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Bitesize legal Q’s

View fullsize You may own assets with significant financial value. A car. A property. A thriving business. A Will is the place to outline where and how these assets get dispersed when you die. ⁠ ⁠ If you do own a house, for example, and know that you’d like
View fullsize Just because you’re not partnered up, doesn’t mean you don’t have assets to be dished out when you die. ⁠ ⁠ As a younger single person, perhaps those assets don’t include a hefty wealth portfolio and a house just yet (or maybe
View fullsize Your kiddies’ guardians are named in your Will. ⁠ ⁠ If you die without a Will and without guardianship defined, then the State will choose. If you have little ones, the reality is that you might die before they’re old enough to manage the
View fullsize Let’s go through an example of what happens if you DON’T appoint a guardian to look after your kids “in case”. ⁠ ⁠ The State might choose your sister as your child’s legal guardian because she’s a good choice on pa
View fullsize In a word: ABSOLUTELY. ⁠ ⁠ Your Will is the legal document in which you nominate a trusted person as the legal guardian of your minor child (under 18). This guardianship comes into play in an absolute worst-case-scenario in which both parents of a ch
View fullsize Let’s jump right in and get casual with words like death, die and mortality. We may as well, we’re talking about Wills here after all...⁠ ⁠ The only time a Will becomes relevant is when you die. (And there are only so many death analogies
View fullsize The people left behind when you die one day are the people who’ll be dealing with wrapping up your estate. The more organised your life.file, the easier you make that process for your loved ones. ⁠ ⁠ No one wants to be scratching around for lap
View fullsize The things you should have your @life.file include all of the documents and information that will be required by the Master of the High Court to wrap up your estate one day. When people die, what they leave behind is “wrapped up” by the S
View fullsize Your @my.life.file is a folder of all the important life documents and information that your loved ones will need one day when you die. Some categories to include in your life.file are: legal, financial, end-of-life, medical, insurance, financial, ch
View fullsize 🤍START HAVING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS. It’s grim, but it’s important. Talk about where the wills are. Talk about what happens if you end up on life support. Talk about what properties you own and where the title deeds can be found. Phone
View fullsize Trademarks can be obtained without a lawyer. Best news ever!⁠ ⁠ CIPC allows the owner of a trademark (called the proprietor) to file an application to register the trademark on their own. The process can be done online and all documents can be filed
View fullsize Trademarks can be used to stop counterfeit products. ⁠ ⁠ A registered trademark can be used by customs authorities to stop the importation of counterfeit foreign goods into South Africa. The Counterfeit Goods Act also enables the owner of a trademark
View fullsize Trademarks make it easier to expand your brand internationally. ⁠ ⁠ A registered trademark in South Africa can be used as a basis to obtain protection in other countries. In this regard, it is important to understand that you can only enforce your ri
View fullsize Trademarks make it much easier to prove your rights. ⁠ ⁠ In any legal proceedings relating to a registered trademark, you can simply provide a copy of the registration certificate to show that you have rights in that brand. This also applies to socia
View fullsize Trademarks can be used to start a franchise...⁠ ⁠ You can license your trademark to others to either build a franchise, or simply to assist you with broadening the reach of your brand. A trademark license can also be recorded on the trademark registe
View fullsize Trademarks can be used to obtain loans. ⁠ ⁠ Just like immovable property (like houses) can be leveraged to get loans, so too can trademarks.
View fullsize Trademarks provide exclusive rights. What this means is that having a trademark allows you to prevent the unauthorised use of your brand in the classes in which the trademark is registered. ⁠ ⁠ As the owner of a trademark, you can obtain an interdict
View fullsize Trademarks never expire. Never!⁠ ⁠ As long as you use your trademark, and make sure to keep renewing it every ten years at CIPC, they will never expire. Many well known trademarks have been registered for hundreds of years. Pepsi was first registered
 

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