Andrew Scott Attorneys Inc.

Andrew Scott Attorneys Inc. A firm of attorneys established by Andrew Scott. We are based in Westville and Cowies Hill but serve clients around the greater Durban and Upper Highway area.

Andrew Scott Attorneys understands that most people are nervous about asking for legal support in times of need. We’d like to make the process less stressful and provide you with peace of mind, by providing solution driven legal advice. We have over 14 years experience in managing our clients’ legal affairs from initial consultation – through strategic management and ultimately, to a positive end.

Before deciding to engage us formally, book a consultation or call, so we may provide guidance for your specific circumstances and present you with a suitable cost estimate.

08/04/2025

Project Rhino has been shortlisted for international funding and needs your help. Here's how you can vote to help save the rhinos.

Legal Speak Made Easy“Mortgage”, “Mortgage Bond” and “Home Loan”: What’s the Difference?Derived from French “mort” and “...
25/03/2025

Legal Speak Made Easy

“Mortgage”, “Mortgage Bond” and “Home Loan”: What’s the Difference?
Derived from French “mort” and “gage” (literally “dead pledge” because it “dies” when settled), a mortgage secures a creditor’s claim and enables it to sell the bonded property if the debtor defaults in repaying the debt.
In the context of a home loan, strictly speaking, “mortgage” refers to the mortgage bond agreement and to the bond registered over the property. The home loan agreement is separate – it sets out the details of the loan and the terms of repayment and it could be for a different amount. We tend to use the terms “mortgage”, “mortgage bond”, and “home loan” interchangeably – but it can be important to understand the distinction in a particular legal context. If in any doubt, ask us!


Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/8DTjSLn

Celebrating Human Rights.21 March 2025Tel: 031 100 0470Email: info@andrewscott.co.zaWebsite: buff.ly/8DTjSLn
21/03/2025

Celebrating Human Rights.
21 March 2025

Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/8DTjSLn

Effective 1 March 2025: New National Minimum WageThe National Minimum Wage (NMW) for each “ordinary hour worked” has bee...
10/03/2025

Effective 1 March 2025: New National Minimum Wage

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) for each “ordinary hour worked” has been increased from 1 March 2025 by 4.4% from R27,58 per hour to R28,79 per hour.

Domestic workers: Assuming a work month of 22 days x 8 hours per day, R28,79 per hour equates to R230,32 per day or R5067,04 per month. Of course, this is just a bare legal minimum: the Living Wage calculator will help you check whether you are actually paying your domestic worker enough to cover a household’s “minimal need” (adjust the “Assumptions” in the calculator to ensure that the figures used are up-to-date).

Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/8DTjSLn

Mortgage Bond Arrears: Can You Challenge a Certificate of Balance?A recent High Court ruling tackled the important quest...
06/03/2025

Mortgage Bond Arrears: Can You Challenge a Certificate of Balance?

A recent High Court ruling tackled the important question of whether or not a Certificate of Balance issued by a creditor provides definitive proof of the debt owed. The case involved a couple who contested the accuracy of a bank’s R2.1m claim against them. At stake? Two of their properties which were bonded to the bank.
The couple’s court victory highlights both the importance of lenders producing accurate documentation, and the right of borrowers to request clear details before agreeing to settle any claims made against them.


Read more: https://buff.ly/5qO7teK

Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/8DTjSLn

Legal Speak Made Easy“Obiter dicta”Our courts are bound by their previous decisions on matters of law when deciding othe...
25/02/2025

Legal Speak Made Easy

“Obiter dicta”
Our courts are bound by their previous decisions on matters of law when deciding other, similar cases. Similarly, lower courts are bound by the decisions of superior courts. But only those findings by a court that are “pivotal to the determination of the matter” are binding in this way. Other statements in a judgment made “in passing” are said to be “obiter dicta” (singular “obiter dictum”). Literally meaning “other things said”, they may be “of potent persuasive force”, but they aren’t actually binding. Another court could disagree. So next time you read a media report along the lines of “the court said…”, or “the judge ruled…”, don’t assume that it’s now final law and binding on other courts – it usually is, but not always!

Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/4bVGluk

Employers: How to Avoid Paying Severance Pay on RetrenchmentRetrenchment is at best an unpleasant and disruptive busines...
20/02/2025

Employers: How to Avoid Paying Severance Pay on Retrenchment
Retrenchment is at best an unpleasant and disruptive business for all concerned – and it can cost employers a great deal of money in the form of severance pay.
There is however a way to exempt yourself from that obligation if you can arrange alternative employment for those losing their jobs. As shown by a recent Labour Court case where an employer was found not liable for either retrenchment or notice pay. Both employers and employees need to take heed of the Court’s findings – there’s a lot at stake here.


Read more: https://buff.ly/4jwX1fz

Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/4bVGluk

Do You Need a Second Will for Your Overseas Assets? Increasingly, South Africans are acquiring foreign assets – investme...
11/02/2025

Do You Need a Second Will for Your Overseas Assets?

Increasingly, South Africans are acquiring foreign assets – investments, bank accounts, properties and the like. If that applies to you, you’ve no doubt wondered whether your local South African will is enough to cover all your assets globally, or if it only applies to your local assets? Even if it does apply globally, should you consider having multiple wills anyway? We’ll share some thoughts on when it’s a really good idea to have more than one will, how to go about preparing one, and how it will play out after your death.

Read more: https://buff.ly/4gjAcJl

Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/4bVGluk

A Complex Issue: Beware Late Building Penalties You buy a vacant plot in a security estate and happily start drawing up ...
06/02/2025

A Complex Issue: Beware Late Building Penalties

You buy a vacant plot in a security estate and happily start drawing up plans for your dream home. Disaster strikes when out of the blue you are hit by the HOA (Homeowners’ Association) with triple levies – WHAT?! Turns out the previous owner was in trouble for not building on the plot by the set deadline, and the HOA is unsympathetic to your pleas for an extension. You should, it says, have checked for such issues before buying – and if anyone’s to blame it’s the seller and the agent. Can that be right? A recent High Court decision gives the answers….

Read more: https://buff.ly/4gCltcR

Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/4bVGluk

Our Expertise and Services:• Family Law• Property Law & Conveyancing• Estate Planning & administration• Litigation• Comm...
30/01/2025

Our Expertise and Services:

• Family Law
• Property Law & Conveyancing
• Estate Planning & administration
• Litigation
• Commercial & Business Contracts
• Debt Recovery

Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/4bVGluk

A New School Year Dawns – Can Unpaid Fees Bar Your Child From Enrolling?The new school year is upon us! Amidst all the e...
21/01/2025

A New School Year Dawns – Can Unpaid Fees Bar Your Child From Enrolling?

The new school year is upon us! Amidst all the excitement and angst of the “back-to-school” mayhem, let’s have a look at an important new High Court decision tackling the thorny question of whether learners can be barred from school if their parents don’t pay fees.
The Court’s decision, interdicting a father from enrolling his daughter in the school that he owes R407k, discusses the potentially competing rights at play – the best interests of minors, our constitutional right to education, and the rights of schools to collect fees.


Read more: https://buff.ly/3DZthr6

Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/4bVGluk

What is Conveyancing?The Sale and Transfer of Property.A conveyancing lawyer plays a crucial role in ensuring that prope...
16/01/2025

What is Conveyancing?

The Sale and Transfer of Property.
A conveyancing lawyer plays a crucial role in ensuring that property transactions in South Africa are legally sound and compliant with all relevant laws and regulations

Tel: 031 100 0470
Email: [email protected]
Website: buff.ly/4bVGluk

Address

9 Church Place
Dawncliffe
3629

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 16:30
Tuesday 08:00 - 16:30
Wednesday 08:00 - 16:30
Thursday 08:00 - 16:30
Friday 08:00 - 16:00

Telephone

+27311000470

Website

Alerts

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

Shortcuts

Share

Category