All is good and well when you are madly in love, and gets married with stars in your eyes, but when the relationship goes south and the fighting starts about the family home, it is not that much fun anymore. How can you safeguard your property rights and what does the South African law needs you to know.

Under the current Matrimonial Property Act (1984) the major matrimonial regimes in South Africa are:

• Marriage in community of property (joint estate)
• Marriage out of community of property with accrual (separate estates but sharing growth)
• Marriage out of community of property without accrual (completely separate estates)

What’s changing and why

In October 2023 the Constitutional Court of South Africa found that certain rules discriminated against spouses in marriages out of community of property without accrual (particularly when the marriage ended in death rather than divorce) and ordered Parliament to amend the law.

In mid-2025 the government published the General (Family) laws Amendment Bill, 2025 (Bill B20-2025) which, once enacted, will:

• Amend the Matrimonial Property Act so that redistribution orders are possible regardless of when the marriage (without accrual) was entered into.
• Extend redistribution rights to marriages dissolved by death, not just divorce.
• Strengthen the role of the Family Advocate so that vulnerable spouses and children are better protected.
• Remove the restriction that only marriages concluded before the Matrimonial Property Act took effect could claim redistribution.

Public comment on the Bill was invited up to 10 November 2025.

But why this should matters to you

• If you are married or planning to marry, this may change how you view your matrimonial property regime.
• If you are married out of community of property without accrual (or considering such an arrangement), you may now have a chance of asset redistribution on death or divorce where previously you did not.
• Estate planning and divorce settlement strategies will need to adapt: spouses may now seek a share of assets even from “separate” estates.
• Antenuptial contracts are now under greater scrutiny for fairness: courts may ask whether each party reasonably understood the consequences, whether one party was disadvantaged, and whether the non-financial contributions (such as homemaking, child-rearing) are acknowledged.

Practical steps you should take

• Find out whether you are married in community of property, out of community with accrual, or out of community without accrual. If you’re not sure, ask your lawyer or examine your antenuptial contract.
• Review your antenuptial contract (if one exists): Does it provide for accrual? If not, consider how that may affect your rights under the upcoming changes.
• If you have a will or estate planning documents, ask your adviser how the changes may affect what you intended (especially in a long-term relationship or second marriage).
• If you supported a spouse’s career, did domestic work, raised children, or contributed in non-monetary ways, keep documentation (journals, acknowledgement by spouse, correspondence) — these may be relevant in a redistribution claim.
• If you are married in community of property and one spouse has high risk activities (business debts, guarantees etc), consider insurance, trusts or other protection, because joint estate means joint liability.

If you are engaged and about to marry and you care about how your property is treated in divorce or death, now is the time to make that appointment at a notary and get all in the information that you need for your estate planning in light of these upcoming reforms. The changes raise new strategic considerations an you will need to have a discussion with your partner in this regard.

Sources: golegal.co.za