Answers to your questions
Have a question you would like answered? Email us and we may answer it. The questions here are based on ones from our readers, with identifying information removed.
Please note: GroundUp is just a news agency. We are not lawyers or financial advisors, and we have nothing to do with SASSA, Home Affairs, or any other government bodies. We do our best to make the answers accurate using publicly available information, but we cannot accept any legal liability if there are errors. If you notice any discrepancies, please email [email protected].
My employer applied for me to be medically boarded. But the insurance company contracted to my employer has not paid me yet.
If you were a member of a fund or scheme that provides disability benefits, and your employer applied for you to be medically boarded, the insurer has the final say on whether you qualify to benifit.
My daughter stole my deceased mother's documents so she can claim her funeral policy. Please help me!
Notify the funeral policy company immediately to freeze the policy to prevent a wrongful payout.
Who should I contact to submit an overstay appeal application?
Home Affairs and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
My husband's aplication for permanent residency was rejected. We submitted an appeal and have not heard back for months. Please help us!
The delay your husband is experience at Home Affairs is unfortunately very common. You can lodge a formal complaint with the Public Protector.
How can my siblings and I find out if our father left us any inheritance?
If your father did not leave a will, the Intestate Succession Act will apply. Your right to inherit from your father will come before his brothers.
My uncle, the executor of my mother's deceased estate, is not communicating with me as her first born child. What can I do?
You have the right to request formal updates from your uncle, if he doesn't respond you can lodge a complaint with the Master's Office.
I am disabled and I use a wheelchair. I have been on the housing list for years. How can I get a house in Cape Town?
You should update your contact details at the housing office and contact a few organisations who can assist you.
My mother died in another country and I don't have her death certificate. How do I apply for an ID if I lost my birth certificate?
You can apply for a replacement birth certificate, and contact DIRCO to a get your mother's death certificate from the country she died in.
How can I get proof of existence of a deceased person who never had a birth certificate or ID?
You will need to go to Home Affairs and provide them of any evidence that he was alive.
An estate agent used my ID to buy a house for a client without my consent. Please help!
You could report the agent to the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority or open a case at your local police station.