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Filter: Marriage
Your surname? Your choice: Constitutional Court’s judgment on spousal surnames

16 September 2025,  Tasmia Ally, Wisani Maluleke

Husbands can now legally take their wives’ surnames after marriage.

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5485
Article
Customary marriages and antenuptial agreements: What you need to know

06 February 2024,  Corlia van Zyl

"I am getting married this year in terms of customary law. My fiancé and I are both professionals and wish... to be married out of community of property so that we can manage our own estates. How can we proceed with this?"

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6326
Article
When a spouse hides assets away in a trust…

15 January 2024

In a divorce, it may transpire that one spouse has during the marriage transferred assets to a trust. This raises... the question of whether such trust assets are excluded from the calculation of accrual where the parties are married out of community with the accrual system. In this article, we take a look at what has been termed ‘alter ego’ trusts and how our courts treat these when it comes to divorce proceedings.

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8866
Article
When are you legally married?

13 October 2015

My husband and I got married 11 years ago. I now want to get divorced, but according to the Department... of Home Affairs we have never been married as they cannot find any marriage certificate. How is that possible? Did the minister not register it? What now? 

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1951
Article
Can you change your matrimonial property system?

08 September 2015

My husband and I were married in community of property many years ago. We now however feel that it would... be better for the management of our family and separate business interests if we were rather married out of community of property. Can we change our marriage system to out of community of property?

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1892
Article
The abuse of trusts in case of divorce: know your rights!

15 June 2015,  Danie le Roux

Trusts are more and more being actively used for estate planning purposes, but the percentage of divorces are also increasing... annually. Protect yourself by being wary of the abuse of discretionary trusts in divorces and by analysing your position and acting as quickly as possible - before it is too late....

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2532
Article
Getting married in another country? Be wary of the fineprint!

07 May 2015

As the world gets smaller and smaller, an ‘international wedding’ becomes a greater reality for many couples - from the... beach wedding in Mauritius to the castle wedding in Ireland or the Tuscan wedding in Italy. This international marriage or ‘traveller’s marriage’ may seem romantic, but can quickly turn sour when questions regarding the matrimonial property regime of the parties are raised at divorce or death of a party. Which legal regime governs the marriage: the country where they where married, the home country of a spouse, or the country in which the couple reside? Left in the air, the romantic traveller’s marriage could very well turn into a wearisome ball and chain!

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1845
Article
Muslim marriages officiated in terms of South African law

02 June 2014,  Soekie Smith

For over 300 years Muslim spouses and children were discriminated against as their traditional religious marriages were not recognised in... terms of South African law. Accordingly, Muslim women were denied spousal benefits such as the right to inherit intestate and to claim maintenance in terms of the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990. Children from such marriages were labelled illegitimate, with the attendant adverse consequences that this status entailed. Fortunately this situation has now been remedied in favour of Muslim spouses and children.

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3103
Article
Claiming maintenance? What you need to know!

06 March 2014

Biological parents as well as the legal guardian of a child have a legal obligation to pay maintenance, in other... words to support the child financially. This obligation includes contributions towards paying for food, clothing, accommodation, medical care and education.

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1797
Article
Act! Prevent abuse and domestic violence

22 November 2013

According to the crime statistics recorded by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and recently released by the Minister of... Police, it is still the unfortunate truth that up to 65% of violent crimes such as assault, murder and rape occur between people who know each other, often within the privacy of their homes where policing is restricted to only reported cases by the victims of such crimes. Crimes of this nature committed by people who are related to each other or who are in an intimate relationship fall within the category called “domestic violence”. The victims of these crimes are protected, provided they seek the necessary help.

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1548
Article
Is the biological father liable for the costs of a child born out of wedlock?

29 August 2013

We have become accustomed to the fairy tale endings we so often see in the movies – boy meets girl,... they fall in love, get married, have kids and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, the reality of modern society is not always as romantic with a dramatic increase in the number of single and unmarried parents and children born out of wedlock every year. This raises questions as to whether the biological father of a child born out of wedlock is obliged to contribute to the mother’s pregnancy and birth related costs and pay maintenance for his child even if not married to the mother.

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1610
Article
The In’s and Out’s of an Antenuptial Contract

20 May 2013

Susan and James are on the verge of getting married. For both it is their second marriage and both have... learnt the importance of reaching agreement as to the regulation of their matrimonial property at the start of the marriage. Accordingly, they have decided to marry out of community of property and to regulate their marriage and individual estates through an antenuptial contract. However, they are still concerned about how to protect existing assets and the inheritances of their children from their previous marriages. Can all of this be regulated in their antenuptial agreement?

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2038
Article

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