Division of marital property

Unless the spouses have signed an agreement on their matrimonial regime, property acquired during the marriage by either spouse is jointly owned by both.

Division (partaj) is how the joint property acquired during the marriage is shared between the spouses.

The spouses can agree how to divide the joint property, or the court will decide after examining the evidence.

Legal services

• Negotiating a division of property by agreement;
• Advice on specific division issues;
• Assistance and representation in the division of joint property;
• Drafting the claim, statement of defence or counterclaim for division;
• Division of joint property during the marriage or after it ends;
• Drafting settlement agreements.

Main assets that can be divided after divorce

• Movable property bought during the marriage by either spouse;
• Real estate bought during the marriage by either spouse, even if registered in the name of only one of them, as long as the money used came from joint funds;
• Sums paid as a down payment on a finance lease (with an option to buy the asset at the end of the lease) and the monthly lease payments, as long as the asset is still held under the lease and cannot enter the divisible estate at its full value (personal opinion);
• Money in current accounts in the name of both spouses or of one of them, to the extent it can be included in the divisible estate;
• Claims arising from loans that the spouses, or one of them, made to third parties and that have not been fully repaid;
• The increase in value of a property owned solely by one spouse (improvements and major repairs that do not change the legal nature of the property, made by both spouses);
• Other claims and property rights.

Assets that cannot be divided after divorce

• Movable or immovable property inherited by one spouse;
• Movable or immovable property received by one spouse as a gift, unless the donor stated that the gift was also for the other spouse;
• Shares held by one spouse in a company;
• Fruits and products of one spouse’s own property — for them to become joint property, both spouses must have contributed to obtaining them;
• Claims that arose before the marriage and were realised during it;
• Items for personal and exclusive use;
• Items used to practise a profession;
• Scientific or literary manuscripts, artistic sketches and projects, plans for inventions and innovations;
• Property bought during the marriage by one spouse with money from the sale of their own property;
• Insurance paid for damage to or loss of one spouse’s own property;
• The sale price of one spouse’s own property;
• Property obtained in exchange for one spouse’s own property;
• Property acquired after the spouses separated in fact.

The spouses’ contribution to joint property

• The spouses are generally presumed to have contributed equally — 50/50 — to all joint property.
• A spouse who can prove a greater contribution may obtain a larger share (for example 80/20).
• Examples of factors that can affect each spouse’s share:
• Salary and any other income from paid work or services, royalties, patents, sponsorship and so on;
• Gifts of money spent on the household;
• Inheritances whose value was used for household expenses;
• Money one spouse paid during the marriage for the benefit of a third party;
• Money one spouse wasted on personal pleasures;
• Work in the household;
• Money one spouse used to pay their own debts.

Methods of division

• In kind, in proportion to each co-owner’s share as established;
• Allocating the whole asset to one spouse or former spouse, at their request, in exchange for a balancing payment;
• Selling the asset and distributing the price: the sale is carried out as agreed by the spouses or, if they disagree, by public auction under the law, and the price is shared according to the shares agreed or set by the court.

Value of the divisible property

• It is agreed by the spouses or former spouses. Agreeing the value avoids the cost of a valuation expert and shortens the proceedings.
• Court stamp duty of 3% is calculated on the value set for all divisible property.