We make the legal stuff simple, transparent and actually enjoyable. We combine expert legal guidance with a memorable approach to make sure you understand your options, feel confident in your choices and that you are on the same page financially and emotionally regarding your marriage regime.

An antenuptial contract is a legal agreement (contract) signed before marriage that determines your matrimonial property regime, such as whether you marry Out of Community of Property with or without Accrual. It protects each spouse’s assets and and ring-fences their debts. It prevents the automatic merging of estates into a joint estate on marriage (In Community of Property) . It essentially determines how your estate or finances will be dealt with during the marriage and on death or divorce.

Yes, a Prenup is the slang or informal term for an Antenuptial Contract. The formal name in South Africa is an Antenuptial Contract (ANC).

Antenuptial Contract: Signed before marriage.

Postnuptial Contract: Signed after marriage, requires a High Court application, creditor notification, good cause shown and is generally costly

If you do not sign an Antenuptial Contract, you will be automatically regarded as being married In Community of Property and your estates (assets and debts) will merge into one joint estate. It is wise to enter into an antenuptial contract to protect pre-marital assets and inheritances and to shield one spouse from the other’s existing debts or business liabilities. It allows you to establish clear rules for asset division on divorce or death and will allow financial autonomy and estate planning clarity. 

The agreement MUST be in writing.

MUST be signed by both parties before a Notary Public (fancy kind of attorney).

MUST be executed before the wedding ceremony (timing is crucial).

MUST be registered at the Deeds Office within 3 months of signing.

If you miss these formalities, you’ll be married In Community of Property and may need a postnuptial (High Court) order to change your regime and protect yourself from the consequences of a Joint Estate. (Trust us - its very pricey)

No , you do not have to wait for Deeds Office registration before you marry. Once you or your Agent has signed in front of a Notary, the notary will issue a certificate for your marriage officer to confirm the Antenuptial Contract. Registration can follow thereafter but must happen within 3 months. 

If the ANC isn’t registered within 3 months of signing, you are deemed married In Community of Property. You can apply to the High Court for a postnuptial contract, but this is more costly and time-consuming and can have consequences on the rights of third parties (ie. those pesky creditors).

The NupClub and Notary handles the registration for you!

South African courts and legal practice generally do not enforce “lifestyle clauses” (e.g. weight restriction, chores) or clauses that infringe Constitutional rights (such as requiring conversion of religion). Such provisions are usually struck out without affecting the rest of the ANC. 

There are however some allowable special clauses and exclusions that can be included, and you can discuss this with the attorney during your consultation.

You will usually need a full disclosure of assets, liabilities, and values for accurate drafting. This includes property, accounts, businesses and other valuables. Accurate descriptions are important to avoid future challenges.

Generally and attorney will assist you to draft your ANC after a consultation but only a duly admitted and practising Notary Public can execute and notarise the ANC for it to be legally effective and they will arrange registration with the Deeds Office. The notary will keep a copy of your power of attorney and registered Antenuptial Contract on the Protocol. This is basically a specialised attorney with fancy stamps, a fancy book and a big safe to file your documents, in case you misplace them over the years. 

At The NupClub, your contract is handled by a qualified attorney and notary, end-to-end. 

The attorney consultation and notarising of your Antenuptial Contract is included in our package. It is not legally required to use separate attorneys and one attorney and notary will normally act for both parties. The attorney will however advise you that you are entitled to seek independent legal advice (ie. independent from your spouse), if you have any worries or hesitation regarding your Antenuptial Contract or your prospective partner's wishes. This usually only happens with complex antenuptial contracts.

Yes! If you do not enter into an Antenuptial Contract before your Customary Marriage is concluded you will be considered married In Community of Property.

Given the various cultural and traditional practices involved in Customary Marriages it is generally recommended that you conclude the Antenuptial Contract before proceeding with any negotiations. 

