Customary union declared valid in wives’ dispute

The weight that customary marriages carry was highlighted once again during a legal wrangle between two widows. Both “wives” claimed that they were legally married to their now-deceased husband. The first wife stated that she married her husband in 1991 in terms of customary law. The second wife stated that she was the “true wife” […]

Matrimonial property regimes

My partner and I are getting married soon and have heard about the different matrimonial property regimes one can enter but I am not sure what the difference is and what each one entails. There are three types of matrimonial property regimes in South Africa. The three are marriage in community of property, marriage out […]

Maintenance of surviving spouse

The idea of freedom of testation is a core value of South African law and enjoys wide protection. The Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act, 27 of 1990, was drafted to give a spouse legal recourse if disinherited or negatively affected by the wishes of the testator, or in the case of intestate succession. The goal […]