Notarial services and notary public in Johannesburg

A document that must be executed before a notary public, and often registered in the Deeds Office, cannot be signed with anyone else. That is the whole point of the notarial office: it exists to make certain acts — a marriage regime, a security right over movable property, a servitude, a long lease — legally effective and effective against third parties.

Our notary public drafts, attests and registers these documents and, where documents must be used overseas, handles the apostille and authentication chain.

Apostilles and authentication of documents

An apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document so that it is legally valid in another country that is a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention. For countries outside the convention a longer authentication route applies, which may involve the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and the embassy or consulate of the receiving country. We handle this for marriage, birth and death certificates, educational qualifications such as degrees and diplomas, police clearance certificates and powers of attorney.

Antenuptial contracts (ANCs)

An antenuptial contract is signed before the marriage and determines the matrimonial property regime: how assets and liabilities are managed during the marriage and divided on divorce or death. By default a couple who marry in South Africa without an ANC are married in community of property, which pools everything either spouse owns into one estate. An ANC is what puts each spouse’s estate on a separate footing.

ANCs can be taken with or without the accrual system. In a marriage with accrual, each spouse keeps their own estate during the marriage, but on dissolution the spouse whose estate grew by less shares in the difference. Without accrual, each spouse keeps only their own assets. The contract must be signed before the wedding in the presence of a notary, and the notary must register it in the Deeds Office within three months — a contract that is not registered in time is of no force or effect.

Notarial bonds

A notarial bond registers security over a debtor’s movable property without the creditor having to take physical delivery of it, so a business can keep operating with its assets while they are bonded. A special notarial bond is registered over identified movable assets such as vehicles or machinery and gives the creditor a limited real right on registration. A general notarial bond covers all of the debtor’s movable property, but does not create a real right until it is perfected by court order and the creditor takes possession.

Notarial tie agreements

A notarial tie agreement ties two or more properties together. It is registered against the title deeds and provides that the properties cannot be sold, mortgaged or dealt with separately. These agreements are usually concluded between the owner and an enforcer such as a municipality or a bank.

Creation and registration of servitudes

A servitude is a right to use, or to restrict the use of, another person’s land for a particular purpose. Notaries execute servitudes notarially and register them in the Deeds Office.

A personal servitude is granted to a specific person and expires on their death or at the end of an agreed period — a usufruct, for example, or a right of habitation. A praedial servitude attaches to one piece of land (the dominant tenement) and burdens another (the servient tenement). It survives a sale of either property, and includes rights of way and restrictions such as a height restriction on a building.

Notarial long lease agreements

A long lease is a lease of immovable property for at least ten years, the natural life of the lessee, or an indefinitely renewable term. It must be attested by a notary public and registered in the Deeds Office. Registration gives the lessee a real right to the property, enforceable against the owner and all third parties for the duration of the lease.

Notarial cessions of rights

A cession transfers a personal right from one person to another. Many cessions can be done by ordinary agreement, but a notarial cession is required where the right must be registered in the Deeds Office to be effective — for example a right to an exclusive use area, or a notarial bond. Executing the cession before a notary makes it registrable and enforceable.

Deeds of donation

A deed of donation is a formal written contract in which a donor gives away property or waives a right in favour of a donee. We draft and execute these deeds so that all legal formalities are met. Donations above the annual exemption threshold attract donations tax, which is payable by the donor.

Why use our notarial office

Notarial work is a specialty, and it is easy to have it done late and done wrong. Antenuptial contracts in particular fail when the three-month registration deadline is missed, and a failed ANC means the couple is married in community of property whether they intended it or not. Because notarial services sit alongside our conveyancing practice, the documents are registered promptly and there is one point of contact for the whole matter.