Our Insights

Read our articles and expand your knowledge

Latest Insights

Suretyship vs Guarantee. What’s the difference?

02 May 2024

In this article, we look at two primary forms of security commonly found in financial transactions, namely suretyship agreements and... guarantees, and explain the difference between these two forms of security.

Article

Leave to Appeal vs Special Leave to Appeal

02 May 2024

On 4 April 2024 in the matter of Savannah Country Estate Homeowners Association v Zero Plus Trading 194 (Pty) Ltd... and Others (773/2022) [2024] ZASCA 40, our Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) had to address the important difference between an application for leave to appeal and an application for special leave to appeal. In this article, we analyse the SCA’s views in this regard.

Article

Can Landlords unilaterally charge for additional services?

02 May 2024

The relationship between landlord and tenant can be a complex one fraught with dangers for a careless landlord. In this... article, we explore whether a landlord can provide additional value-added services to its tenants beyond the scope of what is outlined in the lease agreement and then unilaterally charge extra for such services or remove existing services without consequence.

Article

Suretyship vs Guarantee. What’s the difference?

02 May 2024

Article

Leave to Appeal vs Special Leave to Appeal

02 May 2024

Article

Can Landlords unilaterally charge for additional services?

02 May 2024

Article

Reset Filters

Filter: Death

How A Pandemic Changed Funerals in South Africa

26 January 2021

As our President noted recently, funerals have become a death trap for many South Africans. Although it is deeply ingrained... in all of us to provide a fitting send-off for our departed loved one, we are in the grip of a deadly pandemic. The typical funeral activities that usually occur are increasing everyone’s exposure to risk. Accordingly, the COVID pandemic has changed funeral rituals, not only in South Africa but all over the world. The South African government was forced to introduce new measures to reduce the disease's risk by curtailing traditionally large funerals.

901

Article

Death and Finances - The Family Finance Talk You Must Have

26 October 2020

Personal finances, politics, religion and death. These are all challenging topics for discussion, but it appears that people would prefer... to talk to their family about their death rather than their personal finances. However, at some point, both death and finances need to be brought into the same discussion when planning for your family’s future after your passing.

1776

Article

Clearing Out A Parent’s Home After Their Death – The Practical And Emotional Aspects

20 September 2020

Clearing out your parent’s home after their death is both emotionally and physically taxing. Within a short space of time,... you are required to consolidate a very dear person’s life, while grief is still deeply rooted in your heart. Memories will intrude as you walk from room to room in their home and see walls and corners filled with their belongings, bringing them to life again. The thought of giving their things away and removing their presence seems so disrespectful and irreverent. You have a longing to leave everything the same in a time capsule that can reflect their very last essence. Just as you wondered how you would possibly cope in a world without them, so too it seems impossible that you would ever be able to do away with any of their belongings. You want to hold onto everything of theirs forever. Unfortunately, you cannot.

893

Article

How To Decide On A Burial Or A Cremation

10 September 2020

The choice between a burial and a cremation is a very personal one and should ideally be decided on and... communicated to your loved ones before your passing. This can be a difficult decision, as it needs to take into consideration your and your family’s personal and religious beliefs, as well as financial situation.

841

Article

Coping With Grief And Finding Closure During COVID-19

22 July 2020

A reasonable period of grief and a feeling of bereavement when someone close to you dies is, unfortunately, one of... the most common and upsetting experiences to face. These feelings usually ease gradually over time as you learn to accept the loss of your loved one. However, some people are unable to move forward and experience feelings of loss that are so debilitating and long-lasting, that they are unable to function normally in daily life. This is known as complicated grief or persistent complex bereavement disorder.

937

Article

The impact of COVID-19 on our last farewells

22 July 2020

Funerals are rituals that are as old as humanity itself. They are not only an opportunity to show your emotions and to... grieve, but they also help to grasp the reality of loss and the meaning that your loved one had in your life. COVID-19 has deprived people of these precious last moments of a farewell in many ways due to the nature of the virus and the regulations implemented to contain its spread. However, it has also made thinking and talking about death far easier than in the past.

964

Article