HOW MUCH DOES A CONTESTED DIVORCE COST IN SOUTH AFRICA?

How Much Does A Contested Divorce Cost in South Africa? Contested divorces frequently occur when one or more spouses disagree on the terms and conditions of their divorce. Disagreements relate commonly to child and spousal maintenance, division of property and assets, child care, etc. Generally, contested divorces can take 1 to 3 years to finalise due to settlement agreements needing to be agreed upon between parties and being revised. Often, contested divorces reach settlement agreements long before they go on trial.

Matters to be dealt with in a contested divorce includes:

The drafting of divorce summons and pleadings;
The pleadings and defending a divorce;
Defending a divorce;
Discovery of documents;
Division of the property;
Care, contact and maintenance in respect of the children;
and/or Spousal maintenance;
Pre-trial conference;
Trial.

Contested divorces and the costs involved are thus primarily based on the time it takes to reach a settlement between the parties involved. Divorce matters in South Africa do not allow divorce lawyers to work on a retainer basis. Generally, opposed divorce lawyers charge an hourly fee of between R1000 and R4000.