Why an ANC Can Be the Most Romantic Thing You Do for Your Partner

What happens if you get married without an ANC?

In South Africa, if you enter into a civil marriage without a valid ANC, you are generally married in community of property.

This means that your assets and debts form part of one shared estate, subject to certain legal exceptions.

Importantly, this can include assets you owned before getting married, not only the things you acquire together afterwards.

Imagine you own a property and have R400,000 in investments. Your partner has R200,000 in savings and is paying off a car.

If you marry in community of property, you should not assume that your investments will remain entirely yours or that your partner's debts will necessarily remain separate. Your assets and liabilities form part of the joint estate, subject to the applicable law.

This arrangement can suit couples who deliberately want a shared estate. But it is a significant financial decision, and you should choose it because you understand the consequences, not simply because nobody explained the alternatives.

An ANC allows you to choose a marriage out of community of property. The two main options are with accrual or without accrual.

An ANC with accrual: Sharing the wealth you build together

An ANC with accrual is designed to recognise that two people can contribute to a marriage in different ways while building a life together.

You each start with your own estate and keep your assets separate during the marriage. As the years pass, you might accumulate investments, pay off property, build a business or grow your savings.

If the marriage ends through divorce or death, the growth in your respective estates is calculated and compared. The spouse whose estate has accrued less can claim half the difference between the two accrual amounts, after the required legal adjustments.

In simple terms, the system takes account of what each person brought into the marriage and compares how much each person's wealth grew during the marriage.

It does not mean your partner automatically owns half of every asset you acquire. Instead, it provides a mechanism for sharing the difference between the growth in your respective estates when the marriage ends.

An example: What if one partner earns more than the other?

Imagine Alex and Sam are getting married.

On their wedding day, Alex has R400,000 in net assets, while Sam has R200,000.

Alex earns R70,000 a month, while Sam earns R35,000 a month. Over time, Alex's higher income makes it easier to save and invest.

A few years later, they have children. Sam takes time away from work and eventually returns part-time to take on more of the childcare and household responsibilities.

Both are contributing to their life together, but their finances develop differently.

Many years later, they divorce. For this simplified illustration, assume Alex has R2 million in net assets and Sam has R1 million. We will ignore inflation adjustments, excluded assets and other legal adjustments to make the calculation easier to follow.

Alex's wealth has grown by R800,000 more than Sam's.

Half of that difference is R400,000.

Under the accrual system, Sam would have a claim of R400,000 against Alex in this simplified example.

The actual calculation is more detailed. It uses the legally determined values of the respective estates, takes account of inflation when calculating the commencement values, and applies the rules for excluded assets and liabilities. The figures above are illustrative, not a complete legal calculation.

Why does this matter?

The higher-earning partner may accumulate significantly more wealth during the marriage. Meanwhile, the other partner may contribute in ways that are not directly reflected in their bank balance or investment portfolio.

Raising children, supporting a partner's career, managing a household or taking a career break can affect how much wealth someone is able to accumulate.

An ANC with accrual recognises that building a life together does not always mean both partners will finish the marriage with the same financial resources. It provides a way to share some of the difference in the wealth accumulated during the marriage, even when each person's contribution has looked very different.

What about the assets you already had?

Your starting net estate is taken into account in the accrual calculation, with the required inflation adjustment. This helps distinguish the wealth you brought into the marriage from the growth in your estate during the marriage.

The treatment of inheritances, donations and certain other assets also has specific rules. An inheritance received during the marriage, for example, is generally excluded from accrual unless the applicable rules or the terms of the ANC provide otherwise.

Your ANC should be drafted carefully, and your starting financial position should be properly documented. This helps avoid uncertainty about the calculation if the marriage ends.

An ANC without accrual: Keeping your wealth separate

An ANC can also exclude the accrual system.

Under this arrangement, each spouse keeps their own estate and the wealth they accumulate during the marriage. There is no accrual claim to half the difference between the growth in their respective estates.

