Lawyer Monthly - December 2023

Marital Property Regimes in Spain In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Carmen Calderón, a distinguished lawyer and pioneer in the field of Family Law in Spain. As the founder of her own Family Law boutique, Carmen has revolutionized the concept of pre-marital prevention, focusing on protecting client interests and ensuring minimal strain in marital property disputes. With over two decades of experience in Private Civil Law, she brings a unique global perspective, combining legal expertise with a keen psychological understanding to approach each case. Carmen’s innovative working method, involving in-depth analysis and strategic guidance, positions her at the forefront of resolving complex judicial cases. Join us as we delve into her insights and experiences in this specialized and everevolving legal field. WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM 5 This circumstance gives rise to multiple possibilities depending on the civil neighborhood of each of the spouses, so when deciding and/or modifying the marital property regime, it is necessary to be perfectly advised by a skilled Lawyer to understand the differences that exist between each of the existing regimes. In the territories where common Civil Law is applied, the Law regulating marital property regimes is the Spanish Civil Code. This Law provides for three main types of regimes: Community of Property Society, Separation of Assets, and Participation Rules. In broad strokes, the Community of Property Society is the most widespread type of regime in the territories where common Civil Law is applied. The Community of Property assumes that all property obtained during the time that said regime has been in force is common, in half, to both spouses, regardless of who contributed it. Both spouses benefit equally from the individual gains. But they also take responsibility for all existing obligations, no matter which one of them would have. At the time of liquidation of the scheme, by dissolution or modification of the scheme, assets and liabilities will be divided in half. Alternatively, the Separation of Assets regime allows the individual property of each of the spouses to remain differentiated. Each spouse manages and administers his or her own assets and liabilities with no other economic ties than those derived from cohabitation and respective family burdens. One spouse does To give a framework for this discussion, can you please give a broad overview of the three main marital property regimes in Spain - economic, participation and separation? The marital property regime is the set of rules that regulate the legal form in which the property of the spouses is organized and managed, which includes the private property of each and the common property of both. In Spain, we are not talking about a single piece of legislation for the whole territory of the State, nor about a single marital property regime. All Spanish citizens have, in addition to Spanish nationality, a specific civil neighborhood, which is what determines their subjection to the common Civil Law, the majority in the territory of the State, or to the special or regional Civil Law of some Autonomous Communities. The Autonomous Communities with competence in Civil Law are Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Galicia, Navarre, the Basque Country, and Valencia. All of them, except Valencia, have passed special or regional Civil Laws concerning marital property regimes.

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