Matrimonial regime

A matrimonial regime is the legal framework that governs property ownership between spouses, determining whether a marital estate is created and, if so, which property falls within it, and it controls how marital property is managed, divided, and inherited when a marriage ends by death or divorce. Civil law jurisdictions typically set a statutory default regime that applies automatically upon marriage, so that couples in countries such as France, Germany, and the Canadian province of Quebec marry by default into some form of community of property, or opt out into separation of property through a prenuptial agreement executed before a notary; common law jurisdictions, by contrast, traditionally default to separation of property with more limited contractual alternatives. Five countries, including the Netherlands, have adopted the Hague Convention allowing spouses to choose a matrimonial regime beyond those their home country would otherwise apply. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/