Bath v Bath

The parties concluded an antenuptial contract one day before their marriage in October 2005. The contract purported to exclude community of property and profit and loss, and to subject the marriage to the accrual system. However, its provisions dealing with the declaration, valuation, and exclusion of assets were contradictory and incoherent. The husband later instituted divorce proceedings, alleging that the marriage was out of community of property subject to accrual, and claiming an accrual share and repayment of a loan. The wife disputed the validity and effect of the antenuptial contract, contending inter alia that it was void for vagueness. The High Court separated the issue of the validity and interpretation of the antenuptial contract and held it void for vagueness, with the result that the marriage was in community of property. The husband appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was dismissed with costs. The order of the High Court was confirmed, with the result that the antenuptial contract was void for vagueness and the marriage was in community of property.

The case affirms that antenuptial contracts must be drafted with clarity and coherence, particularly when regulating the accrual system under the Matrimonial Property Act. It underscores that courts will not salvage or rewrite fundamentally vague or contradictory marital contracts, and that contextual evidence cannot cure a contract that is incapable of sensible construction.