Abolition of Marital Power

• One of the most significant aspects of the Act is that it abolished the previously held common law in South Africa that men held the power of property over their wives. This allows for the other provisions in the Act, which details how property is to be split between a husband and wife.
  
  

Estate Values

• During a divorce proceeding, both the husband and wife must show the value of their individual estate--as they had before the marriage--and potential future earnings. All values are subject to the South African "accrual system," which is a calculation of how much an individual's estate has either increased or diminished since the start of the marriage.
  
  

Claims

• A spouse who has either no accrual or a smaller amount of accrual has a claim to the other's estate equal to half the amount of the difference between their accrual amounts. Inheritances, legacies and donations are excluded when calculating an individual's accrual.