When two people marry, the default legal regime is the community of acquests. Under this system, any assets and liabilities acquired during the marriage belong to both spouses jointly and in equal shares. Meanwhile, anything a spouse owned before the marriage, or anything received through donation or inheritance during the marriage, remains the sole property of that spouse as their paraphernal property.
A pre-nuptial agreement is a contract signed before the marriage in which the couple decides whether to retain the community of acquests or to keep their estates entirely separate. On the other hand, a post-nuptial marriage contract, entered into after the marriage (subject to court authorisation) allows spouses to change their matrimonial regime. These contracts protect the spouses’ financial interests throughout their marriage.
Spouses may dissolve the community of acquests, divide its assets and liabilities, and then adopt the separation of estates so that any future acquisitions belong solely to the spouse who acquires them. Alternatively, they may end the community but retain its existing assets and liabilities in co-ownership, separating only their future estates.
