Divorce and division of joint property

In today’s article we would like to present you the most important issues concerning divorce and division of joint property in Poland. 

First of all, it should be pointed out that no spouse may request division of the joint property during the period of statutory cohabitation. To begin with, as a rule the parties’ joint property is the property created between the spouses upon marriage. According to Article 31 of the Family and Guardianship Code, “Upon entering into marriage there arises between spouses by operation of law a joint property (statutory joint property) which includes property acquired during its term by both spouses or by one of them (joint property). The property not covered by statutory cohabitation belongs to the personal property of each spouse”. 

 

 

There are three possible ways of dividing the common property in the Polish legal system:

 

1. DIVISION OF COMMON PROPERTY BEFORE THE DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE

The division of the joint property of spouses may occur before the dissolution of their marriage. In order to do so, the parties must first separate the property, which can be done in two ways: by signing a marriage contract with a notary or by petitioning the court to establish a separation of the property. Once the contract is signed or a final court ruling is issued, the parties may divide the joint property, which may be done by a notarial deed or by petitioning the court for division of the joint property.

2. DIVISION OF JOINT PROPERTY DURING THE DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS

Another possibility is to divide the property during the divorce proceedings. As indicated by Article 58 § 3 of the Family and Guardianship Code, “At the request of one of the spouses, the court may, in the judgment pronouncing divorce, divide the joint property, if carrying out such division will not cause an undue delay in the proceedings”. It means that the court may divide the property in divorce proceedings, and this happens most often when there is no dispute between the parties on the composition or the manner of dividing the property, or when a dispute between the spouses in this respect will be resolved in a relatively short period of time.

3. DIVISION OF JOINT PROPERTY AFTER A DIVORCE HAS BEEN PRONOUNCED

The last possibility to divide the joint property is to do it after the court has pronounced the divorce. In such a situation you can do it in two ways – by making a contractual division of property in the form of a notarized deed before a notary public or by filing a petition for division of joint property with the court. Of course, the parties will not always be able to agree enough to use the first option and that is when the second one will apply.

In conclusion, it should be borne in mind that the division of property between the parties may take place in many forms and at different times. It is really up to the spouses how they want to do it and whether they will be able to work out a common position on the issue or whether they will need the intervention of the court.

 

If you need more information we invite you to contact our lawyer Catherine:

Tel: +48 502 775 164
Email: k.lewicka@lzw-law.com