Matrimonial property law (prenuptial agreements)
Matrimonial property law regulates who the assets amassed during a marriage and existing upon winding up of the marital property regime belong to in accordance with the corresponding matrimonial property regime and prenuptial agreement. It also regulates how an increase in assets should be distributed; how mutual debts and shareholdings should be written off and how the objects comprising the matrimonial assets should be assigned upon winding up of the matrimonial property regime.The Swiss Civil Code regulates the following matrimonial property regimes:
a) Community of acquisitions is defined by the law as the statutory property regime in the absence of a prenuptial agreement.
b) Community of property comes into being upon agreement by means of a prenuptial agreement.
c) Separation of property comes into being upon agreement by means of a prenuptial agreement; by the decree of a judge or by law in legally specified special cases.
Within a certain framework spouses may employ a prenuptial agreement to adjust the regulations specified by the law to reflect their individual requirements. Individuals wishing to conclude a prenuptial agreement must possess the capacity to judge their actions; minors or individuals who have been placed under disability require the consent of their legal representative.