“Social media is where people spend most of their time. Why not learn something useful while scrolling?”
This is the view of Mary Jane Mphahlele, director of an eponymous Polokwane-based firm of attorneys, who has become a familiar face on TikTok, where she is popularly known as “the divorce attorney”.
“People don’t have access to legal information and attorneys usually charge per hour for their time. Sharing legal knowledge on TikTok felt like a way to contribute meaningfully to society while doing something I enjoy,” Mphahlele said.
A former political journalist, she told TimesLIVE she saw an opportunity to merge her passion for law and media when TikTok became a popular social platform in the country.
She cautioned, however: “It’s important to note my videos are not legal advice, they are about legal knowledge.”
Some of her most-viewed content tackles common but misunderstood issues, particularly around marriage and divorce law.
Mphahlele said her most commonly asked questions are, “My husband paid lobola. Am I married?”, and “I want to divorce, but I don’t have a marriage certificate. How can I do that?”.
In one of her TikTok videos, she explains that even if a man has not paid the full amount of lobola, if all the requirements for a valid customary marriage were there, they are married under customary law.
“Even if they charged him R50,000 and Thabo gave them R500 towards that amount, I’m married. If all the other customs in terms of our culture are observed and the requirements in terms of age and consent are there, I’m married, I’m a makoti [bride],” Mphahlele said.
“Our grandparents didn’t need a civil wedding to make their unions valid.”
Mphahlele said there are many people who do not realise they’re automatically wed in community of property after a man pays lobola.
In the absence of an antenuptial contract, a marriage is automatically deemed to be in community of property
— Mary Jane Mphahlele
“In the absence of an antenuptial contract, also referred to as a prenup, a marriage is automatically deemed to be in community of property. This means all assets and liabilities acquired before and during the marriage are shared equally between spouses.”
Mphahlele also uses her platform to clarify widespread misconceptions about polygamy, noting a man married under civil law cannot take a second wife.
“Under customary law, a second marriage requires compliance with cultural practices and a high court application to regulate the matrimonial property regime. Without that, the marriage will be invalid in terms of community of property.”
On her website she explains her firm helps some couples change their contracts to switch to “out of community of property”.
While complex, this helps couples who do not want to be exposed to the risk of one spouse incurring significant debt, placing the other’s assets at risk. Importantly, if one spouse is involved in a business venture, having an out of community of property marriage can protect the other spouse’s assets from any business-related liabilities or losses.
Mphahlele, who was born in Soweto but grew up in a small Limpopo village, holds an LLB from the University of South Africa and a media studies degree from Nelson Mandela University, spent 10 years in the media industry and more than four years in law. She works in the administration of deceased estates, estate planning, family law, insolvency, personal injury and media law.
While some clients approach her after discovering her TikTok content, Mphahlele said her videos are not marketing tools but rather a passion project.
“Follow your dreams and work hard. Everything is a process. Nothing happens overnight. Whether it’s journalism, law or content creation, you need patience and resilience.”
TimesLIVE
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