,SOUTH AFRICAN
FAMILY LAW
JACQUELINE HEATON
BLC LLB (Pret) LLM (Unisa)
Professor of Private Law, University of South Africa
HANNERETHA KRUGER
BIur LLB (UOFS) LLD (Unisa)
Professor of Private Law, University of South Africa
FOURTH EDITION
,Members of the LexisNexis Group worldwide
South Africa LexisNexis (Pty) Ltd
DURBAN 215 Peter Mokaba Road (North Ridge Road), Morningside, Durban, 4001
JOHANNESBURG Building No. 9, Harrowdene Office Park, 124 Western Service Road, Woodmead, 2191
CAPE TOWN Office Floor 2, North Lobby, Boulevard Place, Heron Close, Century City, 7441
www.lexisnexis.co.za
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France LexisNexis, PARIS
Germany LexisNexis Germany, MÜNSTER
Hong Kong LexisNexis, HONG KONG
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Italy Giuffrè Editore, MILAN
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Korea LexisNexis, SEOUL
Malaysia LexisNexis, KUALA LUMPUR
New Zealand LexisNexis, WELLINGTON
Poland LexisNexis Poland, WARSAW
Singapore LexisNexis, SINGAPORE
United Kingdom LexisNexis, LONDON
USA LexisNexis, DAYTON, Ohio
© 2015
ISBN 978 0 409 12059 2
E-BOOK ISBN 978 0 409 12060 8
First Edition 1999
Second Edition 2004
Reprinted 2005, 2006, 2007
Third Edition 2010
Copyright subsists in this work. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the publisher’s written permission. Any unauthorised reproduction of this work will constitute a copyright
infringement and render the doer liable under both civil and criminal law.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information published in this work is accurate, the editors,
authors, writers, contributors, publishers and printers take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by
any person as a result of the reliance upon the information contained therein.
Editor:Lisa Sandford
Technical Editor: Liz Bisschoff
Printed in South Africa by Interpak Books Pietermaritzburg
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE ................................................................................................................................. xvii
PART 1: CIVIL MARRIAGES
1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 3
1.1 The definition of the family .................................................................................... 3
1.2 The scope of this book ............................................................................................. 3
2 THE ENGAGEMENT ........................................................................................................ 5
2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5
2.2 The requirements for a valid engagement ............................................................. 5
2.3 The content and consequences of the engagement .............................................. 6
2.4 Termination of the engagement ............................................................................. 6
2.4.1 General ......................................................................................................... 6
2.4.2 The consequences of termination of the engagement ............................. 7
(a) Delictual damages for personality infringement ............................... 7
(b) Contractual damages for breach of promise ..................................... 8
(c) Return of the engagement gifts .......................................................... 9
2.5 Satisfaction and damages on the ground of seduction.......................................... 10
3 THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR A CIVIL MARRIAGE .......................................... 13
3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 13
3.2 Capacity to act .......................................................................................................... 14
3.2.1 General ......................................................................................................... 14
3.2.2 Declared prodigals ...................................................................................... 14
3.2.3 Mentally ill persons...................................................................................... 15
3.2.4 Persons who have been placed under curatorship because they are
incapable of managing their own affairs .................................................... 15
3.2.5 Minors .......................................................................................................... 16
(a) General ................................................................................................. 16
(b) Consent which is required for the civil marriage of a minor ........... 16
(c) Instances in which a minor requires no consent to enter into a
civil marriage ....................................................................................... 19
(d) The effect of absence of the necessary consent ................................. 20
3.3 Agreement ................................................................................................................ 24
3.3.1 General ......................................................................................................... 24
3.3.2 Mistake ......................................................................................................... 24
3.3.3 Misrepresentation ........................................................................................ 25
3.3.4 Duress ........................................................................................................... 25
3.3.5 Undue influence.......................................................................................... 25
v
,vi South African Family Law
Page
3.4
Lawfulness................................................................................................................. 25
3.4.1 General ......................................................................................................... 25
3.4.2 An existing civil or customary marriage or civil union ............................. 25
3.4.3 Persons who are of the same sex ................................................................ 26