This can suit couples who want a high degree of financial independence, including some business owners, people entering a second marriage or people bringing substantial assets into the marriage.

However, the decision deserves careful thought.

Imagine one partner builds a successful business while the other takes years away from work to raise their children. If they divorce, the spouse who stayed home does not automatically receive a share of the business or its growth simply because they were married.

An ANC without accrual can suit some couples, but both partners need to understand what it means for their future financial security, particularly if one expects to earn less, reduce their working hours or give up career opportunities to support the family.

Protecting one person's wealth should not happen without considering the other person's financial security.

What about debt? Could your partner's business loan affect you?

This is a particularly important consideration if either of you owns a business, plans to start one or might need to borrow money in the future.

If you marry in community of property

Because you share a joint estate, a debt incurred by one spouse can put shared assets at risk.

Imagine your partner takes out a substantial loan to start a business. The business struggles, and the loan cannot be repaid.

Depending on the loan arrangements and applicable legal rules, the creditor could have a claim against the joint estate. This means assets you thought of as yours could be affected by a financial decision you did not make yourself.

The outcome depends on the circumstances, the type of debt and any applicable consent requirements.

If you have an ANC

An ANC that keeps your estates separate can help protect your assets from your partner's personal financial obligations. A business loan taken out by your partner in their own name does not automatically become your personal debt simply because you are married.

However, an ANC does not guarantee that you can never be affected by your partner's debt.

You could become liable if you sign the loan jointly, stand surety for it or otherwise agree to take on the obligation. Certain debts relating to household necessities are also subject to specific legal rules.

If your partner owns a company, the company's legal structure and any personal guarantees they sign are important too. A company loan and a personal loan are not necessarily treated in the same way.

With an ANC that includes accrual, each spouse's debts also affect the calculation of their net estate and its growth. The accrual system does not mean you automatically become responsible for your spouse's personal debts, but it can affect the amount ultimately payable between the estates when the marriage ends.

For couples where one person is an entrepreneur or takes on significant financial risks, this distinction deserves serious consideration.

What happens if one of you dies? Could your money be frozen?

This is another important reason to understand your matrimonial property regime before getting married.

When someone dies, their deceased estate must be administered. Assets belonging to that estate cannot simply be distributed as usual, and banking arrangements can be affected while ownership and the estate's obligations are dealt with.

The practical consequences for a surviving spouse depend partly on how the couple's assets are owned and how their finances are arranged.

If you are married in community of property

When one spouse dies, the joint estate must be dealt with as part of the deceased estate administration process. The surviving spouse's interest in the joint estate must be accounted for, and the deceased spouse's estate must be administered.

This can create serious financial pressure for the surviving spouse, particularly if household income and expenses depend on accounts or assets forming part of the joint estate.

Imagine that your household's salary income, savings and everyday expenses are managed through accounts connected to the joint estate. If your spouse dies, you could face delays or restrictions while the estate is administered and the relevant interests are established.

You might still need to pay for groceries, school fees, bond repayments and other expenses while grieving your partner.

It is important not to assume that every account in the surviving spouse's name will automatically be frozen. The effect depends on the ownership of the money, the account arrangements and the circumstances of the estate. However, access to funds can be disrupted, and this is something couples should plan for.

If you have an ANC

When your ANC keeps your estates separate, your own separately owned assets and bank accounts do not become part of your deceased spouse's estate simply because you are married. They are not frozen solely because your spouse dies.

Your spouse's estate still needs to be administered, and jointly held accounts or assets with unclear ownership can still be affected while the relevant interests are established.

If your ANC includes accrual, the accrual calculation must also be completed when the marriage ends through death. The surviving spouse, or the deceased spouse's estate where applicable, may have an accrual claim.

An ANC therefore does not prevent every delay or financial difficulty after a death. It can, however, help keep separately owned assets distinct from the deceased spouse's estate.

