Who owns what in a marriage in Nicaragua?

In the civil-code tradition the spouses usually choose their regime when they marry, and the code sets a default if they choose nothing. Many codes make the default a community of what is acquired during the marriage. Check the code for the default.

Under a community regime the joint property is divided between the spouses, and under separation of property each keeps their own, with the court able to take account of each spouse's contribution.

The spouses can usually choose their regime by a contract before the wedding, in a public deed.

Property from before the marriage, gifts and inheritances generally stay personal.

The country has its own rules on which law governs a marriage and its property. Get local advice if one spouse is a foreigner, if the couple live abroad, or if the marriage was celebrated under religious or customary law.

• Many of these countries also recognise a stable de facto union (unión de hecho) with property effects like a marriage, after a set period.

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

• JuriGlobe, University of Ottawa: world legal systems
• World Bank: Women, Business and the Law (country data on marriage and property)