To the reader of Gauteng News, the fastest growing newspaper in Gauteng, it is with great pleasure that your favourite newspaper in association with Ditheko Lebethe Attorneys is bringing you a weekly column dealing with different aspects of law – ranging from Property Law, Family Law, Labour Law, Civil Law, Refugee Law and Personal Injury Law – for your benefit. It is through engaging with this newspaper that we would keep you informed with the latest developments in our laws as well as advise you of the current laws as they apply. It is said that a nation perishes where knowledge and insight remains the custodian of the few – the first step in understanding any law which applies to you is knowing your rights and obligations that come with it. In a three part column, we will be discussing the different types ofmarriages recognised in South Africa and other unions that are accorded similar status and benefits as amarriage.
There are many types of marriages in South Africa but briefly all the marriages that are conducted are classified as either being a civil marriage or customary marriage or religious marriage. It is possible to enter into more than one marriage with different spouses in so far as customary marriages and religious marriages are concerned. However, this is not the case when it comes to civil marriages – the law requires all civil marriages to be monogamous. There are three 3 forms of civil marriages recognised in South Africa and are explained below:
1. Marriage in community of property: it is seen as a default marriage, and concluded by the majority of married couples in South Africa. It is concluded without a written contract being entered into by the parties to regulate their marriage either before getting married or for the duration of their marriage. The moment when a person gets married in community of property it is said that a joint estate is established. This simply means the assets and liabilities of each spouse acquired before and during the marriage are deemed as jointly belonging to the married couple. This simply means that no spouse may dispose of any assets in the joint estate without the consent of the other spouse to the marriage. Furthermore, a spouse to this marriage may be held jointly liable for the debts of the other spouse during the marriage irrespective of whether the debt was acquired prior or during to the marriage. In the event that the marriage ends due to a divorce, the parties have an automatic right to share in the joint estate equally.
2. Marriage out of community of property subject to accrual: this is the type of marriage that is concluded as a result of a written contract entered into by the parties, whereby a contract is prepared and registered as of necessity by a lawyer known as a notary public, before the marriage or during the marriage. The purpose of the parties entering into a contract is to regulate the assets, liabilities, giftsand bequests acquired before and during marriage. The contract can be concluded by the parties prior to entering into the marriage in which instance it is known as an antenuptial contract or during their marriage in which case it is known as a postnuptial contract and must be approved by the court. At the time of the parties entering into this marriage it is important to record the net worth of each spouse before getting married as when the marriage ends through a divorce, the couple is entitled to share equally the difference in the net value of their estates.
3. The third type of a civil marriage is known as a marriage out of community of property excluding accrual: we will discuss this type of marriage and other forms of marriage in our next column.
Ditheko Lebethe
Ditheko Lebethe Attorneys
info@lebetheattorneys.co.za
www.lebetheattorneys.co.za
011 333 7537
