Division of property after divorce
Both joint property and its division after divorce are regulated by the provisions on jointly inherited assets and on the distribution of estates, respectively (Art. 46 of the Family and Guardianship Code).
The joint property may be divided when the community of property regime ceases during the marriage, for instance as a result of a court decision or an agreement or when the community of property regime ceases when the marriage has been dissolved (by divorce or separation). Divorce or separation proceedings are not related to the division of community property. Most often community property is divided in a separate proceeding.
Each spouse should repay any expenses and expenditure made from the community property for his/her personal property, with the exception of expenses and expenditure for assets that brought income. A spouse may demand that expenses and expenditure made from his/her personal property for the community property will be reimbursed. Neither spouse may demand the reimbursement of expenses and expenditure made to meet the family’s needs, unless these increased the value of the community property at the moment when the community of property regime ceased. The reimbursement is made when dividing the community property. However, the court may decide that expenses should be repaid earlier if this is necessary for the well-being of the family (Art. 45 para. 1 and 2 of the Family and Guardianship Code).