The purpose of my final thesis "Matrimonial property in the context of inheritance proceedings" is to analyse law dealings with settlements of matrimonial property and its application in inheritance proceedings. I emphasize problems caused by a lack of interconnection between the legislation of matrimonial property and the law of succession where I focus on both the substantial as well as procedural law. Furthermore, I discuss a tension between two principles - free will and protection of a surviving spouse - which emerges during the settlements of matrimonial property in the inheritance proceedings and which is apparent from the amount of rights given to the surviving spouse under the law of succession. Additionally, I compare the Czech legislation in this matter to the English law, even though England belongs to different legal culture where the concept of matrimonial property has not been fully introduced yet. However, considering the need for adjusting the Czech legislation of matrimonial property to the law of succession, I suggest that the protection which is given to the surviving spouse under English law might be inspiring for the Czech legislator.

Doctor Legum - LLD / South Africa

Magister Legum - LLM / South Africa

<p>This thesis will examine the effects of divorce on the benefit payable to a member of a retirement fund, where divorce has occurred before the member has reached retirement age. In&nbsp / particular, parametric (that is, piecemeal) amendments to the relevant legislation will be analysed in order to outline the development of the legislation relating to divorce and the consequent distribution of&nbsp / assets (including retirement savings). The previous and current legal position in South Africa relating to divorce and retirement savings will be set out and critically analysed to determine whether the current position can be regarded as an improvement upon the previous legal position, or whether other and/or new problems in this area have been created. Parametric amendments to&nbsp / relevant legislation have thus far been the subject of many cases in our courts and adjudicative tribunals. A systemic overhaul of a particular area of law is a useful tool in providing legal certainty&nbsp / and clarifying the laws applicable to that area. This thesis will therefore argue in favour of a systemic overhaul of the legislation applicable to the allocation of retirement benefits at divorce, as opposed to the ineffectual parametric (i.e. piecemeal) amendments that have been implemented thus far. An essential aspect of this study is a comparative study of South African legal principles&nbsp / relating to retirement benefits and divorce with the legal principles of this subject in the United Kingdom (UK).</p>

<p>This thesis will examine the effects of divorce on the benefit payable to a member of a retirement fund, where divorce has occurred before the member has reached retirement age. In&nbsp / particular, parametric (that is, piecemeal) amendments to the relevant legislation will be analysed in order to outline the development of the legislation relating to divorce and the consequent distribution of&nbsp / assets (including retirement savings). The previous and current legal position in South Africa relating to divorce and retirement savings will be set out and critically analysed to determine whether the current position can be regarded as an improvement upon the previous legal position, or whether other and/or new problems in this area have been created. Parametric amendments to&nbsp / relevant legislation have thus far been the subject of many cases in our courts and adjudicative tribunals. A systemic overhaul of a particular area of law is a useful tool in providing legal certainty&nbsp / and clarifying the laws applicable to that area. This thesis will therefore argue in favour of a systemic overhaul of the legislation applicable to the allocation of retirement benefits at divorce, as opposed to the ineffectual parametric (i.e. piecemeal) amendments that have been implemented thus far. An essential aspect of this study is a comparative study of South African legal principles&nbsp / relating to retirement benefits and divorce with the legal principles of this subject in the United Kingdom (UK).</p>

Magister Legum - LLM / This thesis will examine the effects of divorce on the benefit payable to a member of a retirement fund, where divorce has occurred before the member has reached retirement age. In particular, parametric (that is, piecemeal) amendments to the relevant legislation will be analysed in order to outline the development of the legislation relating to divorce and the consequent distribution of assets (including retirement savings). The previous and current legal position in South Africa relating to divorce and retirement savings will be set out and critically analysed to determine whether the current position can be regarded as an improvement upon the previous legal position, or whether other and/or new problems in this area have been created. Parametric amendments to relevant legislation have thus far been the subject of many cases in our courts and adjudicative tribunals. A systemic overhaul of a particular area of law is a useful tool in providing legal certainty and clarifying the laws applicable to that area. This thesis will therefore argue in favour of a systemic overhaul of the legislation applicable to the allocation of retirement benefits at divorce, as opposed to the ineffectual parametric (i.e. piecemeal) amendments that have been implemented thus far. An essential aspect of this study is a comparative study of South African legal principles relating to retirement benefits and divorce with the legal principles of this subject in the United Kingdom (UK). / South Africa

