The différent marital régimes

With or without a marriage contract the husband and wife are automatically subject to a marital regime, i.e. to a general effect of regulations which rules the patrimonial relationships. They have the choice of several regimes.

• Communal ownership of only those assets acquired since the marriage
• The separation of estates
• The universal communal ownership
• The participation in the acquisitions

 Communal ownership of those assets acquired since the marriage

Without a marriage contract, the husband and wife are strictly bound to this regime which presents the following characteristics :
Each spouse owns assets that he possessed before the marriage. Each one is the sole owner of assets that each one inherits or receives as a gift. Those are your 'own assets'.
The income and purchased assets with their economies during the marriage belong to both spouses. These are "communal assets" of the " joint estate".
The debts of each party are engaging the communal ownership by principle of the law .
The future spouses in their interest ought to establish a marriage contract by a notaire, either to adopt another marital regime, or to insert particular clauses in view of the legal System. The marriage contract provides for some clauses to protect the surviving joint owner : the préciput gives the right of taking free a joint estate before any sharing, for example the family domiciliation, the rule of unequal share thanks to which the joint partner can receive more than half of the joint ownership or still the usufruct of the half part coming to inheritance.

The séparation of estates

This regime sets up a separation of joint estates between the spouses.
AH assets acquired before and after the marriage remain the ownership of he who purchased them. It is the same rule for ail assets acquired by inheritance or gift.
Each spouse for him - or herself - is responsible for the debts that he/or she contracted alone. The purchased assets jointly held belong to both spouses within a percentage of acquired shares which ,normally, correspond to their own assets.
This regime is very often chosen by people who have a profession or in the event of a remarriage.

The universal communal ownership

On the contrary to the separation of estates, this regime gathers ail assets jointly. AH possessions, properties or movables, acquired or received by inheritance or gift ( except opposite clauses) before or during the marriage are jointly held. The spouses are co-responsible of ail debts contracted by one or the other.
This regime will more particularly stipulate, in principle, that ail or partly possessions are left to the surviving joint partner ( and this is regarding the inheritance rights with free taxes). This is the clause of 'attribution'.

The participation in the acquisitions

 This is a "combined" regime which works as the separation of estates during the marriage and settles as the communal ownership. With a marriage dissolution, through a death or a divorce, the value of the joint estate acquired during the marriage is shared in two equal parts : each spouse participates in this way to the other half part enriching the partner.