Congratulations on taking the bold and rewarding step of getting married. Let our attorneys help you choose the marriage contract that's right for you and your partner, so you can focus on your wedding day.
You and your partner have three options for managing your matrimonial property:
- In community of property
- Out of community of property, without accrual
- Out of community of property, with accrual
In community of property
This is the default option, applying automatically if you marry without an antenuptial contract. You and your spouse share one joint estate, in equal (50/50) shares, made up of assets and liabilities acquired before and during the marriage. This option comes with contractual limitations — you'll generally need each other's consent to, for example, take out a mortgage bond, secure credit, sue a third party, or enter into certain legal disputes.
At dissolution (by death or divorce), each spouse holds a 50% claim against the joint estate.
Out of community of property, without accrual
Under this option, you and your spouse keep two separate estates made up of your individual assets and liabilities, before and during the marriage. Each spouse has full legal capacity to deal with their own assets and liabilities without the other's consent, and neither is liable for the other's debts. Should one spouse's estate be sequestrated, the other's is unaffected. At dissolution (by death or divorce), neither spouse has a claim against the other's estate.
Because there's no sharing, this option can disadvantage the spouse with lower income at dissolution.
Out of community of property, with accrual
This option combines elements of the two above. You keep two separate estates, but at dissolution (by death or divorce), the growth of each estate during the marriage is calculated, and the spouse with the smaller estate has a claim against the other for half the difference.
Contact us and we'll be glad to advise you and draft a contract suited to you and your partner's goals as you step into marriage.