4 days ago
- Business
- The South African
If you're a woman and getting divorced here's GOOD news
South Africa's divorce laws are on the verge of a transformative shift, with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development introducing a new bill that promises fairer outcomes for thousands of spouses – particularly women – married without accrual.
The General (Family) Laws Amendment Bill, 2025, introduced by Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, aims to overhaul long-standing gaps in South Africa's matrimonial property regime, which have left many financially vulnerable in divorce or death.
Currently, couples who married out of community of property and without the accrual system – common in unions after 1984 – have separate estates.
In the event of divorce, the law provides no automatic right to share assets, even if one spouse made non-financial contributions, such as raising children or supporting a partner's career.
For decades, this meant a spouse could leave a marriage with nothing, regardless of years of unpaid labour and emotional support.
While courts could grant limited redistribution orders in some divorce cases, these excluded many marriages, especially older ones, and offered no relief in cases where a marriage ended due to death.
The new bill addresses these inequalities head-on.
It introduces redistribution rights in divorce proceedings for those previously excluded and, for the first time, allows asset claims when a marriage ends in death.
This change follows a 2023 Constitutional Court ruling, which declared the existing system unconstitutional for discriminating against spouses – mostly women – who lacked financial bargaining power when entering marriage contracts.
The legislation also proposes amendments to the Mediation in Certain Divorce Matters Act, expanding the role of the Family Advocate to better assist financially dependent spouses during divorce proceedings.
This includes: Enhanced mediation support
Legal guidance for non-earning spouses
Protection for surviving spouses in intestate estates
Legal experts say the changes will significantly help: Women married before the accrual system was common
Homemakers or caregivers with no income
Older South Africans whose marriages never accounted for financial inequality
'These reforms bring long-overdue justice to spouses who sacrificed careers or incomes for their families,' said family law specialist Lindiwe Mokoena.
'It levels the playing field for thousands who were previously sidelined by outdated laws.'
The bill is now heading to parliamentary debate and public consultation, expected to take place in the coming months.
If passed, it will modernise South Africa's divorce law, making it one of the most progressive in protecting vulnerable partners in the country's democratic history.
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