3.4.4 Adoptive parents and their adopted children ........................................... 26
3.4.5 Persons who are within the prohibited degrees of relationship............... 26
(a) General ................................................................................................. 26
(b) Blood relations in the direct line ....................................................... 27
(c) Collateral blood relations ................................................................... 27
(d) Relations by affinity in the direct line ................................................ 28
(e) Relations by affinity in the collateral line .......................................... 28
3.4.6 Legal guardians and their wards................................................................. 29
3.4.7 Persons who belong to different race groups ............................................ 29
3.5 The prescribed formalities ...................................................................................... 30
3.5.1 Marriage officers .......................................................................................... 30
3.5.2 Formalities preceding the marriage ceremony ......................................... 31
3.5.3 Formalities during the marriage ceremony ............................................... 31
3.5.4 Registration of the civil marriage ............................................................... 32
4 VOID, VOIDABLE AND PUTATIVE CIVIL MARRIAGES ............................................. 33
4.1 Void civil marriages .................................................................................................. 33
4.1.1 The definition of a void marriage .............................................................. 33
4.1.2 The grounds for nullity ............................................................................... 33
4.1.3 The consequences of a void marriage ........................................................ 34
4.2 Voidable civil marriages ........................................................................................... 34
4.2.1 The definition of a voidable marriage ....................................................... 34
4.2.2 The grounds for setting aside a voidable civil marriage ........................... 34
(a) Minority ................................................................................................ 34
(b) Material mistake .................................................................................. 35
(c) Duress ................................................................................................... 35
(d) Undue influence.................................................................................. 35
(e) Stuprum ................................................................................................. 35
(f) Impotence ............................................................................................ 36
(g) Sterility ................................................................................................. 36
4.2.3 The consequences of a voidable civil marriage ......................................... 37
4.3 Putative marriages .................................................................................................... 38
4.3.1 The definition of a putative marriage ........................................................ 38
4.3.2 The requirements for a putative marriage................................................. 38
4.3.3 The consequences of a putative marriage ................................................. 39
(a) General ................................................................................................. 39
(b) Children born of a putative marriage ................................................ 39
(c) The patrimonial consequences of a putative marriage ..................... 39
5 THE INVARIABLE CONSEQUENCES OF A CIVIL MARRIAGE ................................. 41
5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 41
5.2 The status of the spouses ......................................................................................... 41
5.3 Consortium omnis vitae ............................................................................................... 42
5.3.1 The content and protection of consortium omnis vitae ............................... 42
5.3.2 The relationship between consortium omnis vitae, the right to family life
and the right to dignity ............................................................................... 43
5.4 Spousal maintenance ............................................................................................... 44
5.4.1 The reciprocal duty of support between spouses ...................................... 44
(a) General ................................................................................................. 44
(b) Liability as against third parties .......................................................... 45
(c) Termination of the duty of support ................................................... 45
, Table of contents vii
Page
5.4.2
Household necessaries ................................................................................ 46
(a) General ................................................................................................. 46
(b) The requirements for the capacity to incur debts for household
necessaries ............................................................................................ 47
(c) Revocation or limitation of a spouse’s capacity to purchase
household necessaries ......................................................................... 48
5.4.3 The Maintenance Act 99 of 1998................................................................ 49
(a) General ................................................................................................. 49
(b) The maintenance complaint and maintenance enquiry .................. 49
(c) The orders the court may make ......................................................... 51
