Lawyer Says No One Is Allowed To Refuse Divorce, TikTok Video Goes Viral
- A South African legal practitioner said that no one can refuse to sign divorce papers, that is against the law
- She added that it is possible to delay the divorce process, but in the end, it will have to happen
- The social media community reacted to the information, with many sharing their divorce stories without the other partner
- The attorney spoke to Briefly News a bit more about the country's law when it comes to divorce
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Source: TikTok
A South African legal practitioner noted that a party can't refuse divorce if another party is no longer interested in the marriage.
@maryjaneesq took to her TikTok account to share the information. She said a person may delay being divorced by the other person but not to an extent where they totally refuse the other person to leave them or get out of the marriage.
She added that South Africa has one of the best law or legal processes where the courts are willing to punish someone who does such acts.
Lawyer says no one can refuse to divorce someone
Watch the insightful TikTok video below:
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Legal practitioner speaks to Briefly News about divorce procedure
Speaking to Briefly News, Maryjane dived a bit deeper into the divorce procedure in SA.
She said it's possible for one to divorce their partner without their knowledge. However, that is the last resort. The person who is being divorced is served a summons, but if they can't be reached, the court may grant permission for the divorce to be advertised on social media in hopes of reaching the other party.
If the other party can't be reached with such means then the divorce may be granted without their presence.
She further said that there is no time frame for one to sign divorce papers because the process involves the issuance of a summons by one party (the plaintiff), followed by a formal legal procedure.
"While there isn't a specific time frame for signing divorce papers in South Africa, there are specific deadlines and legal procedures that must be followed in the divorce process, as outlined above."
TikTokkers share their divorce stories
The video garnered over 40k likes, with many online users thanking the lawyer for her insightful information and others sharing their divorce stories.
@Ontiretse agreed:
"My ex-husband didn’t participate in anything, and didn’t even attend court, but my divorce was granted."
@tsakanejoyce07m knows the experience:
"True , he didn’t even pitch at court and we proceeded without him. He was made aware of the application and he didn’t contest, that was it."
@Zama Mahamba learnt something:
"Someone finally said it I blame it on the TV soapies."
@Ms Fro shared a different view:
"A disadvantage of the South African laws that is considered the best, people are being divorced without their knowledge."
@Dancing Lady joked:
"You just exposed the game "
@Elie Khoza shared:
"My Mom divorced my father without him signing the papers ."
Lawyer emphasises importance of divorce in a customary marriage
In another story, Briefly News reported about a lawyer who gave knowledge about divorce in a customary marriage.
@maryjaneesq took to her TikTok account and said in a customary marriage, each apartment is entitled to 50% of their property, and that is before the additional R250 000 that they are entitled to each in the marriage.
The lawyer emphasised the importance of divorcing when they are no longer together because customary marriage is also recognised in the court system.
Source: Briefly News
