If you don’t have an ANC, you are automatically married in community of property. This means that there is one estate between a husband and a wife. Everything is shared equally between spouses, which includes debts. However, with an antenuptial contract, the estates of each spouse remain separate. The difference comes with the addition of […]
Category: Contract
Antenuptial contracts: Can I get one after marriage?
Couples who are interested in an antenuptial contract often make the decision to get one before they are married. That is the ideal scenario. However, some couples may have already gotten married in community of property, and later decide to change to another form of marriage contract. Can it be done? The Matrimonial Property Act […]
Are restraint of trade agreements always valid and enforceable?
Historically restraint of trade agreements were void and unenforceable unless the employer could prove that it was a reasonable agreement entered into between the parties. Fortunately for employers the position in the law has changed. What are restraint of trade agreements? An agreement that seeks to restrict a party’s right to carry on a trade, […]
Common law marriage in South Africa
In South African law there is no such thing as a common law marriage. People simply believe that living together with another person for a continuous period of time establishes legal rights and duties between them. This is a common misunderstanding especially with young adults.The only way to be protected in our law is to […]
Validity of Antenuptial Contracts
One must be careful when drafting and signing an Antenuptial Contract. Aside from ensuring that the contents is all correct, one must also ensure that all the necessary provisions are contained therein to make the contract valid. The consequences of neglecting to do so may result in a marriage in community of property even though […]
How to change your marital status to another form of marriage contract
Section 21(1) of the Matrimonial Property Act No 88 of 1984 provides that a husband and wife may apply jointly to court for leave to change the matrimonial property system which applies to their marriage. Requirements The decision in Lourens et Uxor 1986(2) SA 291 (C) sets out guidelines that the courts follow […]
When is a tenant an illegal occupant?
Where the Contract of Lease is breached in any way by the tenant and he or she after receiving notice thereof has not remedied such a breach within the period agreed upon, then the landlord may cancel the contract. The tenant will be found to be an illegal occupier in this instance. Where a tenant […]
Do’s and Don’ts of suretyship
On 29 May 2015, in the case of Dormell Properties 282 CC v Bamberger[1], the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) set out the importance of, firstly, expressly pleading a suretyship clause in a plaintiff’s particulars of claim and, secondly, ensuring that the contract to which a deed of suretyship is annexed is duly signed by […]
When does a claim prescribe?
The issue of the legal nature of a vindicatory claim and whether it gives rise to a debt that is subject to the three year extinctive prescription period has been decided differently by different divisions of the High Court. On 28 May 2015 the Supreme Court of Appeal came to a final decision in Absa […]
What does a suspensive condition in a contract really mean?
Most people that have bought a property may have noticed a clause dealing with suspensive conditions in the contract of sale. Usually these conditions relate to deposits that need to be paid, financing that has to be procured and/or another property that needs to be sold before the sale can be confirmed. The interpretation appears […]