• There are 3 marriage systems in South Africa, namely:

1. Marriage In Community of Property;
2. Marriage Out of Community of Property with the Accrual System; or
3. Marriage Out of Community of Property without the Accrual System.

Marriage out of community if property without the accrual system is often referred to as an Ante-Nuptial Contract (ANC).

An antenuptial contract is a contract, entered into by husband and wife who wish to keep their estates separate during the marriage.

The antenuptial contract must be entered into before the marriage and may contain any provisions, as long as they are not morally wrong.

An antenuptial contract also determines the matrimonial regime applicable to a marriage and the terms and conditions on which the parties wish the proprietary consequences of their marriage to be governed.

It is important to note that an antenuptial contract must be in a notarial form and executed by a notary. It is registered in the deeds office of the jurisdiction in which the parties are domiciled, although there is nothing preventing parties from registering their antenuptial contract in more than one jurisdiction.

At the dissolution of the marriage, the accrual system comes into affect (through divorce). The system takes into an count that the marriage was a partnership between two people, and the contributions made to the marriage other than financial, should also be honoured ensuring both spouses gain a fair share of the estate during the divorce.

The accrual system considers how much each spouse has accrued during the marriage and ensures the redistribution of the  accrued wealth obtained collectively, in a fair manner.

Advantages of Anti-nuptial contracts:

• Each spouse’s assets and liabilities belong to to that party individually and be handled however each party deems necessary.
• Spouses do not share their assets acquired before marriage.
• Spouses are not liable for each other’s debts.