Accrual calculator for divorce

You signed an antenuptial contract before the wedding and were told that "the accrual system" would apply. Now the marriage is ending and nobody can tell you what that means in rand. This calculator does the arithmetic the Act prescribes, so you can see roughly who owes whom, and how much, before you sit down with an attorney.

What this tool works out and who it is for

You enter your commencement value from the antenuptial contract, your net estate now, your excluded assets, the same three figures for your spouse, and the inflation factor since the wedding.

The tool then gives you each spouse's inflation-adjusted commencement value, each spouse's accrual, the difference between the two accruals, and the claim: half the difference, payable to the spouse whose estate grew less. The headline tells you whether the claim runs to you or against you, or whether the estates grew equally and there is no claim.

It is for anyone in South Africa married out of community of property with the accrual system, whether you are thinking about divorce, already in the middle of one, or trying to check a figure an attorney or a spouse has put to you. It is not for a marriage in community of property, where the joint estate is simply divided, or a marriage out of community without accrual, where each spouse walks away with their own estate.

How the calculator decides

The tool runs the same steps every time, in this order.

First it adjusts each commencement value for inflation. It multiplies the figure declared in your antenuptial contract by the inflation factor you entered. The factor is the current consumer price index divided by the index in the month you married. The tool never carries a CPI figure of its own, because the index changes every month and the right pair of figures depends on your wedding date and your divorce date. If you leave the factor at 1, no adjustment is made, and the tool warns you that the claim will be overstated if any commencement value is above nil.

Second it works out your accrual. It takes your net estate now, meaning everything you own less everything you owe at market value, subtracts your excluded assets, and subtracts your inflation-adjusted commencement value. If the result is negative, the tool floors it at nil. An estate that shrank has an accrual of nil, not a negative figure, and the shrinkage does not reduce the other spouse's claim.

Third it does the same for your spouse.

Fourth it compares the two accruals. The spouse whose estate grew less has a claim against the spouse whose estate grew more. The claim is half the difference between the two accruals. The LawMatch rate table records that half share with the date the system took effect.

Fifth it states the direction. If your accrual is smaller, the claim is payable to you. If your spouse's accrual is smaller, it is payable by you. If the two are identical, there is no claim.

Excluded assets

Some assets are left out of the accrual by the Act or by the contract. The tool lets you enter their total for each spouse and subtracts it before working out the growth. They are inheritances and legacies, donations received from third parties, damages awarded for non-patrimonial loss such as pain and suffering, and any asset the antenuptial contract expressly excludes. An inheritance or donation stays excluded unless the will or the donor said it should form part of the accrual. Donations between the spouses themselves are also left out of the calculation.

Commencement values

The commencement value is the net value of your estate at the wedding, as declared in the antenuptial contract or in a separate statement made within six months after the wedding. If neither spouse declared a value, or the contract declared nil, the law presumes the commencement value to be nil. The tool warns you when both values are at zero, so you can check whether that is what your contract says.

The warnings it can raise

The tool warns where either estate is now worth less than its adjusted commencement value, so you know why the accrual shows as nil. It warns where you left the inflation factor at 1 while entering a commencement value above nil. And it warns where both commencement values are nil, so you can confirm that against the contract.

The law behind it

The accrual system comes from the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984. It applies to a marriage out of community of property entered into by antenuptial contract on or after 1 November 1984, unless the contract expressly excludes it.

Under the Act, each spouse keeps a separate estate during the marriage. On divorce, or on the death of either spouse, the spouse whose estate has grown less acquires a claim against the other for half the difference between the two accruals. The Act defines what is excluded, requires the commencement values to be adjusted by the consumer price index, presumes a commencement value of nil where none was declared, and lets a court order that the claim be paid in instalments or secured. It also gives a court a limited power to refuse a claim, in whole or in part, where a spouse has deliberately squandered or hidden assets to defeat the other's claim. The Act does not let a court rewrite the arithmetic simply because the result feels unfair.

