Page 35 - Bespoke EPG 2017 Digital

■■ Marriage in community of property

◆◆ There is no prior contractual arrangement, apart from getting married;

◆◆ Spouses do not have two distinct estates;

◆◆ There is a joint estate, with each spouse having a 50% share in each and
every asset in the estate (no matter in whose name it is registered);

◆◆ Applies to assets acquired before the marriage and during marriage;

◆◆ Should one spouse incur debts in his own name, he will automatically
bind his spouse, who will also become liable for the debt;

◆◆ If a sequestration takes place (in the case of insolvency), the joint estate
is sequestrated.

■■ Marriage out of community of property

◆◆ An antenuptial contract (ANC) is drawn up by an attorney (who is
registered as a notary) before marriage;

◆◆ Where there is no contract, the marriage is automatically in community
of property;

◆◆ The values of each spouse’s estate going into the marriage are stipulated
in the contract;

◆◆ A marriage by ANC means that all property owned by spouses before the
date of marriage will remain the sole property of each spouse;

◆◆ Each spouse controls his / her own estate exclusively without interference
from the other spouse, although each has a duty to contribute to the
household expenses according to his / her means;

◆◆ To allow for assets acquired by spouses during the marriage to remain
the sole property of each spouse, the accrual system must be specifically
excluded in the ANC.

■■ ANC with accrual

◆◆ The accrual system automatically applies unless expressly excluded in the
antenuptial contract;

◆◆ The accrual system addresses the question of the growth of each
spouse’s estate after the date of marriage;

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