Divorce settlement agreement checklist (South Africa)

Everything a South African divorce settlement agreement should cover: property, debts, pensions, maintenance, children, transfers and costs.

Updated 6 November 2026 · 5 min read

A settlement agreement (sometimes called a deed of settlement) records everything you and your spouse have agreed. The court makes it part of the divorce order, so it becomes enforceable like any other court order. Anything left out can cause a dispute later, so it pays to be thorough. Use this checklist to see what yours should cover.

1. The basics

• Your full names, ID numbers and addresses
• The date and place of the marriage
• Your matrimonial property regime: in community of property, out of community with accrual, or without accrual (check your antenuptial contract if you signed one)

2. Property and money

• The family home and any other property: who keeps it, buys it out, or whether it's sold
• Vehicles, with who takes over any finance
• Bank, savings and investment accounts, and unit trusts
• Business interests, shares and loan accounts
• Furniture and household contents, and items with sentimental value
• If you're married with accrual: how the accrual is calculated and paid

3. Debts

• Home loans, vehicle finance, personal loans, credit cards and store accounts
• Who pays each one, and by when it's settled or moved into one name
• What happens if a debt stays in both names (the bank isn't bound by your agreement)

4. Pensions and retirement funds

• Each retirement fund, pension or provident fund, and retirement annuity, by name
• The share (a percentage or amount) of a member's pension interest awarded to the other spouse, worded so the fund can pay it under section 7(8) of the Divorce Act
• That the fund must be named and the order sent to it

5. Maintenance between you

• Whether either of you pays spousal maintenance, or you both waive it
• The amount, how it increases each year, and when it ends
• Medical aid for the other spouse, if agreed

6. Children

• A parenting plan: where the children live, contact with each parent, school holidays and special days, decision-making, schooling, travel and relocation
• Child maintenance: the monthly amount, the yearly increase, and who pays medical aid, school fees, extra-murals and uniforms
• How you'll handle disagreements later, for example by mediation first
• The Family Advocate will check these arrangements before the divorce is granted

7. Making it happen

• Who pays transfer and bond costs, and the conveyancer to use
• Deadlines for each transfer and payment
• Updating wills, policy beneficiaries and retirement fund nominations
• Who pays the legal costs of the divorce

8. Closing clauses

• That the agreement is a full and final settlement of everything between you
• That you each signed voluntarily, and had the chance to get independent advice
• Signatures of both spouses, with witnesses

How Agreeably helps

Agreeably builds this list with you: each of you records your assets, debts and pensions privately, you agree item by item, and the app drafts the settlement agreement and parenting plan from what you agreed, with anything still open clearly marked, for a lawyer to review. Read how an uncontested divorce works.

This guide is general information about South African law, not legal advice for your situation. Agreeably is a settlement facilitator, not a law firm: before you sign, a lawyer should review your settlement agreement.