What is the accrual system?
A way of sharing what the two of you build during the marriage, without your estates merging into one. Each of you keeps your own estate. When the marriage ends, by divorce or by death, the spouse whose estate grew by less has a claim against the other for half the difference between the two growths.
Inheritances, legacies and donations that come to you during the marriage fall outside the calculation, unless you agree otherwise in the contract itself.
Worth knowing: an antenuptial contract that excludes community of property and community of profit and loss is subject to the accrual system automatically. If you do not want accrual, the contract has to exclude it expressly.
What happens if we marry without one?
You are married in community of property. Everything becomes a single joint estate: what each of you brought in, what either of you earns afterwards, and what either of you owes. Your spouse's debts become recoverable from the joint estate.
That is a choice, even though it rarely feels like one. It is simply what the law applies when the parties make no other arrangement before the wedding.
How long before the wedding do we need to do this?
The contract must be signed at our offices at least a week before the date of the marriage. Later than that and the matter becomes urgent, with the additional costs that go with urgent work.
The contract must in any event be signed before you marry. Once the marriage is concluded that door closes, and the only route left is an application to the High Court.
What does an antenuptial contract cost?
R4,200, all inclusive.
Do we both have to come in?
Yes, both of you. We are obliged to discuss and explain the different marriage contract options with you in consultation, and that cannot sensibly be done with one party in the room.
In most cases the whole matter is dealt with in a single visit: we consult, we draft, and if you are able to wait, you sign the same day. That depends on our workload on the day, but where the consultation has been arranged in advance we are usually able to complete everything at the first visit.
Can it be changed after the wedding?
Yes, but not by agreement between the two of you. You would both have to apply to the High Court. The court must be satisfied that there are sound reasons for the change, that sufficient notice has been given to all your creditors, and that no other person will be prejudiced by it.
If the court is satisfied, it authorises you to sign a notarial contract setting out the new arrangement.
We are already married - is it too late?
No. The same application is open to you whether you married before or after the Matrimonial Property Act came into force in 1984.
It is more work and more expensive than signing a contract before the wedding, and the outcome is in the court's hands rather than yours. But it can be done, and it is worth doing where the present arrangement is causing real difficulty.
What should I bring to the consultation?
Both identity documents, and an idea of what each of you owns and owes. Your wedding date, above all. If you have nothing, come anyway - it is better to start the conversation than to wait until the file is tidy.
Can you advise me by email or WhatsApp?
No. We advise in consultation. A message is the right way to arrange an appointment, but not the right way to receive advice on something this consequential.
How do I make an appointment?
Telephone 087 133 3595, or send the short form on this site. We will contact you to arrange a date and time.
