Partial community of goods is the regime that represents the sharing of all the assets acquired by the couple after the celebration of the civil marriage. The assets must be equally divided between the spouses, regardless of who purchased the property or in what name it was registered, for example.
Property regimes serve to define the rules of a couple's property relations, as long as the couple is based on a civil marital union. These rules are used to determine how the assets acquired by the couple will be divided, in the event of the death of one of the spouses or in situations of divorce.
In the case of partial community property, one of the most common regimes chosen by couples in Brazil, all assets acquired after marriage are legally owned by both spouses. No matter who bought or who provided the most money for the purchase of such a good, the law assumes that the effort and collaboration is mutual.
However, all assets that the spouses acquired before the marriage are not part of the common property, that is, they belong exclusively to their respective individual owners.
Articles 1659 and 1660 of the Brazilian Civil Code establish which conditions are included in the community of goods and which are excluded from this partial regime.
In the case of inheritances, the partial community property regime says that if one of the spouses dies, their partner (a) is entitled to half of the property acquired together during the marriage. The other 50% of the equity must be divided among the children, if any.
However, the whole inheritance of a family nature of one of the spouses is not shared legally with your partner (a).
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The deceased spouse's private property (property acquired before the marriage) must be divided equally between the surviving spouse and the children of the person who died. This division must be equal, that is, everyone will have the right to the same percentage of the inheritance.
According to Brazilian law, there are four types of property regimes in the country: partial community property, universal community of goods, separation of goods and final participation in the questions. It is still possible to create an atypical regime, consisting of a mixture of different elements present in the various property regimes, thus following the particular needs of the spouses.
Couples can choose any of the schemes provided, but if they do not opt for any, they will automatically be subject to partial community property. The option of property regime chosen by the couple appears on the marriage certificate, when the celebration takes place in civil law.
In Brazil, unlike other types of property regimes, partial community property does not require a public deed of prenuptial agreement.
Remembering that any property regime can be modified after marriage, if both spouses agree. For this, the couple will need a court order to request the intended change.
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