reasonable needs.

So, for example, if:
the child’s reasonable monthly expenses are R15,000;
Parent A effectively has 70% of the parents’ combined available means; and
Parent B has 30%,
the appropriate contribution could broadly be 70/30, rather than R7,500 each.

The court considers income and overall financial means, including assets/resources and genuine financial commitments, alongside the child’s reasonable needs.

The fact that one parent earns less does not mean the child’s expenses simply get divided in half.

17/08/2026

In South African maintenance law, a maintenance financial enquiry is essentially the Maintenance Court’s investigation into the parties’ financial circumstances to determine whether maintenance is payable and, if so, how much.

It is not simply a hearing where each party states what they earn. The court looks at the actual financial position of both parents, the reasonable needs of the child, and each parent’s respective ability to contribute.

Typically, the enquiry examines things such as:

1. each parent’s income, including salary, bonuses, commissions and other sources of income;
2. bank statements and expenditure;
3. assets, liabilities and debts;
monthly living expenses;
the child’s expenses — schooling, food, clothing, accommodation, transport, medical costs, extracurricular activities, etc.;
4. whether particular expenses claimed are reasonable;
5. each parent’s financial means and earning capacity; and
6. the proportion in which the parents should contribute toward the child’s needs.

27/07/2026

Maintenance is not complicated. As a parent your children's need will come first. If you are living it up, they should be too. Simple.

21/07/2026

Family Trusts - Let's talk about it.

A family trust is a legal structure used to hold and manage assets for the benefit of family members. The trust itself owns the assets, while trustees manage them according to the trust deed for the benefit of the beneficiaries. It is governed primarily by the Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988 in South Africa.

The main parties are:
Founder: Creates the trust and transfers assets into it.
Trustees: Control and administer the assets. They have fiduciary duties and must act in the beneficiaries' best interests.
Beneficiaries: The people who may receive income or capital from the trust.

A typical family trust in South Africa is an inter vivos discretionary trust, meaning it is created during the founder's lifetime and the trustees decide when and how beneficiaries receive benefits

31/05/2026

In South African law, changing a child's surname does not remove a parent's parental rights and responsibilities.

A child's surname and parental rights are two separate legal issues.

A parent who has parental rights and responsibilities under the Children's Act 38 of 2005 retains those rights unless they are specifically limited, suspended, or terminated by a court order. Simply changing the child's surname does not affect:

-Care and contact rights
-Guardianship rights

The right to be consulted on major decisions
Maintenance obligations
The right to seek contact through the courts

For example:

If a mother remarries and the child's surname is changed to that of the stepfather, the biological father does not automatically lose his parental rights.

Likewise, a father who has not had contact with a child for years does not lose his parental rights merely because the child's surname is changed.
Consent for a surname change

Where both parents are co-holders of guardianship rights, the consent of both parents is generally required to change a minor child's surname. If consent is withheld, an application can be made to court to authorize the change if it is in the child's best interests.

When parental rights can be lost?

Parental rights are usually only removed by:
A High Court order;
A Children's Court order;
An adoption order (where the biological parent's rights are generally terminated upon adoption).

29/05/2026

Do I still have to pay maintenance if we have 50/50 shared care and contact?

The short answer: Yes, possibly.

Many parents believe that equal time with the children automatically means no maintenance is payable. That is not how South African law works.
Maintenance is determined by:
✔️ The child's reasonable needs;
✔️ Each parent's financial means;
✔️ Each parent's ability to contribute.

Even where care and contact are shared equally, one parent may still be required to contribute more financially if there is a significant difference in income or resources.

The law does not focus on what is "fair" between the parents. It focuses on what is in the best interests of the child.

Every case is different, and a 50/50 parenting arrangement does not automatically cancel a maintenance obligation.

A reminder to every seller: The attorney you choose matters.Not all conveyancers are the same, and the right legal team ...
21/04/2026

A reminder to every seller:

The attorney you choose matters.

Not all conveyancers are the same, and the right legal team can make or break a difficult transaction.




17/04/2026

Payment of outstanding Nafaqah upon Divorce.

Legal nuance

The courts are not saying:
“Enforce nafaqah as religious law.”

They are doing something more sophisticated:
They are recognising that the failure to fulfil a duty of support during the marriage can found a civil claim.

This may be framed as:
• A tacit agreement between spouses
• A debt arising from the marital relationship
• A claim grounded in fairness, dignity, and patrimonial loss

Address

Claremont
4091

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 16:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 16:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 16:00
Thursday 09:00 - 16:00
Friday 09:00 - 16:00

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Ayesha Karim Attorneys posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Ayesha Karim Attorneys:

Shortcuts

Share

Category