Image: Karolina Grabowska

The wife, despite signing the Ante-Neptual Contract (ANC), went to the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg to seek recognition of her marriage under customary law, asserting that it was a community of property marriage. The court acknowledged that the ANC was discussed only after the customary marriage had taken place. Consequently, the court granted the order and rejected an appeal.

Displeased, the husband approached the SCA, contesting that he never consented to a customary marriage or any form of marriage in community of property. He acknowledged their participation in traditional customs but insisted it was to embrace their culture, not to formalize a marriage. The husband argued that from the start of their relationship, they intended to marry under civil law, out of community of property, using an ANC to protect their interests.

He pointed out the wife's business ventures and debts, which he claimed to have settled. Protecting his children's financial interests and assets from potential claims by ex-wives were crucial considerations for him. After traditional customs, they consulted lawyers, executed, and registered the ANC, specifying no community of property and applying the accrual system. The husband also agreed to donate a 50% share in his property and a Mercedes-Benz.

At the SCA, Judge Sharise Erica Weiner observed inconsistencies in the wife's statements and her introduction of new evidence. Despite seeking to validate the customary marriage and invalidate the ANC, the wife did not deny, in her replying affidavit, the parties' intention to marry out of community of property. Judge Weiner concluded that the high court didn't properly exercise its discretion, and the order was set aside.

Source: IOL News

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