The accrual claim is a debt, not a share in specific assets. Your spouse does not become a co-owner of your house; your spouse becomes your creditor for a sum of money. How that sum is paid, and whether the house has to be sold to pay it, is a separate question dealt with in who gets the house in a divorce.

Worked example

This example is illustrative. Lerato and Sipho married by antenuptial contract with accrual. Lerato declared a commencement value of R100 000 and Sipho declared R200 000. They are now divorcing, and the consumer price index has doubled since the wedding, so the inflation factor is 2. Lerato's net estate now is R1 100 000. Sipho's is R3 200 000. Neither has excluded assets.

Start with Lerato. Her adjusted commencement value is R100 000 times 2, which is R200 000. Her accrual is R1 100 000 less R200 000, which is R900 000.

Now Sipho. His adjusted commencement value is R200 000 times 2, which is R400 000. His accrual is R3 200 000 less R400 000, which is R2 800 000.

The difference between the accruals is R2 800 000 less R900 000, which is R1 900 000. Half of that is R950 000. Lerato's estate grew less, so Sipho owes Lerato R950 000.

What this tool does not decide

The tool does the arithmetic. It does not settle the inputs, and the inputs are where divorces are fought.

It does not value anything. Net estate means assets less liabilities at market value on the date of divorce, and a house, a business, a share portfolio and a pension interest all need to be valued. A pension interest counts in the accrual, and a business usually needs a formal valuation.

It does not fix the inflation factor. The Act requires a CPI adjustment, but which index figures apply and how they are applied is argued in the divorce, and the tool takes the factor you enter.

It does not decide what is excluded. Whether a gift was really from a third party, whether an inheritance can still be traced, and whether an asset falls inside a contract exclusion are questions of fact and proof.

It does not deal with forfeiture. A court may order that a spouse forfeit the benefits of the marriage, or refuse an accrual claim where assets were squandered. Those orders are argued in the divorce on the evidence, and nothing here predicts them.

When to get advice, and the free route

Get your antenuptial contract out first. It tells you whether accrual applies, what commencement values were declared, and what was excluded. A copy is registered at the deeds office if you cannot find yours. Read what is an antenuptial contract and do I need one if the document is a mystery to you.

Get advice from a family law attorney before you agree any figure. The claim is often the largest sum in the divorce, and the valuations, the inflation adjustment and the exclusions all move it. If your spouse is transferring assets, moving money offshore or running down a business, ask an attorney about securing the claim before the divorce is final.

The free route runs through two doors. The Family Advocate's office assists with matters involving children and can be reached at any High Court, at no charge. Legal Aid South Africa helps people who qualify on a means test with divorces and related claims; call 0800 110 110 or visit a local justice centre. Our legal aid page explains who qualifies and what to bring. If you were married in community of property rather than by antenuptial contract, the division works differently; see how does divorce work if you are married in community of property.

LawMatch is not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice. Use the figure to understand the claim, not to settle it.

Frequently asked questions

Does accrual apply to my marriage?

It applies if you married out of community of property by antenuptial contract on or after 1 November 1984 and the contract does not exclude it. If you married without a contract you are in community of property and there is no accrual. If your contract excludes accrual, each spouse keeps their own estate and there is no claim.

What if no commencement value was declared?

The Act presumes it was nil. That means the whole of your net estate at divorce counts as growth. Many couples declare nil on purpose, because it is simpler and because it avoids arguments later about what was worth what on the wedding day.

Is my inheritance safe from an accrual claim?

An inheritance is excluded from the accrual unless the will says otherwise, so it does not count as growth in your estate. It still needs to be proved and traced. If you mixed it into a joint account or spent it on a house in both names, the trail becomes harder to follow.

Can a court change the amount?

Only in narrow ways. A court can refuse the claim in whole or part where a spouse deliberately squandered assets to defeat it, and it can order security, instalments or deferred payment. It cannot adjust the arithmetic simply because one spouse feels the result is unfair.