Estate plan and marriage

Marital status influences distribution of assets in the event of your death.

- Hannah Myburgh

Your marital property regime affects how your assets will be distributed after your death. Before drafting or updating your will, it is essential to understand how your marital status and property regime influence your estate, especially in terms of your rights to dispose of assets and your spouse's legal claims.

Married in community of property If you are married in community of property, you and your spouse share a joint estate. As a partner in an in-community marriage, keep in mind that there are not two separate estates, each totaling 50% of the joint estate. There is a single estate, and upon the death of the first-dying spouse, the whole estate must be wound up.

You and your spouse are joint owners of all the assets in the estate, regardless of whose name each asset is registered in.