The South African law does NOT acknowledge a domestic relationships as a “common law marriage” irrespective of the duration thereof.

Domestic relationships do NOT equate to a binding marriage and the domestic partners are NOT regarded as spouses, and as such they do not carry the legal protection afforded to spouses in a binding marriage.

If you are living together in a domestic relationship, you need to take heed of the vulnerability of both your legal positions and at the very least have a written and signed Cohabitation Agreement in place supplemented with a valid Will.