If you’re looking to get married, it would be wise to make sure you know the different marriage contract types available to you. Scorpion Legal Protection explains the pros and cons of the different types of marriage contracts.

1. Marriage in community of property

This marriage contract combines everything that you and your partner owned before and during your marriage, resulting in a joint estate that excludes anything you’ve inherited. The same principle applies to liabilities, like debts.

Pros:

• If you divorce, each partner gets half of the joint assets.
• Managing a joint estate could be easier than managing your assets individually.

Cons:

• If you want to get credit (like opening an account at a clothing store, financing a car, getting a credit card, etc), you will need written permission from your spouse in some instances.
• Debt becomes shared. All the debt you had before and during marriage becomes part of your joint estate. This means that you are responsible for your partner’s debt.

2. Marriage out of community of property (antenuptial)

This marriage contract has two options. The first is with accrual, the second is without accrual.

Marriage with accrual protects the partner who is financially vulnerable. Marriage without accrual means your estates remain separate.

I. Marriage out of community of property with accrual

This marriage type means that both spouses have separate estates when they get married and don’t share profits or losses for the duration of the marriage. However, they will share the assets they acquire from the start of the marriage. The sharing of these assets only takes place once the marriage ends. This contract takes into account which estate has increased in value compared to the estate that remained the same or depreciated in value.

Pros:

• You are not responsible for your partner’s debt.
• You manage and grow your assets without your partner’s permission.
• The assets you owned before your marriage are protected and won't be included in your marriage contract.

Cons:

• If you’re the financially stronger partner, you are required to share the assets that you acquired during your marriage with your partner.
• If your partner is the breadwinner, you’ll be financially dependent on them.

II. Marriage out of community of property without accrual

This marriage type keeps each partner’s assets completely separate – this applies to both the assets brought into the marriage, as well as those acquired after and during the marriage. In the case of divorce, neither spouse can make a claim on any assets belonging to the other. This also applies to liabilities.

Pros:

• You control your own assets.
• You don’t need consent from your spouse to enter into any agreements.
• Your partner cannot claim any of your assets at the end of your marriage.

Cons:

• Joint financial planning could be easier as a couple.
• If you are the spouse in a financially poorer state, for example, you give up your job and income to become a stay-at-home parent, it may feel unfair that your estate will not grow while your partner’s will – if you divorce you only get out your own assets and estate.

You may also be interested in:
Marrying for SA citizenship
How Themba’s marriages can affect his will
Check if you are registered for UIF

We have a team of lawyers available to answer your legal questions every first Thursday of the month from 11:30 to 13:30 on the Scorpion Legal Protection Facebook page for free. Have your legal question answered on the spot at the Scorpion Live Q&A.

* This is only basic legal advice and cannot be relied on solely. The information is correct at the time of being sent to publishing.