Weddingguide


	LEGAL ASPECTS
	by Natasja Lubbe

	Deciding how to draw up your antenuptial contract is probably the most
	important decision of all those you will make before you get married, and
	yet, in the midst of all the excitement over wedding arrangements, it is often
	left until last.

	Although the marriage contract may not have an impact on your wedding
	day, it is the one aspect that will have the greatest financial and legal
	implications for the duration of your marriage. It will determine whether or
	not you will be able to feel comfortable when you stand at your husband’s
	side when he purchases that new plasma screen one day because you know
	the money is coming straight out of his own pocket. It will also determine
	whether or not you need to arrange to sign the contract of sale on your new
	house together. In addition, it will be the deciding factor on whether or not
	you need to ask your husband’s permission beforehand if you want to stand
	surety for your family when they want to buy something.

	Civil marriage:
	A civil marriage is the traditional Western marriage and is governed by laws
	on matrimonial property, also called the law of property between spouses.

	In Community of Property
	To be married in community of property means that the respective estates of
	each spouse before marriage are merged into one communal estate. The
	two spouses thus become joint managers of this communal estate. In other
	words: “What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours.” Although this may
	sound like true love, the disadvantage of this arrangement is that a
	communal estate is far more vulnerable, since both spouses are affected if
	one of them runs into financial difficulties.

	For this reason, the spouses’ contractual capacities are limited and certain
	contracts, such as those involving the purchase of real estate, may not be
	signed without the permission of the other spouse. In the event of the
	dissolution of the marriage, one half of the estate automatically goes to each





	spouse. The advantage of marrying in community of property is that no
	arrangements have to be made with regard to an antenuptial contract, since
	a couple is automatically married in community of property in the absence
	of such a contract.

	Out of Community of Property, without Accrual
	When a couple marries out of community of property without accrual, the
	individual estates of each spouse before the wedding remain exclusively
	theirs after the wedding and in the event of the dissolution of the marriage.
	Each spouse is solely responsible for his or her own debts and the same goes
	for any profits made. An antenuptial contract must be signed in order for a
	couple to marry out of community of property without accrual.

	Out of Community of Property, with Accrual
	To be married out of community of property with accrual still means that the
	individual spouses’ estates remain separate once they are married. The
	accrual only comes into effect in the event of the dissolution of the marriage.
	One of the reasons for which this type of antenuptial contract has come into
	being is to provide for those situations in which one spouse stays at home,
	doing housework and minding the children, and is thus not able to earn
	money, but allows the other to pursue a career which enlarges his or her
	personal estate. The accrual involves each spouse’s determining the initial
	value of their separate estates and indicating these values in the antenuptial
	contract. With the dissolution of the marriage, the final value of each estate
	as well as how much each has grown is determined. The difference in growth
	is then divided equally and the spouse whose estate has grown the most
	must pay out the other spouse’s half. An anteneptial contract is also entered
	into in this instance.

	It is important to remember that the antenuptial contract must be drawn up
	and signed before the wedding ceremony takes place.

	After the wedding, the contract is taken to the Deeds Office to be registered.