Your ANC is only one part of the plan

Whatever matrimonial property regime you choose, it is worth considering how the surviving spouse would manage financially in the weeks and months after a death.

This includes reviewing:

• Your Wills: to ensure your wishes about inheritance are properly documented.
• Life cover: to help provide money for living expenses, debt repayments and other financial commitments.
• Retirement fund beneficiaries: to understand how benefits are dealt with under the applicable rules.
• Accessible savings: to ensure there is money available for immediate expenses without relying entirely on funds tied up in estate administration.
• Your household budget: to understand what the surviving partner would need to maintain the household.

An ANC does not determine who inherits your estate. That is dealt with through your Will or, if you do not have a valid Will, the applicable intestate succession rules. Nor does an ANC replace life cover or a plan for the financial needs of your family.

These arrangements work best when considered together as part of your wider financial plan.

An ANC is not a sign of distrust

This is often the part that makes couples uncomfortable.

One partner suggests an antenuptial contract, and the other worries: Why are we talking about divorce before we are even married? Don't you trust me?

But an ANC does not mean you expect your relationship to fail.

Think about what marriage involves. You are choosing to share your life with someone. You may have children together, buy property, take on debt, support each other's careers and make financial decisions that affect both of you.

You cannot predict everything that will happen over the next 30 or 40 years.

Perhaps one of you will stop working to care for your children. Perhaps one of you will build a successful business. Perhaps one of you will die unexpectedly.

Planning for these possibilities does not make your commitment less meaningful. It means you recognise that protecting each other involves more than hoping everything will go according to plan.

An ANC is not necessarily about protecting yourself from your partner. It is about making sure you understand how to protect each other.

The right contract is not simply the one that gives one person the greatest possible protection. It is the one that both partners understand and that reflects their circumstances, responsibilities and intentions.

That conversation can be uncomfortable, but it is also an opportunity to discuss money openly before it becomes a source of conflict.

What should you discuss before signing an ANC?

Before deciding which arrangement is right for you, talk honestly about your financial positions and the future you want to build together.

What assets and debts are you bringing into the marriage?

Think about property, investments, savings, business interests, vehicle finance and personal loans. Make sure you understand how these will be treated under each option.

What happens if one of you earns much less than the other?

Discuss whether one partner might take a career break, reduce working hours or take on more responsibility at home, and how this could affect their long-term financial security.

What happens if one of you starts a business or takes on debt?

Consider whether the other partner's assets could be exposed and whether either of you might be asked to sign a loan or stand surety.

How will you protect each other if one of you dies?

Consider your Wills, life cover, retirement fund beneficiaries and whether enough accessible money will be available for immediate expenses.

Do you both understand what you are signing?

Both partners should have the opportunity to ask questions and understand the agreement before signing. Choose an arrangement because it makes sense for both of you, not simply because someone says it is standard.

Why timing matters

An antenuptial contract must be executed before the marriage and properly registered in accordance with South African law.

If you are already married without an ANC, you cannot simply sign one afterwards and assume your matrimonial property regime has changed. Changing an existing regime generally requires a formal legal process and court approval.

Do not leave this decision until the week before the wedding. Give yourselves time to discuss the options, understand the implications and make a considered decision.

The bottom line

An antenuptial contract is not just a legal formality. It shapes how your property, debts and financial responsibilities are treated throughout your marriage and what happens when the marriage ends through divorce or death.

• Marriage in community of property creates a joint estate, which can expose shared assets to certain debts and complicate access to money during estate administration.
• An ANC with accrual keeps your estates separate during the marriage while providing a mechanism to share the difference in the wealth accumulated by each spouse when the marriage ends.
• An ANC without accrual keeps each person's estate and its growth separate, without an accrual claim.

None of these options is right for every couple. What matters is understanding the consequences and choosing an arrangement that makes sense for both people.

Your matrimonial property regime should also fit into a broader plan that considers your Wills, life cover, debt, retirement provision and the financial needs of anyone who depends on you.