To care for the child, to maintain contact with the child, to act as the guardian of the child and to contribute to the maintenance of the child.

Should a child be of an age, maturity and stage of development to be able to participate, the child will have the right to participate in an appropriate way and his/her views must be duly considered.

No. Consent by the co-guardian is required before removing the child or children from South Africa.

A parenting plan can be concluded with the mother. This plan should be registered at the Family Advocate’s Office and/or made an order of the Children’s Court or High Court. If the mother does not want to co-operate, application can be made to Court to apply for the registration of a parenting plan.

Yes, irrespective of contact with the child every parent has a duty to pay maintenance towards their child.

Where the parents are married and have reached an agreement it is very important that a divorce settlement agreement is properly drafted to deal with the various issues pertaining to children, and to balance the responsibilities and rights of the parents, especially in respect of contact/visitation and maintenance.  An attorney specializing in children’s court matters has the experience to make sure that you and your child’s rights are protected.

Where the parents are married and are unable to reach an agreement in respect of children the divorce becomes opposed, which means that it becomes more complicated and you need advice from a specialist family law attorney.

If a guardian unreasonably withhold his or her consent you have to obtain court order from the relevant Court. The Courts in South Africa that deals with children is your local Children’s Court, or the High Court of South Africa. Only the High Court of South Africa has jurisdiction in respect of guardianship issues.

If the father is married to the mother he automatically has full parental responsibilities and rights.

An unmarried father acquires full parental responsibilities and rights if he was living with the mother in a permanent life partnership when the minor child was born.

A father can also acquire full parental responsibilities and rights if;

(a)       He is identified on the child’s birth certificate as the father or if he pays damages in terms of customary law, and

(b)       If he is involved in the child’s upbringing and,

(c)        If he pays maintenance for the child.

The mother can also sign a Parental Responsibilities and Rights Agreement with the biological father.

This is when the child lives permanently with the custodian parent.

This is when the child does not have a permanent home with one parent, and contact/visitation is equally shared: for example the child lives one week with the mother and one week with the father.

The parties must attend mediation with either the Office of the Family Advocate, a Social Worker or a suitably qualified person such as a Psychologist, in an attempt for the parties to mediate an agreement.

If the parents are still unable to agree the matter will be referred to an expert namely the Office of the Family Advocate, a Social Worker or a Psychologist to do an investigation and report as to the best interest of the child.

This report will be presented to the Divorce Trial Court at the end of the divorce, or can be referred to the Court before the divorce is finalised in a Rule 43 application.