Matrimonial regimes can be described as a legal institution that designates management and usage of asset that belong to spouses. Matrimonial regimes also regulate how assets shall be distributed at the end of the marriage.

What is the Regime of Participation in Acquired Property

Article 202 of the Law No:4721 grants the right to choose the matrimonial regimes that are listed by the Law on spouses. If the spouses have not chosen one of the listed regimes, the regime of "participation in acquired property" is applied.

The other matrimonial regimes that are listed in the Law No:4721 are the regime of "Separation of Properties", the regime of "Shared Separation of Properties" and the regime of "Community of Properties"

According to Article 218 of the Turkish Civil Code (Law No: 4721) the regime of participation in acquire property contains the acquired properties during the marriage and the personal properties of the each of the spouses. According to Article 219 of the Law No:4721, the acquired property is the value of assets that each spouse has obtained by giving the counter value of the property during the marriage period.

Ending Moment of the Matrimonial regimes

Article 225 of the Law No:4721 states that matrimonial regimes end with the death of one of the spouses or the acceptance of another matrimonial regime.

It should be noted, in the event of annulation of the marriage or divorce or the regime is converted to another regime by the court, the matrimonial regime ends at the date of the lawsuit not the date of the decision of the court.

Personal Property and Matrimonial Property

Personal property, is the property assets that belongs only to one spouse. According to Regime of Participation in Acquired Property following assets are considered as personal property in Turkish Civil Code:

  • Property that one spouse owned before the marriage
  • Gifts received by one spouse before or during the marriage
  • Inheritances that received before or during the marriageProperty that the spouses agree separate
  • Property acquired by one spouse using separate property assets Immaterial compensation

Matrimonial property, is the property of assets that belongs to both spouses. According to Regime of Participation in Acquired Property all the assets of the spouses are considered as matrimonial property unless the spouse that claim an asset to be personal can prove otherwise.

Withdrawal of the Goods and the Situations of the Debts

According to Article 226 of the Law No:4721, each spouse retrieves his/her own properties from the other spouse. Active and Passive Increase in Value of Matrimonial Property Assets

According to Article 227 of the Law No:4721 The spouses who contributed to acquisition, remediation or protection of property of other spouse, has the right to claim the value increase on that property at the ending time of the marriage.

But passive increases cannot be claimed. Passive increases are the increases in the value of a property that occurs due to market behaviors, financial changes, general economic growth etc.

According to the above-mentioned rules, in Turkish Civil Law the active appreciation of a pre-marital asset is includible in the matrimonial property while passive appreciation is not. This means that the appreciation in value of the owner-spouse's active involvement in the business during the marriage is included as a marital asset subject to equitable distribution. On the other hand, if a pre-marital asset increases in value during the marriage due to external market conditions (passive increase), it is excluded from the marital estate and remains the sole property of the owner-spouse.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.