Wills and Estate Planning for Newlyweds

Your antenuptial contract regulates the marriage. Your will regulates what happens to your estate when you die. They work together — and getting both right at the start of the marriage saves your spouse and family a great deal of difficulty later.

Why the antenuptial contract on its own is not enough

The antenuptial contract decides whether your estates are joint or separate, and how growth is shared during the marriage. It does not decide who inherits what when you die. That is the job of your will (or, if you die without a will, the Intestate Succession Act).

The interaction between the two matters. Some examples:

• In community of property: on death, half the joint estate automatically belongs to the survivor. Only the deceased’s half is dealt with by their will. Your bequest of “the family farm” might in fact only bequest a half-share, with the other half belonging to your spouse.
• Out of community with accrual: on death, the accrual is calculated against the deceased estate. Whatever the survivor receives in accrual flows out of the estate before the will distributes the rest.
• Out of community without accrual: the surviving spouse can claim maintenance from the deceased estate under the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act, but otherwise the will dictates the distribution.

The minimum every newlywed couple should have

• A signed will for each spouse, properly executed in front of two witnesses
• Nominated executors — usually each other for simple estates, with a backup if you die together
• Nominated guardians for any future children
• Beneficiaries on retirement funds and life-policy nominations kept up to date — these typically pass outside the will
• If a trust is involved: trust deed reviewed alongside the will to ensure they work together

Common errors we see

• Old wills not updated after marriage. A pre-marriage will may leave everything to a parent or sibling — not what you intended once you are married.
• “My spouse will inherit everything anyway”. Not necessarily. Without a will, the Intestate Succession Act distributes between spouse and children. The split depends on family structure and is rarely what people expect.
• Out-of-date retirement-fund nominations. Where the policy still names an ex-spouse, parent, or estate as beneficiary.
• Second-marriage spouses without proper planning. The default rules can mean your children from your first marriage receive less than your new spouse, even where your antenuptial contract keeps the estates separate.

Our wills service

Wills and estate planning are a separate service from antenuptial contracts and quoted on their own merits. Most couples come to us for both at the same time, around the wedding — the antenuptial contract before, the wills shortly after. We can run them in parallel.

Tell us on the intake form if you want a wills consultation alongside the antenuptial contract. We will send a separate quotation.

Related: With accrual · Without accrual · Second marriages