CHANGING YOUR MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY SYSTEM IS COSTLY AND TIME CONSUMING


Wedding season is upon us! 
Choosing a spouse is one of the most important choices you will ever make; but you have another very important choice to make - the right matrimonial property system. It may seem like a less romantic choice than say, your honeymoon destination, but it is no less important as, while changing it postnuptially is absolutely possible, it is also complicated, time consuming and costly - often more than 10 times greater than the cost of completing an antenuptial contract!

Section 21(1) of the Matrimonial Property Act provides that a husband and wife may apply jointly to the High Court for leave to change their matrimonial property system if there are:
• Sound reasons for the proposed change.
• Extensive public advertisement of the intended order to all creditors.
• Convincing proof that no other person will be prejudiced by the proposed change.

Even if all these requirements are met, the court has a discretion whether or not to grant such an application and may still refuse to do so. We therefore strongly advise that you give your legal union its due respect by consulting an attorney to draw up a proper antenuptial contract regulating the matrimonial property of both the parties involved, BEFORE you walk down that aisle.