Matrimonial Regimes
The concept of a “matrimonial regime” is one that is not
familiar to people from the UK. In Spain and most other
European countries when people marry, they either elect or
decide on a matrimonial regime or, in default, the property
after marriage becomes Community of property – known as
gananciales.
property in their sole name but now want to transfer 50% to
their spouse. This can be done by agreeing to sign a Notarial
deed establishing the marriage is now community of property.
This transfer can then be done as a tax exempt transfer. Whilst
there are still legal, notarial and other costs associated with this
transfer, the alternatives can be very costly.
In some cases, there may be inheritance tax issues, although in
Andalucia the increase to a 1.000.000€ threshold has made
this issue less important.
On divorce this question can be even more important as,
whilst a Spanish couple will know that if they are married in
separation of assets the property will not be divided, English or
UK couples may need advice as to what the likely division of
assets will be if the matter goes to court. In effect, after a
number of years of marriage the English system is much closer
to community of property and a 50/50 split would be likely.
If you would like a confidential consultation on your particular
case, please call us or email [email protected].
This can be very important for a number of reasons. One is on
divorce when matrimonial assets may fail to be divided.
Another is because of taxation - not only inheritance tax, but
also other property taxes such as on transfers of property.
De Cotta Law (De Cotta McKenna y Santafé)
Mijas-Costa / Calahonda – Coín – Nerja – Tenerife
Nerja Office: - Calle Diputación 11, 29780 Nerja
Tel: +34 952 527 014 - Fax: +34 952 523 428
www.decottalaw.com
For example, in some cases a spouse may have purchased
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