Kaya Drive: Dividing assets when a relationship ends
By: Natasha Archary
Divorce and breakups can be brutal. Emotions aside, the real issues arise when it comes to dividing your assets.
It’s only when you’re going through a divorce that you realise that the person you once loved and shared a life with, would do everything they said they would never do just to hurt you.
The divorce process is bitter and ugly and you will lose more than a spouse by the end of it, because it’s a costly affair.
Divorce and dividing assets
When you’re married and going through a separation or divorce, it’s best to hire a lawyer to manage the process.
You may think you don’t need one, but you do, especially when matters become complicated with customary marriage issues.
If you get married without an anti-nuptial contract or prenup, you are automatically married in community of property.
This means your joint assets are split 50/50. While this may sound ideal, you will also be liable for any debt that your estranged spouse has accumulated during your marriage.
Judging by the responses received on Kaya Drive with Sizwe Dhlomo, a prenup is the way to go.
If you are married in community of property, you can still get out of it by drawing up an anti-nuptial contract with a qualified notary.
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Drive:
Breaking up and dividing the assets
Before moving in with your partner, it’s important to remember that while the two of you may be committed to one another, you’re still NOT married.
It doesn’t matter that you’ve been together for years. So when you decided to move in together, remember that should you split up, there’s no legally binding document to protect you from losing your assets.
The ownership of the contested assets may come down to who actually paid for them.
It is a good idea to enter into a domestic partnership agreement to regulate what will happen to the assets acquired during the relationship should it come to an end. This agreement should be drafted by an attorney.
Women tend to may bad financial decisions all in the name of love.
Making big purchases with your partner when you’re unmarried could likely backfire. Keep receipts of everything, so that if things go south you have a leg to stand on.
Some of the disputes couples deal with are about who owns the vehicle/s they purchase jointly.
If he buys you a car and it’s on his name and has paid for it, the car is his.
It doesn’t matter that he gifted it to you, he will not be obligated to hand you the car should you break up.
Relationships, like with everything in life, comes with an expiration date, and it’s up to every individual to guard more than just their heart when entering into one.
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