At the time of marriage, by law, a community of property, otherwise known as statutory community, is created between spouses, which includes property acquired by both spouses or one of them during the marriage.
Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that there are financial disputes between spouses, the solution to which may be the establishment of property separation between them. Property separation is one type of property regime between spouses. According to According to the provisions of the Family and Guardianship Code, once it is established, each spouse retains both the property acquired before the conclusion of the marital property agreement and the property acquired later. It is worth noting that the establishment of property separation between spouses can be the will of both parties as well as a way for one of them to protect their assets.
The first way to establish property separation between spouses is to conclude an agreement between them in the form of a notarial deed. This form represents the will of both parties, and the spouses can use it both before and during the marriage. Such an agreement concluded between spouses beforea notary public is commonly referred to as a prenup. Importantly, however, its establishment is not irreversible and spouses can return to community of property at any time by concluding an appropriate agreement before a notary.
The second form of establishing property separation is already more stringent. This is because, according to the provisions of the Family and Guardianship Code, for important reasons, either spouse may request that the court establish property separation between them. This type of property separation is its forced variant. Undoubtedly, one should consider what can be considered a valid reason in a given situation. According to the indications of the courts as well as the authors of studies, a valid reason will be not only situations in which the continued existence of the property community may cause a threat to the interests of the other spouse and the family due to, for example, the squandering of property by one of the spouses or his display of complete mismanagement. A valid reason for establishing property separation between spouses will also be the state of ongoing separation between them. Property separation between spouses also arises as a result of partial or total incapacitation of one of them.
Importantly, as a rule, property separation between spouses arises on the date specified in the judgment. However, it is worth pointing out that in some cases property separation between spouses can be established by the court on an earlier date. One such case is the absence of a joint household for a long time. Of course, the main effect of establishing property separation is that each spouse has his or her own property and manages it independently.
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