Getting married?

If you're getting married, there are a few things to consider, apart from the commitment you are making to your partner.

For the legal part of the ceremony your minister will handle the formalities if you are getting married in Church. It is also possible to get married, or for a civil union to be registered in terms of the Civil Union Act, at the Department of Home Affairs.

Here's a handly link to the Home Affairs guide and contact details.

If you make no other arrangements for the legal type of marriage or union/civil partnership before you get married, you will automatically be joined in community of property. There's an explanation of the differences between getting married in community of property, or out of community of property on our website, if you click on this link here.

One of the main reasons to get joined out of community of property is to ensure that any debts of your partner are not settled out of your assets. This could happen for a number of reasons, especially if one of you is in business. You get married out of community of property by registering an Ante-Nuptial Contract, which must be done before your marriage. Both Mark and Dave at Mc Naught and Company are Notaries Public, which enables them to execute and register Ante-Nuptial Contracts. The information and authority form can be downloaded off our Skydrive here, or you can come in to our offices and arrange it. Allow one or two days before your marriage to organise this.

You can also verify your present recorded status (single, married, divorced etc) by clicking on this link here.