MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - As at 29 November 1996 - Act 96 of 1996 TABLE OF PROVISIONS TABLE OF PROVISIONS PART 1 - PRELIMINARY 1. Name of Act 2. Commencement 3. Notes PART 2 - EQUALITY OF STATUS Division 1 - General rule 4. Spouses have legal capacity as if they were not married Division 2 - Specific examples 5. Spouses can sue each other in tort 6. Criminal and civil action in respect of spouse’s property 7. Married person has no authority to act as agent of necessity 8. Married person not liable for debts of spouse incurred before marriage 9. Spouses as beneficiaries 10. Instruments restricting anticipation or alienation are void 11. Effect of Division Division 3 - Other matters 12. Housekeeping payments and allowances held as joint tenants 13. Fraudulent investment of spouse’s money PART 3 - MISCELLANEOUS 14. Regulations 15. Repeals 16. Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52 17. Savings and transitional provisions 18. Review of Act SCHEDULE 1 SCHEDULE 2 SCHEDULE 3 MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - LONG TITLE An Act to make further provision with regard to the equality of legal status of married persons; to repeal the Married Persons (Property and Torts) Act 1901; to amend consequentially the Supreme Court Act 1970; and for related purposes. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 1 Name of Act 1 Name of Act This Act is the Married Persons (Equality of Status) Act 1996. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 2 Commencement 2 Commencement This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 3 Notes 3 Notes Notes in this Act do not form part of the Act. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 4 Spouses have legal capacity as if they were not married 4 Spouses have legal capacity as if they were not married (1) A married person: (a) has legal capacity for all purposes and in all respects as if that person were unmarried, and (b) has a legal personality that is independent, separate and distinct from that of the person’s spouse. (2) This section does not affect any specific laws in relation to a minor. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 5 Spouses can sue each other in tort 5 Spouses can sue each other in tort A husband and wife each has a right of action in tort against the other as if they were not married. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 6 Criminal and civil action in respect of spouse’s property 6 Criminal and civil action in respect of spouse’s property A married person is entitled to civil and criminal redress against the person’s spouse for the protection of his or her property as if that person were not married. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 7 Married person has no authority to act as agent of necessity 7 Married person has no authority to act as agent of necessity A married person does not, by reason only of the person’s status as a spouse, have the authority to pledge the credit of the other spouse for necessaries or to act as agent for the other spouse for the purchase of necessaries. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 8 Married person not liable for debts of spouse incurred before marriage 8 Married person not liable for debts of spouse incurred before marriage Subject to any agreement to the contrary, a married person is not liable for any debt incurred by the person’s spouse before their marriage. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 9 Spouses as beneficiaries 9 Spouses as beneficiaries A husband and wife are to be treated as two separate persons for the purposes of the construction of a will, trust, or other instrument in relation to a gift or other disposition of real or personal property to the husband and wife, unless a contrary intention appears. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 10 Instruments restricting anticipation or alienation are void 10 Instruments restricting anticipation or alienation are void An instrument executed after the commencement of this section is void to the extent that it purports to attach any restriction on anticipation or alienation to the enjoyment of property by a woman that could not have been attached to the enjoyment of property by a man. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 11 Effect of Division 11 Effect of Division Nothing in this Division affects the generality of Division 1. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 12 Housekeeping payments and allowances held as joint tenants 12 Housekeeping payments and allowances held as joint tenants If a married person makes a payment or allowance to the person’s spouse to pay their joint household expenses or for similar purposes, any property bought with the payment or allowance and any money not spent from the payment or allowance is, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary between the person and his or her spouse, taken to belong to the person and the person’s spouse as joint tenants. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 13 Fraudulent investment of spouse’s money 13 Fraudulent investment of spouse’s money (1) If a married person invests money belonging to the person’s spouse without obtaining the consent of the spouse, the spouse can apply to the Supreme Court to have the money transferred to him or her. (2) The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to order such a transfer and to make any ancillary orders. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 14 Regulations 14 Regulations The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required or permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 15 Repeals 15 Repeals The Acts listed in Schedule 1 are repealed to the extent specified in the Schedule. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 16 Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52 16 Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52 Schedule 2 has effect. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 17 Savings and transitional provisions 17 Savings and transitional provisions Schedule 3 has effect. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SECT 18 Review of Act 18 Review of Act (1) The Minister is to review this Act to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives. (2) The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period of 5 years from the date of assent to this Act. (3) A report on the outcome of the review is to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 5 years. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SCHEDULE 1 SCHEDULE 1 – Repeals (Section 15) 1.1 - Married Persons (Property and Torts) Act 1901 No 45 The whole Act is repealed. 1.2 - Conveyancing Act 1919 No 6 The following are repealed: (a) The words “but, in case of a married woman, with the concurrence of her husband, unless she is entitled for her separate use, whether with restraint on anticipation or not, and then without his concurrence” in section 134. (b) The proviso to section 148 (1). (c) Sections 148 (2), 149, 150 and 151. 1.3 - Wills, Probate and Administration Act 1898 No 13 Section 5 (2) is repealed. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SCHEDULE 2 SCHEDULE 2 – Amendment of Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52 (Section 16) Supreme Court Act 1970 No 52 Section 76 Costs Omit “ Married Persons (Property and Torts) Act 1901 ” from section 76 (3). Insert instead “ Married Persons (Equality of Status) Act 1996 ”. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - SCHEDULE 3 SCHEDULE 3 – Savings and transitional provisions (Section 17) Part 1 - General 1 Regulations (1) The regulations may contain provisions of a savings or transitional nature consequent on the enactment of the following Acts: this Act (2) Any such provision may, if the regulations so provide, take effect from the date of assent to the Act concerned or a later day. (3) To the extent to which any such provision takes effect from a date that is earlier than the date of its publication in the Gazette, the provision does not operate so as: (a) to affect, in a manner prejudicial to any person (other than the State or an authority of the State), the rights of that person existing before the date of its publication, or (b) to impose liabilities on any person (other than the State or an authority of the State) in respect of anything done or omitted to be done before the date of its publication. Part 2 - Provisions consequent on enactment of this Act 2 Abolition of common law and dispositions not affected (1) The repeal or amendment of an Act by this Act does not revive any rule of the common law or equity abolished or otherwise affected by this Act. (2) Subsection (1) does not affect the generality of section 30 of the Interpretation Act 1987. Note: Section 30 of the Interpretation Act 1987 preserves certain rights, privileges, obligations and liabilities arising under a repealed Act. 3 Time of marriage irrelevant A provision of this Act applies to married persons whether married before or after the commencement of the provision. MARRIED PERSONS (EQUALITY OF STATUS) ACT 1996 - NOTES Historical notes The following abbreviations are used in the Historical notes: _____________________________________________________________ |_____________________________________________________________| |_____________________________________________________________| |_____________________________________________________________| |_____________________________________________________________| |_____________________________________________________________| |_____________________________________________________________| |_____________________________________________________________| Table of ActsMarried Persons (Equality of Status) Act 1996 No 96. Assented to 26.11.1996. Date of commencement 1.3.1997, sec 2 and GG No 20 of 21.2.1997, p 799.