4 Can or must the matrimonial property regime be registered?
The matrimonial property regime and any changes/modifications to it must be registered in order to be effective against third parties.
4.1. Do one or more matrimonial property registers exist in your country? Where?
In Spain, there are several civil registers. Both the marriage and any marriage contract should be registered in the civil register in the place of habitual residence of the spouses (Art. 1333 CC, Art. 69 LRC and Art. 70 LRC). Only the registration of the marriage is mandatory (Art. 71 LRC).
4.2. Which documents are registered? Which information is registered?
Marriage contracts concluded before marriage must be registered, as well as those concluded during the marriage if they change the matrimonial property system (or they will not be effective against third parties), and separation and divorce judgements must also be registered (Art. 77 LRC). The interested parties receive a certificate issued by the civil register as proof of registration (Art. 75 LRC). Another document used in practice is the Libro de Familia (‘Family Book’), which records details of marriages, children’s birthdates, etc.
4.3. How and by whom can the information in the register be accessed?
The registered information is public (Art. 6 LRC), but the protected data is only accessible to the interested parties or their heirs (Data Protection Act 15/1999).
4.4. What are the legal effects of registration (validity, opposability)?
The legal consequence of registration is third-party effectiveness (Art. 70 LRC).
4.5. Can a matrimonial contract concluded in a foreign state according to foreign law be registered in your country? If yes, under which conditions or formalities?
[This information is valuable in respect of third parties, see art. 28 of the European Regulation (EU) 2016/1103 of 24 June 2016. When a matrimonial contract is registered in your country it can be invoked against third parties. An interconnection of matrimonial property registers in Europe is not existing and therefor the registration of the matrimonial contract must be undertaken in all countries separately, where the spouses have property or conclude contracts. Only then the spouses can invoke their matrimonial contract against third parties in that country.]
Yes. In Spain it is possible to register a matrimonial contract in the matrimonial register, which has been made abroad. But at least one of the spouses has to hold Spanish citizenship or acquire it after the celebration of the marriage. The registration is only possible if all foreign documents have been translated in Spanish language (sworn translation) and duly legalized.
But please bear in mind that in the Spanish Civil Registry, the marriage of foreigners celebrated abroad and the subsequent matrimonial agreements concluded abroad cannot be registered, so it is not appropriate to require the previous registration of said matrimonial agreements in the Civil Register, since it is not legally possible.
Please check the following link:
www.mjusticia.gob.es/es/ciudadania/tramites/inscripcion-matrimonio.
