Marriage in Community of Property
This is the default marriage system in South Africa if the parties do not register a valid antenuptial contract.
Under this system:
All assets and liabilities from before and during the marriage form part of a joint community estate.
Both spouses share the assets and liabilities equally.
For estate planning, a spouse can only deal with their half of the joint estate in their will.
Marriage Out of Community of Property
To adopt this system, an antenuptial contract must be signed and registered within three months of conclusion.
This system has two variations:
Excluding the Accrual System
Each spouse has a separate estate.
Assets owned before and during the marriage remain separate.
Liabilities belong to the incurring party, and creditors cannot claim against the other spouse.
Including the Accrual System
Spouses maintain separate estates.
'Accrual' refers to the net growth of each spouse's estate during the marriage.
On dissolution (divorce or death), the spouse with the smaller accrual has a claim for half the difference in accrual.
Commencement values (estate values at the start of the marriage) must be agreed upon.
Specific assets (e.g., shares, jewelry) can be excluded.
Choose accrual or keep estates separate—your future, your choice. 💼❤️
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