(d) Appeals ................................................................................................. 52
(e) Enforcement of a maintenance order................................................ 52
5.5 The matrimonial home............................................................................................ 57
5.6 Donations between spouses ..................................................................................... 58
5.7 The family name....................................................................................................... 59
5.8 Headship of the family ............................................................................................. 59
6 THE VARIABLE CONSEQUENCES OF A CIVIL MARRIAGE –
MARRIAGE IN COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY .............................................................. 61
6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 61
6.2 Cases in which community of property does not arise .......................................... 61
6.3 The nature of universal community of property .................................................... 62
6.4 The content of universal community of property .................................................. 63
6.4.1 Assets ............................................................................................................ 63
(a) General ................................................................................................. 63
(b) Separate assets ..................................................................................... 64
(c) Attachment of separate assets ............................................................. 66
6.4.2 Liabilities ...................................................................................................... 67
(a) General ................................................................................................. 67
(b) Antenuptial debts ................................................................................ 67
(c) Debts incurred during the subsistence of the marriage ................... 68
(d) Debts which are outstanding at the dissolution of the
joint estate ............................................................................................ 69
6.5 Administration of the joint estate ........................................................................... 70
6.5.1 Abolition of the marital power ................................................................... 70
6.5.2 The principle of equal administration of the joint estate ......................... 71
6.5.3 Acts for which the consent of both spouses is required ............................ 71
(a) General ................................................................................................. 71
(b) Prior written consent, attested by two competent witnesses,
in respect of each transaction separately ........................................... 72
(c) Written consent, attested by two competent witnesses,
in respect of each transaction separately ........................................... 72
(d) Written consent without any further requirements .......................... 73
(e) Oral or tacit consent............................................................................ 73
6.5.4 Acts for which the other spouse’s consent is unnecessary ........................ 74
6.5.5 Protective measures in respect of the administration of the
joint estate .................................................................................................... 75
(a) Protection of third parties .................................................................. 75
(b) Protection of the spouses as between themselves .............................. 77
6.5.6 Capacity to litigate ....................................................................................... 81
(a) General ................................................................................................. 81
(b) Insolvency............................................................................................. 81
(c) Suing for joint debts ............................................................................ 82
FAMILY LAW
JACQUELINE HEATON
BLC LLB (Pret) LLM (Unisa)
Professor of Private Law, University of South Africa
HANNERETHA KRUGER
BIur LLB (UOFS) LLD (Unisa)
Professor of Private Law, University of South Africa
FOURTH EDITION
,Members of the LexisNexis Group worldwide
South Africa LexisNexis (Pty) Ltd
DURBAN 215 Peter Mokaba Road (North Ridge Road), Morningside, Durban, 4001
JOHANNESBURG Building No. 9, Harrowdene Office Park, 124 Western Service Road, Woodmead, 2191
CAPE TOWN Office Floor 2, North Lobby, Boulevard Place, Heron Close, Century City, 7441
www.lexisnexis.co.za
Australia LexisNexis, CHATSWOOD, New South Wales
Austria LexisNexis Verlag ARD Orac, VIENNA
Benelux LexisNexis Benelux, AMSTERDAM
Canada LexisNexis Canada, MARKHAM, Ontario
China LexisNexis, BEIJING
France LexisNexis, PARIS
Germany LexisNexis Germany, MÜNSTER
Hong Kong LexisNexis, HONG KONG
India LexisNexis, NEW DELHI
Italy Giuffrè Editore, MILAN
Japan LexisNexis, TOKYO
Korea LexisNexis, SEOUL
Malaysia LexisNexis, KUALA LUMPUR
New Zealand LexisNexis, WELLINGTON
Poland LexisNexis Poland, WARSAW
Singapore LexisNexis, SINGAPORE
United Kingdom LexisNexis, LONDON
USA LexisNexis, DAYTON, Ohio
© 2015
ISBN 978 0 409 12059 2
E-BOOK ISBN 978 0 409 12060 8
First Edition 1999
Second Edition 2004
Reprinted 2005, 2006, 2007
Third Edition 2010
Copyright subsists in this work. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the publisher’s written permission. Any unauthorised reproduction of this work will constitute a copyright
infringement and render the doer liable under both civil and criminal law.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information published in this work is accurate, the editors,
authors, writers, contributors, publishers and printers take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by
any person as a result of the reliance upon the information contained therein.
