WOMEN are often financially more vulnerable than men, and that can have a serious impact on their families. But a few essential steps can safeguard you and your loved ones from money troubles.
It's natural to fall in love and to want a relationship.
Living together is a reality of modern society and can make good financial sense, but bear in mind that money is often the single biggest source of tension for couples. Cohabiting can also lead to financial stress and loss if the relationship ends.
Whether you prefer to cohabit or walk down the aisle, it's important to understand the financial implications - and protect your assets.
In South Africa, common-law marriages aren't yet recognised.
This means that if you are living with someone, you're not automatically regarded as their spouse, even though you may have been living together for several years.
Unless you're specifically documented by your partner as an heir or beneficiary in insurance policies or a properly drawn up will, you won't be able to inherit from your partner either if they die.
There have been court cases where live-in couples have been recognised as a universal partnership, but parties had to prove what they separately brought into the relationship in order to claim their rights.
So how does one reconcile the matters of money and of the heart?
Firstly, it's advisable for couples to draft a cohabitation agreement, in which the rights and obligations of each party in the live-in relationship are clearly set out. In this way, you'll know exactly how financial responsibilities are shared and how the assets you accumulate while living together will be distributed in the event of a break-up or the death of one of the parties.
A cohabitation agreement works like a contract and should ideally be drawn up by a legal expert.
TYPES OF CIVIL UNIONS
Live-in relationships can also be registered under the Civil Union Act. A registered relationship is officially called a civil union.
The rights of each couple will depend on the type of civil union registered. The civil union can be a heterosexual or a same-sex relationship.
As with a marriage, the couple needs to decide whether they want to sign an antenuptial contract to be out of community of property, with or without the accrual system, or whether it's going to be in community of property.
The purpose of an antenuptial contract is to provide financial protection for both partners.
If you register the relationship as in community of property, you will share all assets and be entitled to half of your partner's assets, and vice versa, but you'll also both be responsible for any debt incurred by either of you.
If you register the relationship as out of community of property, you'll need to decide whether or not to apply the accrual system.
To end a registered civil union, you have to request a court to terminate it and they will handle it just like a divorce.
PROPOSED DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP BILL
Couples who live together can look forward to clearer financial rights in future.
The proposed Domestic Partnership Bill, once introduced into law, will regulate the legal status of people who are in a domestic partnership, but haven't yet tied the knot. This law will apply to heterosexuals as well as same-sex couples.
The bill provides rights and obligations to domestic partners who don't wish to register any form of partnership.
IMPROVE YOUR MONEY SENSE
Just as it's a good idea to go for an annual medical check-up, it's important to have an annual review of your money's health with an accredited financial adviser.
This is especially important for women in light of the finding that 53% of working mothers in South Africa are single.
What's more, about half of these single mothers receive no financial support from former partners or the fathers of their children.
To make themselves financially less vulnerable it is vital for women, particularly single mothers, to increase their financial understanding and to take charge of their own money matters.
Manyike is head of financial education at Old Mutual
Money matters and love affairs - women need to be financially savvy
WOMEN are often financially more vulnerable than men, and that can have a serious impact on their families. But a few essential steps can safeguard you and your loved ones from money troubles.
It's natural to fall in love and to want a relationship.
Living together is a reality of modern society and can make good financial sense, but bear in mind that money is often the single biggest source of tension for couples. Cohabiting can also lead to financial stress and loss if the relationship ends.
Whether you prefer to cohabit or walk down the aisle, it's important to understand the financial implications - and protect your assets.
In South Africa, common-law marriages aren't yet recognised.
This means that if you are living with someone, you're not automatically regarded as their spouse, even though you may have been living together for several years.
Unless you're specifically documented by your partner as an heir or beneficiary in insurance policies or a properly drawn up will, you won't be able to inherit from your partner either if they die.
There have been court cases where live-in couples have been recognised as a universal partnership, but parties had to prove what they separately brought into the relationship in order to claim their rights.
So how does one reconcile the matters of money and of the heart?
Firstly, it's advisable for couples to draft a cohabitation agreement, in which the rights and obligations of each party in the live-in relationship are clearly set out. In this way, you'll know exactly how financial responsibilities are shared and how the assets you accumulate while living together will be distributed in the event of a break-up or the death of one of the parties.
A cohabitation agreement works like a contract and should ideally be drawn up by a legal expert.
TYPES OF CIVIL UNIONS
Live-in relationships can also be registered under the Civil Union Act. A registered relationship is officially called a civil union.
The rights of each couple will depend on the type of civil union registered. The civil union can be a heterosexual or a same-sex relationship.
As with a marriage, the couple needs to decide whether they want to sign an antenuptial contract to be out of community of property, with or without the accrual system, or whether it's going to be in community of property.
The purpose of an antenuptial contract is to provide financial protection for both partners.
If you register the relationship as in community of property, you will share all assets and be entitled to half of your partner's assets, and vice versa, but you'll also both be responsible for any debt incurred by either of you.
If you register the relationship as out of community of property, you'll need to decide whether or not to apply the accrual system.
To end a registered civil union, you have to request a court to terminate it and they will handle it just like a divorce.
PROPOSED DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP BILL
Couples who live together can look forward to clearer financial rights in future.
The proposed Domestic Partnership Bill, once introduced into law, will regulate the legal status of people who are in a domestic partnership, but haven't yet tied the knot. This law will apply to heterosexuals as well as same-sex couples.
The bill provides rights and obligations to domestic partners who don't wish to register any form of partnership.
IMPROVE YOUR MONEY SENSE
Just as it's a good idea to go for an annual medical check-up, it's important to have an annual review of your money's health with an accredited financial adviser.
This is especially important for women in light of the finding that 53% of working mothers in South Africa are single.
What's more, about half of these single mothers receive no financial support from former partners or the fathers of their children.
To make themselves financially less vulnerable it is vital for women, particularly single mothers, to increase their financial understanding and to take charge of their own money matters.
Manyike is head of financial education at Old Mutual
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