Of all the online divorce systems in South Africa, eDivorce seems to be the most used uncontested divorce service in South Africa and was founded in 2009 by leading divorce and technology experts to make divorce cheaper and easier for all.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has amended the Magistrate's Courts Act of 1944 giving powers to Regional Courts to now deal with divorce cases as well. President Jacob Zuma announced the commencement of the Jurisdiction of Regional Courts Amendment Act which came into effect on 9th August 2010, the National Woman's Day. The Regional Courts were established in 1952 to deal with divorces, serious criminal offences and mete out harsher penalties. The amendments increase access to justice to members of the public, in particular, women and children who go to courts daily for the resolution of family related disputes relating to divorce; maintenance; adoption; and matters relating to custody of minor children.

Interview with one of Cape Town's Top Divorce Attorneys Bertus Preller at Abrahams and Gross Inc.

What is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence is aggression or violence that happens in the home. In most cases, the violence is carried out by a man against a woman, although not always.

It can happen in any family and in all kinds of homes and includes:

According to the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998, domestic violence" means-

- physical abuse;
- sexual abuse;
- emotional, verbal and psychological abuse;
- economic abuse;
- intimidation;
- harassment;
- stalking;
- damage to property;
- entry into the complainant's residence without consent, where the parties do not share the same
  residence; or
- any other controlling or abusive behaviour towards a complainant.

How to get a restraining order:
Step 1

Note all the incidents of domestic violence committed to you or your children on paper. Be clear with dates and times.
Obtain all relevant details of the person whom you want to be protected against, e.g. his/her home and work address and identity number etc.

Step 2
Go to the Domestic Violence Court closes to you. The Clerk of the Court will hand you a document to complete. The document is referred to as an "Application for Protection Order". Use the information you gathered in Step 1 and complete in the document. The document is an affidavit so be sure that what you say is true and correct.

After you have filled in the Application for Protection Order document, the Clerk of the Court will take the completed documents to a Magistrate who would read through it and ask you a couple of questions. The Magistrate will then either:

(a) dismiss your application if there is no evidence that domestic violence is taking place;
(b) grant an Interim Protection Order in your favour which will be finalised on a date provided by the Court where the Respondent will have a chance to give his / her side of the story; or

(c) postpone the matter without granting an Interim Protection Order and provide a date when the Respondent will get a chance to give his / her side of the story.

It is important to note that an Interim Protection Order has no force until it is served on the Respondent.
Step 3

The Respondent has to be informed about the application and the return date. The Clerk of the Court will give you the necessary documents to deliver at a Police Station or sheriff's office in order to serve it on the Respondent.
If the Respondent commits any act of domestic violence towards you, after the order was granted report the matter immediately to the Police and if there is no Interim Protection in place yet, go and report it to the Domestic Violence Court in order to get an order.

Forms

Adultery may be defined as extramarital sex that wilfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations which renders the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage relationship. It is often cited as grounds for divorce. In our law, both the married person and the lover will be regarded as adulterers.

• This article is brought to you by South Africa's most popular online divorce service eDivorce. The fastest and cheapest way to get a uncontested divorce in South Africa.
  
  Maintenance is the obligation to provide another person, (for example a minor), with food, housing, clothing, medical care and education, or with means that are necessary for providing the person with these essentials. This is a legal duty and also called 'the duty to maintain' or 'the duty to support'.
  
  Links courtesy of the South African Government Services
  
  Application for a maintenance order
  
  Who must provide maintenance?
  
  The duty to maintain is based on blood relationship, adoption, or the fact that the parties are married to each other.
  
  A child must be supported or maintained by:
• his or her parents, whether married, living together, separated or divorced, including parents who have adopted the child; and/or
• his or her grandparents, whether or not the child's parents were married to each other. However, this varies from one case to another.

The duty to support a family member is not limited to supporting a child. Any family member, irrespective of his or her age, can ask any family member to support or maintain him or her, provided that the following two conditions are met:

Divorce goes digital. What are your best options for an online diy divorce in South Africa?
According to statistics, one in two marriages in South African end in divorce. During 2007 there were close to 40000 divorces in South Africa, which is a tragic reality. When you find yourself in a contested divorce (where you and your spouse can't agree on matters such as finances, custody, division of your assets etc) the best option would be to seek the services of an attorney.
When the divorce is uncontested, i.e. where you do agree with your spouse on the disputes mentioned above, you basically have two choices:
1) Go and see an attorney;
This can be costly as some attorneys charge fees of up to R 5 000 for an uncontested divorce. A typical divorce can be quite bitter as every element of the agreement is disputed by both parties, so legal costs can easily spiral out of control. Some attorneys' bills can run into tens of thousands of Rands.
2) Use an online DIY divorce service such as eDivorce.co.za
This is your best option, developed by a South African web development company eSplash in consultation with a number of family law attorneys, eDivorce.co.za launched an online divorce do-it-yourself service, which can probably be regarded as one of the most comprehensive divorce information sites of anything you need to know about the divorce process in South Africa. eDivorce.co.za offers an excellent way of minimising legal fees and the emotional stress attached to divorce. The process is simplified and takes the sting out of the divorce process. Provided, however that both parties are in basic agreement over the financial settlement, custody issues and that it is an uncontested divorce.
The edivorce.co.za service makes South Africa's divorce system more accessible and more affordable to the general public by affording the option to start the divorce process online. With people struggling to make ends meet during the credit crunch we face, eDivorce.co.za is a definite alternative for couples seeking an uncontested divorce in South Africa. Divorce is a process that few people undertake without serious consideration of its consequences. In offering such a service, eDivorce notes on its website that the goal is not to sanction or promote divorce but to provide a simple online service for making the divorce process less expensive and stressful.
There is a clearly an upswing in European countries as well as in the US in the number of online Divorces. In the United Kingdom online Divorces have increased by well over 55% in the past year and more and more people are taking DIY divorce route to save money.
In addition eDivorce.co.za also offers valuable information on other aspects of divorce, such as its physiological effects, information on counselling, custody, maintenance and domestic violence disputes, these are all freely available on the web page and really valuable information to have and by far the most comprehensive divorce resource for anything you need to know about Divorce and its consequences. Users are also able to read and purchase books on divorce on the site and follow a blog on divorce issues, rebuilding your life, relationship tips and ways to cope with the emotional stresses caused by divorce.
Deciding to divorce your spouse should not be taken lightly and should be the last option. It is of vital importance to do whatever you can to save your marriage. Society is built on a healthy family structure and therefore you have to make sure that there is no other option available when you make a decision to divorce your spouse, it is not only you that will suffer, but also all those close to you, especially your children.