Marriage contract?

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Toitjie

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Hi,

I am getting married soon and need to get the contract setup, etc.
We have both decided that we are going with the Ante-nuptial with Accrual.

Do I need to get a lawyer to do so (if so can you recommend anyone, we live in Centurion, Pretoria)?
Or can I just buy an off the shelf contract, make amendments and submit that?
 
We used SAUNDERSON, I see their price went up from R400 to R850.

If its cheaper to drive to Roodepoort and use them than getting someone in Centurion, then go with them.

They were very efficient, did everything in under 1 hour.
 
I went through this process last year.

You will have to use a lawyer, but like mentioned above there are a lot of lawyers willing to do it. The process is usually quick and easy.

At the wedding expo (next show 14-15 March in Jhb) there were what felt like hundreds of people advertising their services, usually costing around R800-R1000.
 
But how does it work if she pays rent?

Will it be seen as if she contributes to the bond or...?
 
CamiKaze said:
But how does it work if she pays rent?

Will it be seen as if she contributes to the bond or...?
Click to expand...

If you getting married Out-of-Community with Accrual, you can "declare" any assets that you may own that you specifically want excluded from the contract.

E.g. Our property is in my wifes name, but we will go half-half should the marriage end (Death or Divorce), so it doesn't matter what agreement we have regarding payment for the property, in our case we work from a combined budget.

Unless you exclude your house from the contract, meaning she will never get a share regardless what happens, then you can work it out between yourselves who pays who for what regarding the bond.
 
CamiKaze said:
But how does it work if she pays rent?

Will it be seen as if she contributes to the bond or...?
Click to expand...

are you still counting it as rent when you get married?

You can specify assets beforehand that are yours no matter what. You could possibly specify a portion of the house that is outside of the accrual. I would imagine that after you are married, assets you build up together (including the bond) would count as split
 
syntax said:
are you still counting it as rent when you get married?

You can specify assets beforehand that are yours no matter what. You could possibly specify a portion of the house that is outside of the accrual. I would imagine that after you are married, assets you build up together (including the bond) would count as split
Click to expand...



She is not in a position to pay half the bond so I think that it is unfair that her name is on the house, so because of that, the house is on my name only.

She has to contribute somehow so she is paying a little less than a quarter of the bond as rent. (I do not have a rental agreement)

If we get divorced, will the court see her rent as a contribution to the bond? Will this mean that I have to pay back all her rent if we get divorced?

Or,

is it wise for her to keep paying rent without a rental agreement?

This is what I want:
If I die, she gets the house.
If we get divorced, I keep the house (obvi).

If we get divorced, I don't need to pay a cent back from her rent.

What would I need for this?
 
CamiKaze said:
She is not in a position to pay half the bond so I think that it is unfair that her name is on the house, so because of that, the house is on my name only.

She has to contribute somehow so she is paying a little less than a quarter of the bond as rent. (I do not have a rental agreement)

If we get divorced, will the court see her rent as a contribution to the bond? Will this mean that I have to pay back all her rent if we get divorced?

Or,

is it wise for her to keep paying rent without a rental agreement?

This is what I want:
If I die, she gets the house.
If we get divorced, I keep the house (obvi).

If we get divorced, I don't need to pay a cent back from her rent.

What would I need for this?
Click to expand...

I think the accrual can be quite complicated. Even if she doesnt pay a equal portion, i know she can still have claim to things.
For example if you have kids and she looks after them, i am told that it can count towards such things.

I would strongly advise you talk to a lawyer about this.
I would probably exclude the house in the initial ANC and then have some kind of agreement that says her contributions dont count towards it should you get divorced. You can then leave the house to her in your will should you die.

Out of interest, is your wife ok with all of this?
What would happen in 4 years if she suddenly started earning more than you.
Would you be ok with her doing the same thing?

I am not asking because what i think you are doing is wrong, i am just asking out of interest and because these kinds of things can cause resentment and eventually ruin a marriage
 
Some of these reasons posted are just frecking sick. JUST DO NOT GET MARRIED!. In my days the contract was for self preservation when shirt hit the financial fan and protect most of your accruals from the wolves that would completely strip you from your belongings when you get in financial strife NOT to protect you against your wife!!!
 
CamiKaze said:
She is not in a position to pay half the bond so I think that it is unfair that her name is on the house, so because of that, the house is on my name only.

She has to contribute somehow so she is paying a little less than a quarter of the bond as rent. (I do not have a rental agreement)

If we get divorced, will the court see her rent as a contribution to the bond? Will this mean that I have to pay back all her rent if we get divorced?