If you are unsure when you will be regarded as married under a Customary or Traditional Marriage, you need to seek specialised legal advise to ensure that you are not married in community of property. Timing of signature of the Antenuptial Contract is crucial and must be before the marriage is concluded

The NupClub offers a one-of-a-kind full legal package, including making the process a memorable and special part of your journey to your marriage.The all-inclusive package includes:

A Special Date Box experience to guide and facilitate your discussion surrounding your Antenuptial Contract and finances, a 45 minute online consultation with an Attorney, Drafting and Execution of your Antenuptial Contract with a Notary, Registration with the Deeds Office, Deeds Offices Fees, Courier fees for your date box, upliftment of your originals and delivery of your Antenuptial Contract (with a little flare).

Only if your matter is unusually complex (for example, multiple businesses or foreign assets). If that’s the case, we’ll tell you before anything proceeds.

Essentially yes, once executed and registered correctly, an ANC remains valid throughout the marriage. The only way to amend your ANC is with a postnuptial court-approved change.

You will be a NupClub member all marriage long 🙂

Nope, an Antenuptial Contract is concluded before marriage and registered with the Deeds Office. Your marriage will be concluded by a Marriage Officer and registered at Home Affairs. Your Marriage Officer will usually request a certificate from the Notary before they proceed to marry you

If the marriage dissolves, the terms of the ANC determines how assets and liabilities are dealt with, including any accrual provisions you chose. On death, the contract influences estate division according to the chosen marital regime.

No, a will does not override the terms of a valid antenuptial contract regarding matrimonial property and accrual. Separate estate planning (wills) is advisable but does not change the ANC marital regime. Your ANC always comes first, which is why it’s so important to get it right.

You can choose between:

Out of community of property with accrual

Out of community of property without accrual (with or without Exclusions or Estate Values)

Or no ANC at all, which means in community of property. 

During your consultation our appointed attorney will guide you through what each option actually means in real life and tailor your ANC especially for your circumstances.

A popular regime choice is Out of Community of Property with the Accrual. This means that we look at the value of each partner's estate before marriage and note this value down in the Antenuptial Contract. When the marriage is dissolved by death or divorce we then look at the partners estate values again at the end and determine the growth of their estate during the marriage (i.e. starting value minus end value). If one partner's estate has grown more than the other, then the partner with lesser growth is entitled to receive half of the difference between the two estates in monetary value.

Yes, you can make exclusions in your Antenuptial Contract. These excluded assets are then not included in the calculation of you estates value at the end of your marriage. These assets must be properly defined in the Antenuptial Contract.

There are some automatic exclusions, such as inheritance, donations between spouses and non-patrimonial damage. Be sure to chat to the attorney about the exclusions.

After your consultation you will receive a draft of your Antenuptial Contract within 48 Hours. This contract must then be signed an returned to our offices via courier. Once the originals are received we will execute the Antenuptial Contract before the Notary. The contract will then be sent to the Deeds Office for registration which can take around 8 - 12 Days. After registration the Deeds Office will Microfilm (special form of scanning) the registered contract and we will receive the contract back in about 7-14 days after the scanning. We then courier the original to you once received. The total process takes around 3 -4 weeks from consultation to final registration and your registered document to be returned between 1-2 months. We will keep you posted every step of the way!

*remember your contract only needs to be executed (signed) before the Notary before the marriage, it does not need to be registered.

If you’re on a tight wedding deadline, let us know. We’re very used to calm-under-pressure energy.

Not when The NupClub is involved, our Date Box and Guide will give a memorable experience to meet each other hand-in-hand and discuss your financial futures.

Nope! Your document set will include a special power of attorney authorising the signature of your ANC before the Notary. This agent will usually be another attorney/employee in the office of the Notary. 

You will however need to sign a copy of the ANC and the Power of Attorney in person before 2 witnesses.

Nope! We can help you from anywhere in the country. The attorney consultations are online and we will appoint an Agent by Power of Attorney to sign the ANC on your behalf in front of the Notary!