Legal aspects of customary marriages

A CUSTOMARY marriage in South Africa may begin with ancestral blessings, lobola payments and the union of two families - but when that union breaks down, tradition alone will not suffice.

- ZELDA VENTER

According to Cor van Deventer, Director of the Sandton law firm VDM Incorporated, while the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act (RCMA) gives full legal status to cultural marriages, it draws a firm line when it comes to divorce, as only a court of law can dissolve them.

He said that a customary marriage would automatically default to “in Community of Property".

"A customary marriage carries the same legal weight as a legal marriage in South Africa; though registration is encouraged, a marriage can still be valid without it," Van Deventer said

He said that unless an antenuptial contract was entered into before the customary marriage, the union would be in community of property.