Divorce is where money meets memory. If you’re married out of community of property with accrual, the law tries to keep the outcome fair: each of you leaves with your own estate, plus a share of the growth you built while you were a team. This page gives you two things: a calculator and the thinking behind it — so you don’t negotiate in the dark.
What “accrual” really measures
In our law, “accrual” is the net increase in a spouse’s estate from wedding day to divorce day, adjusted for what the law says you must leave out (certain inheritances, donations, assets excluded by the ANC). The spouse with the smaller accrual can claim half the difference from the spouse with the larger accrual (under the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984, esp. s4 & s5).
How the calculator thinks (in human terms)
- Take today’s net estate (assets minus liabilities).
- Subtract “excluded” items (inheritances/legacies/donations; assets your ANC excludes).
- Subtract your indexed commencement value — the value you had at marriage, updated with CPI to today. (The Act plugs inflation into the equation so old values aren’t frozen in time.)
- That gives your accrual. Do the same for your spouse.
- Compare accruals. The spouse with the smaller accrual has a claim to half the difference. If one accrual is negative, treat it as zero for the claim.
Click here to use the accrual calculator
Worked example A (typical)
- Spouse A: Net estate today R1 000 000; excluded inheritance R200 000; commencement value R100 000, CPI-indexed to R150 000 ⇒ Accrual = 1 000 000 − 200 000 − 150 000 = R650 000.
- Spouse B: Net estate today R800 000; no exclusions; commencement value R50 000, CPI-indexed to R75 000 ⇒ Accrual = 800 000 − 0 − 75 000 = R725 000.
- Difference = 725 000 − 650 000 = R75 000. Claim = half the difference = R37 500 payable by B to A.
Worked example B (one spouse went backwards)
- Spouse C: Net estate R500 000; no exclusions; commencement 0 ⇒ Accrual = R500 000.
- Spouse D: Net estate R200 000; commencement R300 000 CPI-indexed to R420 000 ⇒ Accrual = 200 000 − 420 000 = –R220 000 → treated as 0 for claim.
- Difference = 500 000 − 0 = R500 000. Claim = R250 000 payable by C to D (subject to any forfeiture issues in s9 MPA).
Why people get this wrong
Because they forget to index the commencement value; they list excluded assets twice; they ignore pensions; or they “round feelings into facts.” We don’t. We trace values, we prove numbers, and where necessary, we litigate with restraint and precision.