[MEDIA SUMMARY] ST v CT

This was a divorce matter between Mr ST (appellant) and Mrs CT (respondent) that came before the Supreme Court of Appeal on appeal from the Western Cape Division of the High Court in Cape Town. The parties had entered into an antenuptial contract which contained a prenuptial waiver of maintenance after divorce by Mrs CT. The high court had made adverse credibility findings against Mr ST and made findings and orders regarding accrual and maintenance. Issues arose regarding disclosure of assets, the calculation of accrual including whether certain assets should be excluded from the estate, and the validity of the prenuptial waiver of maintenance contained in the antenuptial contract.

• Whether adverse credibility findings against a party warrant the wholesale rejection of all their evidence regarding their estate
• Whether a prenuptial waiver of maintenance after divorce contained in an antenuptial contract is valid and enforceable
• What constitutes proper compliance with the duty to disclose assets in terms of section 7 of the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984
• Upon whom does the burden of proof rest to establish that certain assets are excluded from an estate for purposes of calculating accrual
• Whether a living annuity forms part of a party's estate for purposes of calculating accrual

The appeal was upheld in part. The findings and orders of the Western Cape Division of the High Court regarding accrual and maintenance were overturned. The prenuptial waiver of maintenance was declared invalid and unenforceable.

1. Adverse credibility findings against a party in divorce proceedings do not justify the wholesale rejection of all their evidence regarding their estate. Such evidence must be tested against objective facts and accepted where borne out by those facts in the absence of controverting evidence. 2. A prenuptial waiver of maintenance after divorce contained in an antenuptial contract is invalid and unenforceable (majority: on the basis that it contravenes public policy as embodied in section 7 of the Divorce Act 70 of 1979; minority: on the basis that prenuptial agreements cannot override the court's statutory power under section 7 of the Divorce Act to grant maintenance upon divorce). 3. A party required to disclose assets in terms of section 7 of the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984 must establish proper compliance with that duty. 4. A party who alleges that certain assets are excluded from their estate for purposes of calculating accrual bears the burden of proof to establish such exclusion and the nexus between excluded assets and current assets. 5. A living annuity does not form part of a party's estate for purposes of calculating accrual.

While the media summary does not contain detailed obiter dicta, the court's observations regarding the approach to be taken when evaluating evidence in divorce proceedings where adverse credibility findings have been made provides guidance on evidential matters beyond the strict necessities of the case. The divergence between the majority and minority on the precise legal basis for invalidity of prenuptial maintenance waivers (public policy versus statutory override) suggests nuanced observations about the relationship between contractual freedom and statutory protections in matrimonial law.

This case is significant in South African matrimonial property law for establishing that prenuptial waivers of maintenance after divorce are invalid and unenforceable, either because they contravene public policy embodied in section 7 of the Divorce Act (majority view) or because they cannot override the court's statutory power to grant maintenance upon divorce (minority view). The case also clarifies important principles regarding the evaluation of evidence in divorce matters despite adverse credibility findings, the burden of proof regarding asset disclosure and exclusions from accrual, and the treatment of living annuities in accrual calculations.