Postnuptial Contracts South Africa

Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This website, postnuptial.co.za, is operated by Louwrens Koen Attorneys, a South African legal practice based at Office No. 4, 2nd Floor, Gate 12, Loftus Versveld Stadium (Northern Pavilion), 416 Kirkness Street, Arcadia, Pretoria, 0083. References in this Privacy Policy to “the firm”, “we”, “us” and “our” are to Louwrens Koen Attorneys.

2. What this policy covers

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information that you provide through this website. It applies to:

  • the online application form;
  • the contact form;
  • email or telephone correspondence in response to enquiries from this website; and
  • any analytics or cookie information collected when you use the site.

It does not extend to the broader processing of personal information by the firm in the course of legal matters — that is governed by our engagement letters and the rules applicable to attorneys.

3. What personal information we collect

Through this website, we may collect:

  • Application data — full names, identity numbers, residential addresses, places of employment in the preceding 12 months, email addresses, telephone numbers, and information about your marriage, property, creditors and reasons for seeking a change of matrimonial property regime, where you complete the online application.
  • Contact data — your name, email address and message, where you use the contact form or email us directly.
  • Technical data — IP address, browser type, device type, referral source and pages visited, collected automatically through standard web analytics.
  • Cookie data — small text files stored by your browser, as described in section 8 below.

4. How we use your personal information

We use personal information for the following purposes:

  • to assess your enquiry and to advise on the appropriate next step;
  • to communicate with you about your enquiry;
  • to provide legal services where the firm is instructed to act;
  • to comply with our legal and professional obligations, including those under the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, and the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001;
  • to maintain and improve this website; and
  • to detect and prevent fraud or misuse.

5. Lawful basis for processing

Personal information you provide through this website is processed on the lawful basis that you have provided it for the purpose of obtaining an assessment of your enquiry and a possible legal instruction. Where the firm is instructed to act, processing is governed by the engagement letter and continues on the lawful basis of performance of an attorney’s mandate.

Certain processing is required by law (for example, anti-money-laundering record-keeping under FICA). Other processing is for the firm’s legitimate interests in running its practice, where these do not override your rights.

6. Who we share your information with

We do not sell personal information. We share personal information only with:

  • our staff and the professional advisers we engage on your matter, including counsel, the Sheriff, expert witnesses or correspondents, where this is necessary for the matter;
  • service providers who process information on our behalf (for example, hosting, document management, the JotForm platform), subject to appropriate contractual protections;
  • the Court, the Registrar of Deeds, the Master of the High Court, and other public authorities to the extent necessary in your matter;
  • creditors, by way of registered post under Practice Directive 15.6, where your matter proceeds to a section 21 application;
  • the Government Gazette, where your matter proceeds to a section 21 application; and
  • any other person or authority to whom we are required by law to disclose information.

We require all third parties that handle personal information on our behalf to maintain appropriate security.

7. How long we retain your information

Personal information collected through the website is retained for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, and thereafter as required by law and the firm’s record-keeping obligations as a South African legal practice. Matter files are retained in accordance with applicable retention requirements (typically several years after the matter is closed).

8. Cookies and analytics

We use a minimal set of cookies and analytics tools to operate the website and to understand how it is used:

  • Essential cookies — needed for the website to function (for example, session and security cookies). These are always on.
  • Analytics cookies / pixels — used to count visitors and to understand site usage in aggregate. These are activated only where you consent through the cookie banner.
  • Third-party content — embedded forms (JotForm) and maps (Google Maps) may set their own cookies when you interact with them. We provide notice of this in the cookie banner.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may impair some site functionality.

9. Your rights

Subject to the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, you have the following rights in relation to your personal information:

  • to know what personal information about you we hold;
  • to request access to that information;
  • to request correction of inaccurate information;
  • to request deletion of information that is unnecessary, excessive or unlawful;
  • to object to the processing of your information in certain circumstances; and
  • to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in section 11.

10. Information security

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse and unauthorised access. These steps include access controls, secure storage, encrypted communication where appropriate, and the use of reputable service providers.

No method of transmission over the internet is entirely secure. While we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. How to contact us

If you have a question about this Privacy Policy or how we process personal information, please contact us:

  • Email: info@louwrenskoen.co.za
  • Telephone: 087 001 0733
  • Post: Louwrens Koen Attorneys, Office No. 4, 2nd Floor, Gate 12, Loftus Versveld Stadium (Northern Pavilion), 416 Kirkness Street, Arcadia, Pretoria, 0083

Information Officer (in terms of POPIA): [ATTORNEY REVIEW: confirm the firm’s Information Officer name and contact details for publication.]

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version is the one displayed on this page. Material changes will be reflected with a revision date.

Last updated: [Date to be inserted at launch]