What is the Marital Economic System?
The marital economic system is the set of rules that regulate how spouses manage and administer their assets (separate or communal), as well as how they interact with third parties outside the marriage.
The marital economic system is the one that spouses have agreed upon in marital property agreements (joint property, separate property, or participation).
When spouses have not determined any marital economic system, the Civil Code establishes the default joint property system, although certain Autonomous Communities have their own regulations on specific family law issues, including those related to the economic system of marriage.
What types of marital economic systems are there?
The Civil Code recognizes three systems:
- Joint Property (Gananciales): Under the joint property system, gains or benefits obtained by either spouse during the marriage become common to both, and they are attributed equally upon dissolution. However, there are also separate assets for each spouse in this system, such as those acquired before starting the joint or those acquired afterward by gift (e.g., inheritance).
- Separate Property (Separación de Bienes): Under the separate property system, each spouse manages and administers their own assets. Although both must contribute to the maintenance of marital obligations, there is no pool of common assets.
- Participation (Participación): This is the least common system and is a combination of elements from both the joint property and separate property systems. During the marriage, it operates like the separate property system, but upon dissolution, each spouse can participate in the gains obtained by their partner.