The study commences with a brief overview of the history of marriage and specifically of marriage in community of property with reference to marital power. The unique ex lege consequences of marriage in community of property is comprehensively discussed. The Constitutional Court decision in Harksen v Lane determined the test for unconstitutionality. The test for unconstitutionality is discussed with specific reference to the Bill of Rights. The Constitutional Court's decision in Volks v Robinson is critically evaluated as the Court propounded the so-called "choice argument" in terms of which people purposefully decide to marry instead of cohabiting and therefore the law may accord certain benefits to married people which are not available to unmarried life partners. The Constitutional Court decisions in Van der Merwe v RAF as well as its consequences are discussed. It concluded that section 18(b) of the Matrimonial Property Act constituted unjustifiable discrimination between spouses married in community of property and those married out of community of property and the said section was therefore declared unconstitutional. The law of insolvency in respect of the joint estate of spouses married in community of property is investigated. Freedom of testation and case law relating thereto is considered briefly. The study concludes with the submission that the common law provision that separate assets of a spouse in a marriage in community of property form part of the joint insolvent estate even if a testator expressly determined in his will that a bequest will not form part of the joint estate of a beneficiary, amounts to unfair discrimination and is unconstitutional. t is submitted that the principle unfairly discriminates between spouses married in community of property and those married out of community of property on the ground of marital status. / LLM (Estate Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The study commences with a brief overview of the history of marriage and specifically of marriage in community of property with reference to marital power. The unique ex lege consequences of marriage in community of property is comprehensively discussed. The Constitutional Court decision in Harksen v Lane determined the test for unconstitutionality. The test for unconstitutionality is discussed with specific reference to the Bill of Rights. The Constitutional Court's decision in Volks v Robinson is critically evaluated as the Court propounded the so-called "choice argument" in terms of which people purposefully decide to marry instead of cohabiting and therefore the law may accord certain benefits to married people which are not available to unmarried life partners. The Constitutional Court decisions in Van der Merwe v RAF as well as its consequences are discussed. It concluded that section 18(b) of the Matrimonial Property Act constituted unjustifiable discrimination between spouses married in community of property and those married out of community of property and the said section was therefore declared unconstitutional. The law of insolvency in respect of the joint estate of spouses married in community of property is investigated. Freedom of testation and case law relating thereto is considered briefly. The study concludes with the submission that the common law provision that separate assets of a spouse in a marriage in community of property form part of the joint insolvent estate even if a testator expressly determined in his will that a bequest will not form part of the joint estate of a beneficiary, amounts to unfair discrimination and is unconstitutional. t is submitted that the principle unfairly discriminates between spouses married in community of property and those married out of community of property on the ground of marital status. / LLM (Estate Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

In recent times, the incidence of single-parent families has increased rapidly with the principle cause being the rising divorce rate. The vast majority of these single-parent families are headed by women and a predominantly common factor in these households is the extent to which they are financially impoverished after divorce. This situation has given rise to the phenomenon known as the feminisation of poverty, where women are seen to make up the majority of the poor. This study examines the many varied factors contributing to this phenomenon and discusses some of the general solutions offered world-wide to address these poverty-stricken households. An assessment is then made of those legal solutions most appropriate for South Africa / Law / LL.M.

Prohibée il y a deux siècles, l'assurance sur la vie est devenue le soutien principal de l'économie. Au carrefour de plusieurs domaines juridiques, son examen doit englober la famille du souscripteur et du bénéficiaire. Bien que, le plus souvent, le code des assurances ne tienne pas compte des rapports de famille, les règles relatives aux couples, aux héritiers et créanciers jouent. De même que s’appliquent le droit fiscal et celui des incapacités. De nos jours, l'assurance vie a un rôle clé dans le conseil patrimonial et la planification successorale. Différents types de contrats sur la vie humaine coexistent. De nouveaux contrats, comme les assurances en cas de vie, rentes et contrats en unités de compte, sont des véhicules d’épargne. Cette évolution a complètement renouvelé le marché. Deux catégories se dégagent. D'abord, les contrats de prévoyance sont destinés à fournir une somme au décès de l’assuré, comme les assurances temporaires décès et vie entière. Ensuite, les contrats de placement ont pour objectif principal la constitution d'un capital en payant une ou plusieurs primes ; ils sont l'activité centrale des assureurs. Cette étude vise à identifier l’influence de la variété des contrats sur le droit familial. Les articles L. 132-12 à 17 du code des assurances furent conçus pour les contrats en cas de décès. Il y a une contradiction flagrante dans l’application de ces règles aux nouveaux contrats, qui sont de purs outils d’épargne. Il était nécessaire d'analyser comment le code civil compense l'inadéquation du code des assurances. Des propositions ont été formulées pour adapter le régime juridique de l'assurance sur la vie à la grande diversité des contrats. / Prohibited two centuries ago, life insurance is now the mainstay of the Frencheconomy. At the crossroad of several legal areas, the study of life insuranceshould consider both the policy holder’s and the beneficiary’s families. Despite the fact that the French Insurance Code ignores, more often than not, familyrelationships, the legal rules applied to couples, heirs and creditors areinterfering with insurance law. So too do tax law and legal incapacities.Nowadays, life insurance plays a key-role in assets management and estateplanning. Several types of contracts are in use. New types of contracts, suchas universal life, annuities and unit-linked insurance plan, are savings vehicles.This evolution has completely renewed the life insurance market. Twocategories emerge among Life-based contracts. First, there are protection policies, which are designed to provide a benefit at the insured's death, such as term life and permanent life insurance. Investment policies are the second type. Their main objective is to facilitate the growth of a capital by paying single or flexible premiums ; they are the core activity of insurers. This study aims to assess the impact of this diverse range of contracts on family law. Articles L. 132-12 to 17 of the Insurance code were originally enacted to regulate term and permanent life insurance. It is a contradiction in terms to apply these provisions to the new types of contracts, which are pure savings vehicles. It was necessary to critically analyse how the Civil Code fills in the gaps left by the Insurance Code. Suggestions are made to adjust the legal regime to the wide diversity of life insurance contracts.