Renegotiating After You’ve Signed: The Email That Ended a Property Sale

by Swarts Marais Attorneys | Sep 24, 2026 | Property

“Words are loaded pistols.” (Jean-Paul Sartre) In June 2018 a couple agreed to buy a house for R1.95 million. The sale was subject to two conditions: that they sell another property within ninety days and obtain a bond for the full purchase price. The other property...

Was it Even His Signature? How to Overturn a Fraudulent Will

by Swarts Marais Attorneys | Sep 24, 2026 | Wills and Estate Planning

“Beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing.” (From Aesop’s Fables) Your relative or friend dies, having at the last minute made a new will leaving everything to a new sole heir. You’re suspicious: the deceased was vulnerable, perhaps dying or suffering from dementia, and...

Employ a Foreign National? What You Must Check Now, and What Could Change

by Swarts Marais Attorneys | Sep 24, 2026 | Employment and Labour Law

“Ignorance of the law excuses no man.” (John Selden) Government is increasing inspections aimed at employers of undocumented foreign nationals. Businesses may be the most obvious targets, but an ordinary household employing a domestic worker or gardener is also an...

National Wills Week: Do You Really Need 6 Types of Will?

by Swarts Marais Attorneys | Aug 26, 2026 | Wills and Estate Planning

“One ring to rule them all.” (JRR Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings) When it comes to making sure that you get to choose who inherits what from your estate, there really is only “one will to rule them all,” because our law recognises only one type of testamentary will:...

Better Late Than Never: Marriage Law Drags Itself into the 21st Century

by Swarts Marais Attorneys | Aug 26, 2026 | Family Law

“It is revolting to have no better reason for a rule of law than that so it was laid down in the time of Henry IV.” (Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr) A couple may marry in one country, live in several others, hold different nationalities and eventually settle in South...