All marriages in Zimbabwe are automatically out of community of property. This basically means that the property acquired by a party is his/hers and may deal with the property as they deem fit. However, all property of the spouses during the subsistence of the marriage is subject to distribution upon divorce. Only property which was acquired by either of the spouses before or during the subsistence of the marriage by way of inheritance, acquired in terms of custom or assets of sentimental value are excluded from distribution. The Matrimonial Causes Act governs distribution of property on divorce in Zimbabwe and applies to registered Customary Marriages Chapter 5;07 and the Civil marriage under Chapter 5;11. 

In as much as parties may want to retain all property that is in their names upon separation, that is not always the case. There is also this general misconception that assets of the spouses should as a matter of law be distributed equally between the parties. That is not correct, the Court is guided by section 7(4) of the Matrimonial causes Act which sets outs guidelines on what the courts should consider. These are;

• the income-earning capacity, assets and other financial resources which each spouse has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future;
• the financial needs, obligations and responsibilities which each spouse has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future;
• the standard of living of the family,
• the age and physical and mental condition of each spouse;
• the direct or indirect contribution made by each spouse to the family, including contributions made by looking after the home and caring for the family and any other domestic duties;
• the value to either of the spouses of any benefit, including a pension or gratuity, which such spouse will lose as a result of the dissolution of the marriage;
• the duration of the marriage;

Among the various considerations by the Court, in determining who gets what, the courts have in most cases considered the issue of contribution. The law allows a party to prove that they made certain contributions, directly and/or indirectly towards acquisition and or maintenance of the property. Proof of direct contribution may be in the form of receipts towards purchase price or building material etc. The court will also consider proof of indirect contribution in the form of moral support, love and affection to justify award of a portion of property to a party regardless of the fact that they did not contribute financially/ directly to its acquisition or maintenance.

It is interesting to note that even those assets acquired by parties after separation but before a decree of divorce is awarded will also be available for distribution. This is simply because a marriage only terminates upon award of a decree of divorce by a competent court. But, most importantly, the whole trust of section 7 of the Matrimonial Causes Act is to place the parties as far as is reasonable and practical in the position they would have been had the marriage relationship continued between them. 

In Conclusion, the distribution of assets upon divorce is not an easy task. Circumstances differ from case to case and needs expertise of a divorce lawyer to properly advise and represent client. It is therefore advisable to engage a lawyer with experience in divorce when instituting divorce