Divorced before bankruptcy
I have a business, business is doing very bad, if I now divorce and become insolvent can they take our house and car if I give it to my wife? We want to marry, can we marry out of community?
Category: Business Matters, Bankruptcy
Region: South Africa, Mpumalanaga
1 Answer
Hello. Insolvency has serious consequences. It means the Master of the High Court will appoint a trustee to take over all your property for the benefit of your creditors. You will only be left with your bare necessities. Clothing, tools of Trade etc. Your assets will be sold to pay off your creditors. If you are married in community of property, both parties become insolvent. If out of community of property your spouse will have to prove complete ownership of his/her property. Effectively if you marry out of community and vest your assets in your new spouse, she will have to prove that she acquired those assets solely by herself, otherwise it will be deemed part of the insolvent estate and sold. Furthermore being insolvent means you are barred from holding a number of offices including directorship of a company. It also means that all civil legal action against you for recovery of debt stops.