The age requirement may be waived by the special written permission of the minister of home affairs or her delegate.
The act declares that a wife in a customary marriage has equal legal status and capacity as her husband, including the ability to buy, own and sell property and the ability to enter into contracts.
Previously, under customary law a wife had been regarded as perpetually a minor under the control of her husband (see also marital power).
All monogamous marriages contracted after the act came into force are in community of property, meaning that all assets and liabilities belong to both spouses equally, unless an antenuptial contract is drawn up.
The act states that the financial status of marriages that existed before the act came into force continues to be regulated by customary law; however in the case of Gumede (born Shange) v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others the Constitutional Court found this unconstitutional and determined that such marriages, if monogamous, are to be treated as marriages in community of property.