A wife approached the court after she and her husband signed a contract outside of their antenuptial contract with no supervision of the courts.
The Constitutional Court on 26 May 2020 dismissed an application for leave to appeal on the binding nature of postnuptial contracts between married couples.
Postnuptial, therefore, remain unenforceable as a general rule.
A Short Summary
Anita Mans, the wife of Heinrich Mans approached the court after she and her husband signed a contract outside of their antenuptial contract (ANC) with no supervision of the courts.
On a side note, the general rule is that the court's permission must be requested if any amendments are to be made to an antenuptial agreement or if the parties are desirous to change the matrimonial system within which they are married, i.e. changing the marriage from in community of property to out of community of property.
The postnuptial contract the parties entered into was to give Anita access to 50% of her husband's estate in the event of a divorce. They signed the postnuptial contract in November of 2014 after being married for over 20 years.
At the end of that month, Heinrich decided to file for divorce, Anita said that the divorce had never been discussed prior hereto.
Heinrich consequently approached a regional court for a divorce order and Anita filed a counterclaim, claiming that she was entitled to half of his estate in terms of the postnuptial. The court dismissed Anita's claim and said the postnuptial agreement was not enforceable as it was against the Matrimonial Property Act.
Anita then approached the High Court which ruled in her favour. The court found that the agreement was signed in contemplation of divorce with the purpose to constitute a settlement agreement.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned this ruling, saying divorce had not been contemplated as Anita only learned of her husband’s intention to file for divorce when he told her, not prior to when the postnuptial was signed. The agreement could consequently not be seen as a settlement agreement.
Anita appealed to the Constitutional Court, they ruled that the case was novel and had not been heard in a High Court or SCA until now, it was thus not in the interest of justice to grant leave to appeal.
If you require assistance with either an antenuptial (ANC) or a postnuptial agreement allow Naude Attorneys to guide you through the process.
If you require more information, please feel free to contact Xander Naudé, from Naude Attorneys and he will assist you with the necessary information - email: xander@naudeattorneys.com
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