MARRIAGE CONTRACTS IN CHINAThe contracts are now enforceable in China. Section 19 of the Marriage Act 2001 provides: “With respect to property acquired during the period in which it is subject to the marriage contract and matrimonial property, the husband and wife may agree whether it is to be in separate possession, co-ownership or partly in separate ownership and partly in co-ownership. The agreement must be in writing. The provisions of sections 17 and 18 of this Act apply to the absence of such an agreement or to a vague agreement. The agreement between the husband and wife on the property acquired during the marriage contract and on matrimonial property is binding on both parties. If, as the third party knows, the husband and wife agree to separately own their property acquired during their married life, the debt owed by the husband or wife to another person is settled from the property he owns separately. In 2003, China`s Supreme Court ruled that the types of property that can be the subject of a marriage contract include a party`s capital income, housing allowances, insurance, unemployment benefits, and income from intellectual property rights. MARRIAGE CONTRACTS IN DENMARK Marriage contracts are allowed in Denmark. There is no formal requirement or legal representation, except that they must be in writing. You must be registered with a district court, which then arranges the registration in a national register. However, Danish courts tend to make arbitral awards other than the provisions of the marriage contract if the contractual terms are unfair, especially if the marriage was long and the contract removed all the capital of the spouses from the matrimonial community of property. MARRIAGE CONTRACTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES The Marriage Contracts Act in England and Wales is confusing and unresolved. This requires special attention.

See our article on marriage contracts in England.MARRIAGE CONTRACTS IN ESTONIA A marriage contract can be concluded before marriage or during marriage. Estonian Family Law Act §§ 8-13. A marriage contract may specify which property belonging to one of the spouses before the marriage remains the separate property of the spouse and which property becomes the joint property of the spouses, and which of the property acquired or to be acquired during the marriage is joint property and which is separate property. A marriage contract may also specify how the spouses` joint property is to be owned, used and disposed of, how the spouses` joint property is to be divided, the spouses` mutual maintenance obligations during the marriage and at the end of the marriage, and other reciprocal rights and obligations of the spouses that they deem necessary. Marriage contracts are entered in the register of marriage contracts. A matrimonial contract that is not entered in the register is valid in the relationship of the spouses if it is notarized. A spouse`s property rights under a matrimonial contract apply to third parties if the marriage contract is registered in the register of matrimonial property before the third party`s claim arises. The register of marriage contracts shall be kept in a land register of a court in accordance with a procedure laid down by law. MARRIAGE CONTRACTS IN FINLANDConditional contracts are enforceable in Finland. Finland has a relatively new law that allows spouses to decide in advance which law will govern their marriage, provided that at least one of the spouses has a link with the State whose law they wish to apply by reason of their nationality or place of residence. The formal conditions for marriage contracts in Finland include: the agreement must be concluded in writing, both parties must accept the conditions it contains, it must be dated and signed by both parties, the agreement must be attested by two uninvolved persons and it must be presented to the local civil registry office (the Maistraatti).

The agreement is not valid until it has been officially registered. MARRIAGE CONTRACTS IN FRANCE Special provisions on marriage contracts are provided for by the French Civil Code. Civil Code (C. civ.) (Civil Code) 1387 et seq. (Fr.). Although marriage contracts are allowed, the parties do not have unlimited contractual freedom. The parties must appear together before a notary before the marriage and choose one of the matrimonial regimes proposed by the French Civil Code. The parties can choose their preferred matrimonial regime and choose between several versions of community property and other arrangements, including separation of property and participation in acquets. Whichever legal regulation is chosen, it can be modified to meet its specific needs, but any change is subject to certain limits of public order; There are many “primary regime” rules for conjugal relations that the parties are not allowed to change contractually. If the parties decide not to conclude a prenuptial agreement, the default regime of legal community, a regime of common property, governs the legal relations of the spouses. There is no obligation to disclose property or debts before entering into a marriage contract in France.

As a rule, the parties have the contract drawn up by a notary (who is required to inform and advise the parties on the agreement) and then submit the agreement to the registrar at the time of the marriage, which binds the third parties by the agreement. MARRIAGE CONTRACTS IN GERMANY Marriage contracts are enforceable in Germany and are subject to many restrictions. They must be carried out before a notary. The Burgerliche Gesetzbuch (BGB) stipulates that a fixed matrimonial regime, that of community earnings, automatically applies between the spouses at the time of marriage, unless they contractually choose a different regulation. The BGB also provides for two optional matrimonial property regimes, one of which is a system of exclusion from any separation of property and the other a system of general community of property (gutergemeinschaft). The Federal Court of Justice has ruled that notarized marriage contracts that severely disadvantage a party to a marriage can be considered invalid. The judges noted that, although a contract could in principle stipulate that one of the partners had waived his right to alimony, the agreement would be morally unacceptable and could therefore be challenged if the agreement was unilateral. The court also ruled that a spouse is free to challenge the contract in the event of an imbalance when his or her partner`s income has increased significantly during the marriage because, for example, he or she was caring for children at home. In Germany, it is not permissible to provide in marriage contracts that they are subject to foreign law. MARRIAGE CONTRACTS IN GREECE Marriage contracts are enforceable in Greece. However, they are unusual in Greece because the standard matrimonial process is the separation of assets (although a spouse who has contributed to an increase in the assets of the other spouse is entitled to a share of the increase).

Article 1400 of the Greek Civil Code. In the event of marriage, the spouses may individually choose a community law, as expressly authorized by the Civil Code. MARRIAGE CONTRACTS IN HONG KONG Prenuptial contracts for international people based in Hong Kong can be extremely useful, but should be carefully drafted by a lawyer with international experience and knowledge. Such agreements were once considered contrary to public policy at common law because they replaced the court`s jurisdiction to grant ancillary distances. The law sets out the relevant factors that a court must consider in resolving financial problems between departing spouses. Marriage and Property Ordinance, § 7 (H.K.). These factors do not imply any agreement between the parties. The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal has issued an important case on the potential impact of marriage and separation agreements in Hong Kong.

SPH v. SA (formerly SA) [2014] HKCFA 56 (9 June 2014). The case concerned the effects of a German marriage contract between German nationals in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong court ruled that the existence of the German marriage contract and a German separation agreement was clearly a factor to be taken into account in the husband`s application for suspension of Hong Kong divorce proceedings on the basis of the forum non conveniens. .