Who owns what in a marriage in France?

Earnings and property acquired during the marriage are joint. Each spouse keeps what they owned before the marriage and what they receive by gift or inheritance. Each spouse can manage joint property alone for most acts, but needs the other's consent for the family home and for major acts.

The joint property is split equally between the spouses, and each takes back their own property.

A marriage contract is made before a notary and is usually signed before the wedding. Spouses can choose separation of property, a participation in acquisitions, or a universal community. The regime can be changed during the marriage through a notarial process that protects creditors and children.

Property from before the marriage, gifts and inheritances stay personal. A gift of future property between spouses can generally be revoked.

In member states that take part in the EU Matrimonial Property Regulation, the law that governs the spouses' property is set by common rules, and spouses may choose from a short list of laws in a written agreement. Check whether the country takes part.

• A couple who move to France may find that the rules depend on where they first lived and when they married.

France belongs to the Civil law family. Family law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.

Read the France legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Can a foreigner buy property in France? →

• European e-Justice Portal: matrimonial property regimes in the EU