This is the procedure by which the assets and debts of the community property are divided between the spouses since the marriage.
The community of property may be terminated:
As of right for the following reasons:
- Dissolution of marriage, by death or divorce decree.
- The judgment of marital separation.
- The judgment declaring the marriage null and void.
- Where the spouses agree on a different property regime.
By judicial decision, at the request of one of the spouses, in the cases provided for in Article 1393 of the Civil Code.
De facto separation for more than one year, whether by mutual agreement or not, can put an end to the community of property according to settled case law.
Thus, assets acquired during a period of de facto separation, with a breakdown of cohabitation, are deemed to be separate property if they are acquired by one spouse without the contribution of the other spouse’s assets.
The procedure of liquidation of community property can be carried out:
By mutual agreement.
Either with a common lawyer or with a lawyer for each of the spouses. The first option is the most economical but is only advisable if both parties are clear about the valuation of the assets and their inclusion in the community property.
Litigation.
It is more time-consuming and costly both financially and emotionally.
In the event that the liquidation cannot be carried out by mutual agreement and we have to proceed to a contentious liquidation, our Civil Procedure Act articulates two successive procedures: the formation of the Inventory and the liquidation of the community property itself.
It is now mandatory to go through alternative dispute resolution in order to file a lawsuit.