Legal costs are made of Attorneys’ fees, counsel’s fees ( if instructed), Court Fees, and expert fees. Attorney’s fees, are fees charged for services such as consultations, drafting of documents, negotiations, and representation in Court. These fees are charged per quarter of an hour. Court Fees are fees related to serving and filing of court documents, are usually regarded as disbursements. Expert fees are fees to paid to professionals to assist in the best outcome of your matter, for example, child psychologists, financial evaluators, and or mediators. The list is not exhaustive.
In uncontested divorces, each party would usually pay his or her own legal fees. The same is not necessarily the same for contested divorces. The general rule is that, each party bears the responsibility to pay his or her own legal fees; however, the Court has a wide discretion to deviate from this rule if it deems necessary. A financially disadvantaged spouse may apply for interim maintenance (Rule 43 in the High Court and Rule 58 in the Magistrate’s court) to cover the legal fees and living expenses until the divorce is finalized.
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Contested divorce actions cost anything between R 20 000.00 (twenty thousand rand ) to the millions, depending on the nature of the estate, custody, dissolution of the estate, and any issue relating to the minor children ( if any).
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