The most common reasons our clients decide to apply to the high court for permission to enter and register a postnuptial agreement:
- Freedom to trade.
- Exposing spouse to creditors and business risk.
- Risk of joint estate at death of either spouse.
- Parties cannot do effective Estate or Tax planning being married in community of property.
- Being married in community of property causes friction in the marriage.
- Parties entered into an antenuptial contract before marriage but the contract was nor registered in time or at all.
- The parties will not be held liable for the debts of a spouse that such spouse may have incurred after registration of the postnuptial contract.
- The parties will not be held liable for the debts of a spouse that such spouse may incur after registration of the postnuptial contract.
- Assets may be protected, particularly if one of the spouses has a business in his or her own name. The parties may decide to register assets such as their residential property in the name of only one spouse, being the spouse with the lowest risk profile. The assets of each spouse will also be safe if the other spouse is sequestrated.
- One or both spouses may have assets prior to the marriage that they want to exclude from the joint estate.
- Spouses may enter commercial transactions without the consent of their spouse.
- Each spouse retains control over his or her assets, builds his or her own estate and is responsible for his or her own debts.
