Marital property agreements and estate planning for couples

Three regimes worth understanding

The Family Code allows the property regime to be agreed within legal limits. For marriages subject to the rule in Article 82, participation in gains applies in the absence of effective marital property agreements. The choice requires reviewing your assets, income, commitments and plans. Before identifying the applicable regime, we check the date and place of the marriage, previous agreements and the applicable law.

Participation in gains and community of gains are distinct regimes. During the consultation, we explain what each alternative would mean for your specific plans, without presenting one option as suitable for every couple.

Clear agreements for specific decisions

Marital property agreements allow you to stipulate, modify or replace the property regime and establish provisions relating to the marriage. Depending on the case, the advice may cover:

• Existing assets: identifying real estate, savings, company interests and existing obligations, together with their documents.
• Purchases and contributions: examining how to record the money each partner contributes, ownership shares in purchases and subsequent payments.
• Shared living expenses: discussing responsibilities and contributions, considering financial resources and household care work.
• Businesses and investments: reviewing ownership, contributions, management and the relationship between personal and business assets.
• Asset management: clarifying powers and any additional documents a procedure may require.
• Future changes: anticipating when agreements should be reviewed again, for example, before a major purchase or a new project.

The content is defined after understanding the facts and checking its legal viability. When a transaction requires an additional deed, registration, contract or power of attorney, we explain this and define its scope.

Protecting the rights and well-being of both partners

An agreement must be based on sufficient information, an understanding of its effects and a free decision. We check that the clauses respect the spouses' equal rights and duties and the limits of Article 92 of the Family Code.

Amendments must not prejudice rights already acquired by third parties either. The review considers existing debts, guarantees and commitments. At the start of our assistance, we clarify whom the firm represents and whether the circumstances require independent advice for any of the parties involved.

When this consultation may be useful

• You are getting married and want to understand how you will organize your assets and income.
• One of you contributes a home and both plan to pay for improvements or financing.
• You have a business, company interests or investment plans.
• Your income or contributions differ, or one of you will spend more time on the household.
• You are already married and want to review previous agreements or change regimes.
• There are children from previous relationships, assets abroad or succession decisions requiring coordinated review.

Marriage and succession planning address related issues, but require examining their own instruments. If you also wish to organize an inheritance, we can coordinate that review with our service for wills and estate planning.

How we support you

1. We listen to your objectives. We identify what you wish to organize, the marriage date and the decisions that concern you.
2. We review the information. We examine the documents, existing agreements and applicable alternatives.
3. We explain and draft. We present the proposed scope and prepare a draft to review its effects and resolve questions.
4. We coordinate formalization. In accordance with the engagement, we assist with preparing the deed and the applicable annotation or registration procedures.

What you can prepare for the consultation

This is initial guidance; the necessary documents are specified once the case is understood.

• Identification of both partners and contact details.
• Planned wedding date or marriage certificate if the wedding has already taken place.
• Previous marital property agreements, agreements or deeds, if any.
• A list of assets, income, debts, guarantees and relevant commitments.
• Documents for real estate, companies, purchases or financing you wish to examine.
• An explanation of your contributions and the agreements you would like to reach.

If there are foreign documents or assets, indicate the country and language. Before requesting translations or legalizations, we review which are relevant to the procedure.

Formalization is also part of planning

Article 87 allows marital property agreements to be executed before or after marriage and establishes a public deed as the rule for validity, with the specific exception provided in Article 88. Amending them requires observing the corresponding formalities and respecting third-party rights.

Article 91 provides for their mention in the marriage registration and, when they affect real estate, registration in the Public Registry under the applicable terms. We therefore review both the drafting and the steps needed for the specific case.

If the provisions are made for a future marriage, it is important to monitor the date: Article 93 provides that they become ineffective if the marriage does not take place within one year.

Questions before making a decision

Scope, fees and coordination

The proposal is prepared according to the documents, the complexity of the assets, the agreements to review and the procedures requested. The firm's fees are distinguished from notarial and registry expenses, translations or other applicable services.

The wedding date, both partners' availability and procedures involving third parties affect scheduling. Tell us your dates at the first consultation so we can organize the work in advance.