How is the common property of husband and wife divided upon divorce?

The property division upon divorce shall be agreed upon by the parties; if no agreement can be reached, the parties can request the Court to resolve the matter.  The separate property of one party will belong to such party.

The common property division shall be settled by the following principles:

  • The common property of the spouses in principle is divided in half, but will also take into account each party’s circumstances, the property status, and the efforts and contributions of each party to the creation, maintenance, and development of the property.  The spouses’ labor in the family household is considered income-producing labor;
  • To protect the legitimate rights and interests of the wife and minor child or adult child with a disability, loss of civil capacity to act, no working capacity or without the assets to support himself/herself; 
  • To protect the legitimate interests of each party in their production, business or profession so that each party has the conditions to continue working to generate income;
  • The common property of the spouses is divided in kind or by value; the party that receives a portion of the property in kind that has a greater value than the share it is entitled to must pay the other party the difference in value;
  • The payment of the common obligations on the property of the spouses shall be agreed upon by the husband and wife; if no agreement is reached, they can request the Court to resolve the matter.
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