Monday 29 August 2011



WHAT IS THE LEGALSURE SHOP?
The Legalsure Shop is a pioneering group of people with services specifically designed to help middle-income, self-represented individuals handle their own legal affairs.   The Legalsure Shop offers affordable legal services, from Bar accredited attorneys, for people who want to, or currently are, handling their own legal matters. Do you have questions about standard forms or filings often required by the Courts? Do you need advice regarding a specific legal question, or task and do not want to pay for full attorney representation? The Legalsure Shop is specifically designed to support individuals in situations such just like these.

OUR SERVICES
The Legalsure Shop specializes in short-term legal assistance for individuals who want to handle their own legal affairs. While you may wish to pursue your own legal matter, you do not have to do it all alone! Let us support you in your efforts to help yourself.  The Legalsure Shop offers a variety of legal services.

THE LEGALSURE SHOP IS IDEAL FOR PEOPLE SEEKING HELP WITH:
Divorce, Modifying Permanent Orders (Like: Child Support & Parenting Time), Estate Planning and Wills, Preparing & Reviewing Court Forms & Documents, Martial Agreements (Prenuptial, Postnuptial & Cohabitation), Landlord-Tenant Disputes, Powers of Attorney, Employment Disputes, Small Claims Cases and Much More!

SCHEDULING AN APPOINTMENT
You can call and schedule an appointment and we will do our best to help you.  There are no income requirements needed, anyone can be a Legalsure Shop client.  The first consultation fee will be discussed with you when making an appointment.

You also get the satisfaction of being able to handle your own legal affairs with our assistance with confidence.

WHO IS IT FOR?
The service is available to anyone we think it can help and who would like to have greater control over their own affairs

CAN I GET LEGAL AID?
No. You cannot get legal aid to help with Legalsure Shop charges.

IS IT SAFE TO TAKE LEGAL ADVICE IN THIS WAY?
Not all legal matters are suitable for the Legalsure Shop’s service. We will tell you if we don't think you should use the service in a particular case and will refer you to an attorney.  All the advice (which can include help with drafting of letters or form-filling) is given by us.  Anything you do on your own, without checking it with us, will be your own responsibility.

WHAT IF I GET OUT OF MY DEPTH?
If you, or we, think the work has become too difficult for you to handle properly using the Legalsure Shop’s service, you can at any time transfer it to any attorney of your choice to take over the work.

DIVORCES
The Uncontested Divorce is a quick process with the least amount of emotional and monetary strain on the parties and their children.  In most cases the parties have reached an agreement on most or all of the issues and want to settle and finalize the matter peacefully and quickly. Only one of the spouses needs assistance to finalize the matter. We will draft, file and serve all the necessary documents on the uncontesting party for his/her perusal and signature. The uncontesting party is also welcome to contact the us should he/she need clarification on any issues. However, our loyalty will always be with the instructing party.  If all the parties agree on all the issues concerned, an uncontested divorce can be finalized within 6 – 8 weeks.

The Contested Divorce is a lengthy, expensive and mostly emotionally charged process which places huge strain on the parties concerned as well as their children.

A Contested Divorce occurs when the parties concerned cannot reach an agreement on the issues surrounding their divorce, for example custody over the children, the amount of maintenance to be paid and how their estate will be divided. These divorces can last anywhere between 6 months to 2 years or longer and can be extremely expensive. However, many contested divorces never go to trial and the parties settle before the matter goes to court. This normally happens after months of attempting to reach an agreement. We therefore recommend that the parties reach an agreement beforehand and opt for an uncontested divorce, when the circumstances allow for it.

Due to the fact that we cannot determine how long these matters will take to finalize or what ancillary expenses will have to be borne, the attorney will charge an hourly rate for contested divorces. This hourly rate will not include the cost of the advocate, expert witnesses, sheriff’s etc. who will also charge a fee.

A Rule 43 Application offers temporary relief during the divorce process. One of the spouses’ attorneys applies to the Court for either one or more of the following:
Interim maintenance until the divorce is finalized and a final Court Order is granted.
A contribution towards the costs of the pending divorce.
Interim custody of any minor child/children.
Interim access to any minor child/children.

This application is especially useful if you are financially dependant on your spouse and want to divorce him/her or if your spouse refuses you access to your minor child/children after the divorce proceedings have been initiated. In these cases a Rule 43 application can bring interim relief until a final divorce order is granted.

OTHER
We can also assist you in:

Winding up someone's estate after they have died
Sorting out debts
Disputes with the Council
Tax and Vat problems

Someone owes you money

And much more!

BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL
This is a very general description that we can assist you with. It includes:

Buying or selling businesses
Working with your other professional advisers to determine the most appropriate legal entity for your business
Forming companies and advising on the duties of the directors and shareholders
Preparing shareholders, partnership or joint venture agreements
Acting for either landlords or tenants to prepare new leases or assigning, varying or renewing an existing lease
Drafting employment agreements and advising on your obligations as an employer
Reviewing and advising you on agreements

There are many other areas in which we can help you, and if we don't have the expertise to help you, we'll happily refer you to someone who can.

CRIMINAL
We also do bail applications and we are available 24h for bail applications.  We have an attorney who specialises in criminal law and will advise you in any criminal matter.

PROPERTY
Buying or selling a house?
Getting a mortgage?
Need bridging finance?

We provide advice on the sale and purchase of residential homes, investment properties, commercial and industrial properties, bare land.

Our fees are fair and we provide a top quality service. Our team members are knowledgeable and friendly, approachable We will ensure you know what you need to do to and what we will do for you and we'll do our very best to make the process as smooth as possible for you.

Our office hours:  8h00 – 16h00 from Mondays to Fridays

Our contact details are:
Lorraine van Vuuren
0791553738 (cell)
011 9546922 (tel)
0866921353 (fax)
vvcil@absamail.co.za (e-mail)

FOR BAIL APPLICATIONS:  0743722953 (24H)

We will be happy to be of assistance to you and will act in your best interest.