Editor:Lisa Sandford
Technical Editor: Liz Bisschoff
Printed in South Africa by Interpak Books Pietermaritzburg
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE ................................................................................................................................. xvii
PART 1: CIVIL MARRIAGES
1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 3
1.1 The definition of the family .................................................................................... 3
1.2 The scope of this book ............................................................................................. 3
2 THE ENGAGEMENT ........................................................................................................ 5
2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5
2.2 The requirements for a valid engagement ............................................................. 5
2.3 The content and consequences of the engagement .............................................. 6
2.4 Termination of the engagement ............................................................................. 6
2.4.1 General ......................................................................................................... 6
2.4.2 The consequences of termination of the engagement ............................. 7
(a) Delictual damages for personality infringement ............................... 7
(b) Contractual damages for breach of promise ..................................... 8
(c) Return of the engagement gifts .......................................................... 9
2.5 Satisfaction and damages on the ground of seduction.......................................... 10
3 THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR A CIVIL MARRIAGE .......................................... 13
3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 13
3.2 Capacity to act .......................................................................................................... 14
3.2.1 General ......................................................................................................... 14
3.2.2 Declared prodigals ...................................................................................... 14
3.2.3 Mentally ill persons...................................................................................... 15
3.2.4 Persons who have been placed under curatorship because they are
incapable of managing their own affairs .................................................... 15
3.2.5 Minors .......................................................................................................... 16
(a) General ................................................................................................. 16
(b) Consent which is required for the civil marriage of a minor ........... 16
(c) Instances in which a minor requires no consent to enter into a
civil marriage ....................................................................................... 19
(d) The effect of absence of the necessary consent ................................. 20
3.3 Agreement ................................................................................................................ 24
3.3.1 General ......................................................................................................... 24
3.3.2 Mistake ......................................................................................................... 24
3.3.3 Misrepresentation ........................................................................................ 25
3.3.4 Duress ........................................................................................................... 25
3.3.5 Undue influence.......................................................................................... 25
v
,vi South African Family Law
Page
3.4
Lawfulness................................................................................................................. 25
3.4.1 General ......................................................................................................... 25
3.4.2 An existing civil or customary marriage or civil union ............................. 25
3.4.3 Persons who are of the same sex ................................................................ 26
3.4.4 Adoptive parents and their adopted children ........................................... 26
3.4.5 Persons who are within the prohibited degrees of relationship............... 26
(a) General ................................................................................................. 26
(b) Blood relations in the direct line ....................................................... 27
(c) Collateral blood relations ................................................................... 27
(d) Relations by affinity in the direct line ................................................ 28
(e) Relations by affinity in the collateral line .......................................... 28
3.4.6 Legal guardians and their wards................................................................. 29
3.4.7 Persons who belong to different race groups ............................................ 29
3.5 The prescribed formalities ...................................................................................... 30
3.5.1 Marriage officers .......................................................................................... 30
3.5.2 Formalities preceding the marriage ceremony ......................................... 31
3.5.3 Formalities during the marriage ceremony ............................................... 31
3.5.4 Registration of the civil marriage ............................................................... 32
4 VOID, VOIDABLE AND PUTATIVE CIVIL MARRIAGES ............................................. 33
4.1 Void civil marriages .................................................................................................. 33
4.1.1 The definition of a void marriage .............................................................. 33
4.1.2 The grounds for nullity ............................................................................... 33
4.1.3 The consequences of a void marriage ........................................................ 34
4.2 Voidable civil marriages ........................................................................................... 34
4.2.1 The definition of a voidable marriage ....................................................... 34
4.2.2 The grounds for setting aside a voidable civil marriage ........................... 34
(a) Minority ................................................................................................ 34
(b) Material mistake .................................................................................. 35
(c) Duress ................................................................................................... 35
(d) Undue influence.................................................................................. 35
(e) Stuprum ................................................................................................. 35
(f) Impotence ............................................................................................ 36
