GETTING DIVORCED ON AN UNCONTESTED BASIS

Getting divorced on an uncontested basis is no doubt the best possible way a divorce can be finalised. Reason being, the parties are not arguing over small contentious issues and have, in most cases, agreed on all aspects of their divorce.

?Due to the fact the parties have reached agreement on all aspects of their divorce, the divorce process then merely becomes administrative in nature. Meaning, all that needs to be done to have the divorce finalised is the following:

1.???Consultation:

A consultation is scheduled between the parties and the Mediator, in order to fully discuss the aspects of the divorce which have been agreed upon, alternatively, in an attempt to reach agreement on the issues impending between the parties.

The consultation is an hour long, however, in the event the parties require more than one consultation, same can be arranged accordingly.

2.???Settlement Agreement:

?Once the parties have consulted with the Mediator and all aspects of their divorce have been agreed upon, the Mediator will then incorporate all those aspects into a Deed of Settlement. The terms of the Settlement Agreement will be the terms on which the marriage becomes dissolved. This Settlement Agreement will then be signed by both parties and will be made an order of court simultaneously with a Decree of Divorce being granted

3.???Divorce Summons:

Once the Settlement Agreement has been entered into and signed between the parties, the Mediator will then proceed to draft and prepare the Divorce Summons. The summons is a formal court document wherein the contents of the parties personal details, identity number, physical address, jurisdiction and marriage is put to the Court, as well as the reasons for the breakdown of the marriage and the Settlement Agreement which was entered into, which the parties wish to be made an order of court. Once the Summons has been drafted, it is then sent to the Sheriff in order for the Sheriff to effect personal service on the Defendant, to ensure a Return of Service is obtained.

4.???Family Advocate:

This step is ONLY in the event there are minor children born of the marriage relationship between the parties. Once the Summons has been served and the Return of Service has been collected from the Sheriff, the original documents are then prepared into a bundle and delivered to the office of the Family Advocate. The purpose of the Family Advocate is to ensure that the terms of the Settlement Agreement are in fact in the best interests of the minor children. They will peruse all documents and furnish their report informing us whether they are indeed satisfied with the contents of the Settlement Agreement, alternatively, whether an amendment will need to be done.

5.???Court Proceedings:

Once the report from the Family Advocate has been obtained, the matter will then be uploaded onto Case Lines (the online Court system) and a Court date will be applied for. Whilst we wait for the Court to allocate a date, we proceed to draft an Evidence Affidavit in the name of our client, this will ensure that neither party need to appear for the actual hearing. Once a date has been allocated, we prepare the necessary bundle for our counsel to appear on the hearing date.

All in all, the uncontested divorce process can take anything between 4 to 8 weeks to have finalised. Contact us for more information, alternatively, for our all-inclusive packages!!!!

Contact Miranda & Associates for assistance.

Johannesburg 011 463 1142 | Cape Town 021 830 5232

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