Prenuptial agreements are contracts that govern the assets of a married couple and the rules that are established in their matrimonial property regime. A couple can do this before or after marriage, but the regime must always be recorded in a public deed in Spain.
Before marriage is important to establish the economic system that the couple wishes to apply to their marriage.
In Spain there are three possibilities:
- System of property or the “Régimen económico de gananciales”.
- The participation regime or the “Régimen de participación”.
- The regime of separation of property or the “Régimen de separación de bienes”.
What is the Spanish regime of the economic community of property?
It is the most widely used system in Spain,
This means that most but not all of the property belong jointly to the spouses as marital property, but private property belonging to just one of the spouses will also exist.
In the marital property, the regime aims for both spouses to the owner, manage and participate in the running of their estate together.
This regimen will apply by default to all those who married in Spain from June the 1st 2016 in the Valencian Community unless they specifically make other arrangements for a different regime to apply to their marriage.
What is the Spanish regime of separation of property?
This occurs when each spouse retains their pre-marital property and the administration and management of his o her assets; in this case, a mass of marital property is not formed. However, each partner should contribute to the economic burdens of family life; these contributions can be regulated via a court or a personal agreement.
What is the Spanish participation regime?
This scheme is a mixture of the schemes we mentioned earlier; in this regime, the spouses have the right to participate in the profits earned by their partner during the marriage.
Which system is best?
The most appropriate regime depends on the situation and the wishes of the couple themselves; however, the separation of property regime is the regime where there are fewer problems if the couple later decides to separate or to divorce.
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