(g) Sterility ................................................................................................. 36
4.2.3 The consequences of a voidable civil marriage ......................................... 37
4.3 Putative marriages .................................................................................................... 38
4.3.1 The definition of a putative marriage ........................................................ 38
4.3.2 The requirements for a putative marriage................................................. 38
4.3.3 The consequences of a putative marriage ................................................. 39
(a) General ................................................................................................. 39
(b) Children born of a putative marriage ................................................ 39
(c) The patrimonial consequences of a putative marriage ..................... 39
5 THE INVARIABLE CONSEQUENCES OF A CIVIL MARRIAGE ................................. 41
5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 41
5.2 The status of the spouses ......................................................................................... 41
5.3 Consortium omnis vitae ............................................................................................... 42
5.3.1 The content and protection of consortium omnis vitae ............................... 42
5.3.2 The relationship between consortium omnis vitae, the right to family life
and the right to dignity ............................................................................... 43
5.4 Spousal maintenance ............................................................................................... 44
5.4.1 The reciprocal duty of support between spouses ...................................... 44
(a) General ................................................................................................. 44
(b) Liability as against third parties .......................................................... 45
(c) Termination of the duty of support ................................................... 45
, Table of contents vii
Page
5.4.2
Household necessaries ................................................................................ 46
(a) General ................................................................................................. 46
(b) The requirements for the capacity to incur debts for household
necessaries ............................................................................................ 47
(c) Revocation or limitation of a spouse’s capacity to purchase
household necessaries ......................................................................... 48
5.4.3 The Maintenance Act 99 of 1998................................................................ 49
(a) General ................................................................................................. 49
(b) The maintenance complaint and maintenance enquiry .................. 49
(c) The orders the court may make ......................................................... 51
(d) Appeals ................................................................................................. 52
(e) Enforcement of a maintenance order................................................ 52
5.5 The matrimonial home............................................................................................ 57
5.6 Donations between spouses ..................................................................................... 58
5.7 The family name....................................................................................................... 59
5.8 Headship of the family ............................................................................................. 59
6 THE VARIABLE CONSEQUENCES OF A CIVIL MARRIAGE –
MARRIAGE IN COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY .............................................................. 61
6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 61
6.2 Cases in which community of property does not arise .......................................... 61
6.3 The nature of universal community of property .................................................... 62
6.4 The content of universal community of property .................................................. 63
6.4.1 Assets ............................................................................................................ 63
(a) General ................................................................................................. 63
(b) Separate assets ..................................................................................... 64
(c) Attachment of separate assets ............................................................. 66
6.4.2 Liabilities ...................................................................................................... 67
(a) General ................................................................................................. 67
(b) Antenuptial debts ................................................................................ 67
(c) Debts incurred during the subsistence of the marriage ................... 68
(d) Debts which are outstanding at the dissolution of the
joint estate ............................................................................................ 69
6.5 Administration of the joint estate ........................................................................... 70
6.5.1 Abolition of the marital power ................................................................... 70
6.5.2 The principle of equal administration of the joint estate ......................... 71
6.5.3 Acts for which the consent of both spouses is required ............................ 71
(a) General ................................................................................................. 71
(b) Prior written consent, attested by two competent witnesses,
in respect of each transaction separately ........................................... 72
(c) Written consent, attested by two competent witnesses,
in respect of each transaction separately ........................................... 72
(d) Written consent without any further requirements .......................... 73
(e) Oral or tacit consent............................................................................ 73
6.5.4 Acts for which the other spouse’s consent is unnecessary ........................ 74
6.5.5 Protective measures in respect of the administration of the
joint estate .................................................................................................... 75
(a) Protection of third parties .................................................................. 75
(b) Protection of the spouses as between themselves .............................. 77
6.5.6 Capacity to litigate ....................................................................................... 81
(a) General ................................................................................................. 81
(b) Insolvency............................................................................................. 81
(c) Suing for joint debts ............................................................................ 82
