What is a matrimonial regime?

Under English law we do not have marital regimes (also known as matrimonial property regimes or MPR) as such. This means that when you marry, whatever assets are owned in your name continue to belong to you alone and whatever is owned by your spouse continues to belong to your spouse alone. Even once married, you can choose to buy properties and other assets in your sole name, you do not have to buy them jointly with your spouse. When you die, you can, broadly speaking, leave all the properties and assets owned in your sole name however you wish.

It is only on divorce that a court will look at all the assets owned by you and your spouse as being in one ‘pot’ and will then split them between you as the court sees fit – regardless of in whose name the asset was held in.

The position in France is quite different – when a couple marries, they must choose which MPR (in France known as regime matrimonial or contrat de mariage) to enter into. These regimes are not only important on divorce to determine what each spouse will walk away with, but also on death, as the terms of the MPR can overrule your will to a certain extent.

There are, broadly speaking, three types of matrimonial regime in France:

• Community of property acquired during the marriage (communauté réduite aux acquêtes). This is the default regime in France. All assets purchased after the marriage are deemed to belong to both spouses – regardless of whose names the assets are held in.
• Community of property (communauté universelle). If you choose this regime, all your assets, including those owned by you before your marriage will be deemed to be held by you and your spouse jointly. In some circumstances you can include a clause d’attribution intégrale au survivant. This clause will allow all your assets to pass to the surviving spouse on the first death (but it does not necessarily work well if you have children from an earlier relationship).
• Separate ownership (séparation des biens). As the name suggests, under this MPR each of you will be deemed to own only the assets held in your sole name. As you were married in England, while resident there, this is the regime that will likely automatically be assigned to you.

It is possible to change your MPR by visiting a notaire. The most suitable type of MPR will very much depend on your circumstances and your wishes. For example, if you are running a high-risk business personally, it may not be a good idea to have a community of property regime as all your and your spouses’ assets could be at risk if you go bankrupt.

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