Or,

is it wise for her to keep paying rent without a rental agreement?

This is what I want:
If I die, she gets the house.
If we get divorced, I keep the house (obvi).

If we get divorced, I don't need to pay a cent back from her rent.

What would I need for this?
Click to expand...
If the main reason for getting a a contract is to prevent her from getting half of your assets [-]if[/-] when you divorce...perhaps you should take a step back to see whether you should get married at all.
 
I went through this, got married ANC with accruel. She is not in a position to pay half the bond, so really didnt make sense to do anything else.You have to be a man when it comes to these things.Dont be a softy especially if you are earning 4-5 times what you wife earns (me).
 
CamiKaze said:
She is not in a position to pay half the bond so I think that it is unfair that her name is on the house, so because of that, the house is on my name only.

She has to contribute somehow so she is paying a little less than a quarter of the bond as rent. (I do not have a rental agreement)

If we get divorced, will the court see her rent as a contribution to the bond? Will this mean that I have to pay back all her rent if we get divorced?

Or,

is it wise for her to keep paying rent without a rental agreement?

This is what I want:
If I die, she gets the house.
If we get divorced, I keep the house (obvi).

If we get divorced, I don't need to pay a cent back from her rent.

What would I need for this?
Click to expand...
A tenant, not a spouse.
 
Batista said:
I went through this, got married ANC with accruel. She is not in a position to pay half the bond, so really didnt make sense to do anything else.You have to be a man when it comes to these things.Dont be a softy especially if you are earning 4-5 times what you wife earns (me).
Click to expand...
That, in essence, is my point.

Its almost as if you're planning to divorce one day and leave her out on the street while knowing she will not be able to afford a place on her own for herself and your kids - fathers getting custody is the exception, but lets leave that debate out for now.

There are other reasons why it is better to get married out of community of property. "In case we get divorced" should not be one of them.
 
CamiKaze said:
She is not in a position to pay half the bond so I think that it is unfair that her name is on the house, so because of that, the house is on my name only.

She has to contribute somehow so she is paying a little less than a quarter of the bond as rent. (I do not have a rental agreement)

If we get divorced, will the court see her rent as a contribution to the bond? Will this mean that I have to pay back all her rent if we get divorced?

Or,

is it wise for her to keep paying rent without a rental agreement?

This is what I want:
If I die, she gets the house.
If we get divorced, I keep the house (obvi).

If we get divorced, I don't need to pay a cent back from her rent.

What would I need for this?
Click to expand...

Wow, I understand you wanting to protect yourself if the worst should happen and you divorce, but saying that you don't want to have to pay her back when if you end up getting divorced is quite low in my opinion to the point where you seem to be a control freak. Why not tell her not to contribute to YOUR house, and keep and save the money so that one day if you get divorced, she can use that cash to get a place to buy/rent.

Ultimately sounds like you want your cake, and want to eat it too.
 
I agree. I am married with ANC with accrual. It would work well in the event of a divorce. The assets we had before our marriage, including inheritances, are ours but everything since will be split, regardless of who earned what when. The house is in my name, but in the event of a divorce, we would probably have to sell the house. It is fair because we have been married 20+ years and so we have contributed equally to the marriage (I have always worked, and even have for some years been the sole breadwinner in the past). Things would be different I suppose if one partner did not contribute financially, but honestly, marriage is not about money only.
I find OP a bit cynical actually,
If we get divorced, I don't need to pay a cent back from her rent (
and suggest OP reconsiders getting married.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
YingYang said:
That, in essence, is my point.

Its almost as if you're planning to divorce one day and leave her out on the street while knowing she will not be able to afford a place on her own for herself and your kids - fathers getting custody is the exception, but lets leave that debate out for now.

There are other reasons why it is better to get married out of community of property. "In case we get divorced" should not be one of them.
Click to expand...

If you come in with a million and she has nothing. You willing to go half with her and the pool boy? I'm not saying it's a surety but it's a possibility. People are pretty fsuckn callous these days.
 
akescpt said:
If you come in with a million and she has nothing. You willing to go half with her and the pool boy? I'm not saying it's a surety but it's a possibility. People are pretty fsuckn callous these days.
Click to expand...

No, I wouldn't go half. But if your partner contributed something into a property then upon divorce, pay her back at least what she paid in. Why should only the one partner gain everything and the other nothing in a divorce?

I totally understand the need for a contract to protect the partner's assets in a case of divorce, but the above sounds like "How can I screw my partner in divorce and give them nothing."
 
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