Matrimonial regime

Matrimonial regimes, or marital property systems, are systems of property ownership between spouses providing for the creation or absence of a marital estate, and if created, what properties are included in that estate, how and by whom it is managed, and how it will be divided and inherited at the end of the marriage. Matrimonial regimes are applied either by operation of law or by way of prenuptial agreement in Civil law countries, and depend on the lex domicilii of the spouses at the time of or immediately following the wedding. (See e.g. Quebec Civil Code and French Civil Code, arts. 431-492.). In Common law countries, the default and only matrimonial regime is separation of property, though some U.S. states, known as community property states, are an exception.

Civil-law and bijuridical jurisdictions, including Quebec, Louisiana, France, South Africa, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and many others, have statutory default matrimonial regimes, in addition to or, in some cases, in lieu of regimes that can only be contracted by prenuptial agreements. Generally, couples marry into some form of community of property by default, or instead contract out under separation of property or some other regime through a prenuptial agreement passed before a Civil-law notary or other public officer solemnizing the marriage. Five countries, including the Netherlands, have signed on to the Hague Convention on the Law applicable to Matrimonial Property Regimes, which entered into force on 1 September 1992, which allows spouses to choose not only the regimes offered by their country, but also any regime in force in the country where at least one is a citizen or resident or where marital real estate is situated.

Separate property systems:

• separation of property - all property, pre-marital or marital, is owned separately. (Fr séparation de biens, Sp separación de bienes, Du scheiding van goederen, Ger Gütertrennung)
  • separation of property with equitable distribution - in instances of inequality between spouses, an underprivileged spouse may be awarded some of the dominant spouse's property by the courts.
• accrual system - marital property is owned separately during the marriage, but after marriage (divorce, death of a spouse), the net assets are lumped together as property in joint tenancy and divided. (Fr participation aux acquêts, Sp participación, Du aanwasbedeling, Ger Zugewinngemeinschaft)

Community property systems:

• community of property - only marital property is owned in joint tenancy, save for gifts and inheritances. (also known as a ganancial community of property or conjugal partnership of gains (Philippines)) (Fr communauté réduite aux acquêts, Sp sociedad de gananciales, Du gemeenschap van aanwinst van goederen, gemeenschap van vruchten en inkomsten, Ger Errungenschaftsgemeinschaft)
  • community of profit and loss - similar to above but liabilities ("loss") are separate. (Du gemeenschap van winst en verlies)
  • community of personal and marital property - community consisting of marital property and pre-marital personalty. (Fr communauté de meubles et acquêts, Ger Fahrnisgemeinschaft).
• limited community of property - similar to community of property but with certain marital property being separate. (Fr communauté de biens limitée, Du beperkte gemeenschap van goederen)
• universal community of property - all pre-marital and marital property is owned in joint tenancy. (also known as absolute community of property (Philippines)) (Fr communauté universelle, Sp comunidad absoluta de bienes, Du algehele gemeenschap van goederen, Ger Gütergemeinschaft)

References

• Quebec Civil Code, Book II, The Family (scroll down for articles 431-92)

See also

• Community property
• Prenuptial agreement