What is the purpose of an Antenuptial Agreement?
To ensure the terms and conditions of the financial aspects of the parties to the marriage are agreed to between the parties before entering into the marriage.
What are the different marital regimes?
When getting married, the financial position of the parties can be determined by one of the following three marital regimes:
Married in Community of Property. (He’s is her’s and her’s is he’s)
Married out of Community of Property with the exclusion of the accrual system. (He’s stay he’s and her’s stay her’s)
Married out of Community of Property with the inclusion of the accrual system. (He’s stay he’s and her’s stay her’s, but at a divorce the party whose estate grew the most, has to pay the other party)
What are the consequences of not having an Antenuptial Agreement?
Should you enter into a marriage without having signed and executed an Antenuptial Contract before a Notary, you will by default be married to each other IN Community of Property.
Therefore both parties’ separate estates, which include both assets and liabilities, will become one estate after the marriage is concluded. This is not ideal in our times. A party is then not protected against the other party’ insolvency or creditors.
There is an old saying which describes this situation perfectly “what is yours is mine, and what is mine is yours”