Matrimonial Property Amendment Act, 1986

by enacted by the Parliament of South Africa

Act

To amend the Matrimonial Property Act, 1984, so as to empower the Minister of Justice to extend the periods within which spouses to certain marriages may cause certain provisions of that Act to apply to their marriages; and to provide for incidental matters.

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(Afrikaans text signed by the State President.)
(Assented to 3 September 1986.)

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Be it enacted by the State President and the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:―

Amendment of section 21 of Act 88 of 1984.

1. Section 21 of the Matrimonial Property Act, 1984 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), is hereby amended—

(a)

by the substitution for paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of the following paragraph:

“(a)

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law or the common law contained, but subject to the provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c), the spouses to a marriage out of community of property entered into before the commencement of this Act in terms of an antenuptial contract by which community of property and community of profit and loss are excluded, may cause the provisions of Chapter I to apply in respect of their marriage by the execution and registration in a registry within two years after that commencement or such longer period, but not less than six months, determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette, of a notarial contract to that effect;”; and

(b)

by the substitution for paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of the following paragraph:

“(c)

For the purpose of proof of the net value of the respective estates of the spouses on the date on which the provisions of Chapter I so apply, they may declare that value either in the notarial contract concerned or [at any time within one year after the commencement of this Act] in a statement as contemplated in section 6, and in the last-mentioned case the provisions of the said section 6 apply mutatis mutandis in respect of that statement.”.

Amendment of section 25 of Act 88 of 1984.

2. Section 25 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following subsection:

“(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law or the common law contained, the spouses to a marriage, other than a marriage contemplated in subsection (1), entered into before the commencement of this Act may—

(a)

if they are married in community of property, cause the provisions of Chapters II and III to apply to their marriage;

(b)

if they are married out of community of property and the marital power of the husband was not excluded in terms of the antenuptial contract concerned, cause the provisions of Chapter II to apply to their marriage,

by the execution and the registration in a registry within two years after the said commencement or such longer period, but not less than six months, determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette, of a notarial contract to that effect, and in such a case those provisions apply from the date on which the contract concerned was so registered.

Short title.

3. This Act shall be called the Matrimonial Property Amendment Act, 1986.