Parenting Plan – Parenting Plans are drafted where there are minor children involved. In case of a divorce the parenting plan will be an annexure to the divorce settlement agreement. In the parenting plan the parental responsibilities and rights, such as residence, maintenance, contact, schooling and healthcare of the children are determined.
Antenuptial Contracts – The difference possible forms of marriage are:
- The marriage in community of property;
- The marriage out of community of property with the accrual system;
- The marriage out of community of property without the accrual system.
The marriage in community of property
In this marriage a common or joint estate is created consisting of all the assets and debts of the spouses irrespective of whether such assets and debts were acquired or incurred before or during the marriage.
The obvious advantage of the marriage in community of property is that the husband and wife share equally in each other’s financial affairs, however, the obvious disadvantage is that they also share equally in each other’s financial setbacks.
In South African law, you do not need a contract to regulate a marriage in community of property and should you marry without an Antenuptial Contract, you will be automatically being married in community of property.
The marriage out of community of property without the accrual system
In this marriage there are 2 (two) estates, the husband’s estate and the wife’s estate, which consists of all his or her pre-marital assets and liabilities as well as the assets and liabilities acquired after the marriage.
The main advantage of this system is that each party retains his/her own estate and has the power to do with it as he/she thinks fit. The spouses are not liable for each other’s debt incurred before or during the marriage.
A disadvantage of this system is that a married woman who is not economically active usually does not share in the estate of her economically active husband upon dissolution of the marriage.
The marriage out of community of property with the accrual system
This marriage form leads to the creation of 3 (three) different estates:
- The husband’s estate (his assets and liabilities at the time of the marriage);
- The wife’s estate (her assets and liabilities at the time of the marriage);
- The common or joint estate of the husband and wife (all their assets and liabilities acquired or incurred during the marriage)
This marriage form is a combination of the best elements of marriages in and out of community of property. It allows spouses the freedom of action associated with a marriage out of community of property, as well as the benefit that they are normally not liable for each other’s debts. These benefits are also supplemented by certain advantages of the marriage in community of property in that the spouse may share in the profit generated through her husband
In order to regulate a marriage out of community of property without the accrual system or a marriage out of community of property with the accrual system it is required to enter into an Antenuptial Contract, drafted by an attorney and registered by a notary.
Maintenance for minor children – Maintenance of children means the monetary provision for their daily needs. The maintenance duty comprises the duty of parents to supply their children with the basic necessary amenities of life, such as accommodation, food, clothing, education and medical care. During the subsistence of a marriage, but also after divorce, both parents are obliged to provide maintenance in proportion to their means. A variety of factors play a role in calculating the amount maintenance payable which factors are as follows:
- The needs of the child in view of his age;
- Health;
- Educational needs;
- The financial circumstances;
- And social status of the parents