ENDING a marriage must follow the proper legal procedures to properly divide the property of the spouses, as well as share the things that you must cooperate in even if you are separated.
But for people who are socialized, their issue tends to be complicated when the time comes for them to say “it’s not mine”.
According to experts, the law in this country is not very clear in the situation of couples who have been together for a long time and are like a family, although it accepts when there is a cohabitation agreement – including traditional marriage where there is no legal document that specifies the type of marriage you are in by inheritance.
However, according to local statistics, it is clear that sharing is increasing as a means of meeting expenses for people who are dating in this country. The National Research Foundation points out that the 2025 study indicates that the cohabitation of lovers is increasing but the number of marriages is decreasing at an alarming rate. This shows a change in the way people choose to start families, as it has become common for there to be families with parents who are not in the marriage structure. We will not get into the debate about the pros and cons of celibacy, the truth is that there are more and more people who don’t choose that way.
WEDDINGS ARE NOW AT HOME
Statistics South Africa, through the 2022 survey, revealed that the number of displaced people in the country has increased to 3.7 million. However, the investigation of family lawyers Maurice Phillips Wisenberg Inc, indicates that there is a gap that is opening. “In South Africa, cohabitation is not considered a legal marriage, it is not the same as in other countries,” they said. In that way, this growing coexistence is not different from watering the grass.
Many people live together as if they are married but in reality they are not protected by the law of the land. Lawyer Bertus Preller says that legal researchers are looking closely at this issue because the number of people who joke with each other and live together to cover each other’s living expenses is increasing. Most of these people are already living together as married couples. They have children who support and raise them together, they buy groceries together, rent, transport money, even ways to support life such as spinning they do together, some even put rings on each other.
Because there is no law in favor of this way of living for couples, it is often incredibly painful when the time comes to argue. It can be argued in the courts when there are no witnesses to what kind of agreement you have in your marriage because there is no marriage certificate recognized by the law of the land as proof of being in the family structure.
CASE STUDY
There has been such a case where a couple had lived together for 20 years until they had children. The man had a successful business. The woman, on the other hand, was responsible for the home, raising the children.
The court found that there was an agreement to live together in this way even though there is no paper, and finally gave the woman a 30% share in the “family” estate that was created when they lived together. According to the forum Divorcelaws.co.za, the court did not consider that contributing to the creation of the estate ends with things like putting money into the home, but also other responsibilities of cooperation in the home. The court followed the way it was happening, even though there was no evidence, and said it was clear that they were living in accordance with the support required for married people.
This, according to Harry Joffe of law at Discovery Life, means that the evidence that their lives were dependent on each other is enough to reach a decision on how to divide the estate.
Because of this, Joffe and other legal experts suggest that people have a written and signed agreement on what will happen to the inheritance if they separate or if someone dies between them.
SHOW PRICES
National Debt Counseling says it’s good practice to discuss money when you’re living together in this way – even if you’re married this should be. “This means that the money a person receives every month, expenses and so on, should be known by the person living with them. It should be agreed who is responsible for what expenses, especially when they are sheltering under the same roof”, said the agency.
It is said that if unmarried people agree to buy a house, a car or furniture, they must try to write those things as having been acquired by mutual agreement. “This includes the money saved together, the insurance and the money paid to the person who helps at home, and so on. If the car is bought on credit, the debt is usually in the name of one person even if both of you have agreed to pay that debt. That should also be written down.”
The law enforcement officials noted that during the dispute, it often broke out that one was paying more than the other, which led to the end of the dispute.
They say that when couples decide to live together or live together, they should not close their eyes and ears, be intoxicated by the burning love of that time. “You should know that this decision will definitely affect your money in the long run. Money and love are rarely related because in that case that love tends to weaken when money is gone.” said Rene Moonsamy of National Debt Counselling.
In fact, according to estate consultant Charize Beukes, if you make a cohabitation agreement you should make a written separation agreement in case of failure, which will specify what you agree on. Don’t get into an argument if it spills and grinds.
Counselors say that many people have the belief that making such agreements means that you trust each other and that someone is willing to leave the other, but this is not the case. “It just helps that you know what burden you are facing and it lessens the pain of separation when it happens,” said Ms. Moonsamy.
“A person’s spirit is very strained when he quarrels with the person he is in love with, no matter what the reason. That alone is a heavy yoke. When there is a dispute about who will take what from the things you shared, it will kill you and finish you off, until you get diseases in the body.”
What is undeniable is that lifestyles are changing. In many societies, marriage is no longer a priority if one wishes to start a family. In some communities, it is the economic situation that opposes them and forces them to start families without tying the knot.
According to tradition, children born to couples in this type of marriage are considered not to be part of their father’s surname because they have not gone through the known process of marriage. But the question is that since water has entered the house of children born today, what is the use of the issue of kipitan being viewed from afar but happening?