Marital property register

Property according to the marital property contract and other mutual proprietary rights enacted in statutory act (law) are registered in marital property register. Marital property register is maintained by land registry departments of county courts.

In 1st of July 2010 new Family Law Act came into force. It enables to choose between three property regimes when submitting the application for marriage – joint property, set-off of the property increment or separate property. If the property regime is not chosen, joint property regime will apply to proprietary rights of spouses. It also remains valid in case if the marriage was contracted before 1.07.2010 and spouses have not signed marital property contract.

In joint property spouses are firmly linked in economic matter - whole property belongs to spouses in equal shares and most of transactions must be done jointly.

• property acquired during the marriage is joint property.
• in joint property does not belong property which:
  • belonged to spouses before the marriage,
  • personal effects,
  • the property acquired during the marriage by gift
  • property acquired out of the separate property of one spouse.
• transactions presume consent of the other spouse.
• joint property relation can be terminated with marital property contract. Additionally, with marital property contract spouses can restrict joint property relation and agree that specific objects are separate property of one of the spouses.
• property acquired during the marriage becomes joint property even when the spouses are separated but have not divorced their marriage.
• the spouses are allowed to divide the joint property in agreement, in the case of dispute spouses should appeal to the court.

Set-off of the property increment gives the spouses wider independence of possession, use and disposal on their property, but leaves distinctive guarantee to the economically weaker spouse.

• either spouse is the sole owner of property acquired by oneself during the marriage, transactions can be made without the consent of the other spouse and principally the spouse responds for his obligations separately.
• transactions with family`s joint housing must be done in a consent of the other spouse irrespective to whom it belongs to.
• set-off of the property increment can be terminated with marital property contract.
• in case of divorce property acquired during the marriage is divided equally between the spouses.

In a case of separate property the spouses are entirely independent from each other materially.

• according to law the spouses have no mutual rights on property.
• transactions can be done without a consent of the other spouse.
• in agreement specific objects can be obtained into joint ownership.
• spouses have to operate in accordance of marital interests.

If spouses choose either set-off of the property increment or separate property, an entry is made to the marital property register. Registration application will be submitted by the notary or by official of vital statistics office.

The marital property contract can be signed before or during the marriage. With the marital property contract:

• one can choose property regime
• substitute formerly chosen property regime with any other property regime prescribed or
• agree to whom any specific objects and rights belong to.

To conclude the marital property contract the spouses must turn to notary. Notary consults the spouses before signing the contract, prepares the draft contract, advises in the payment of the state fee and represents the spouses upon submission of an application to the court that maintains the register. The marital property contract will have effect with respect to third persons from the moment when an entry concerning the marital property contract is made in the marital property contract register maintained by the court.

The marital property contract terminates:

• with divorce,
• concluding of a new marital property contract or
• terminating it in court.