Statement That Property Is Not Matrimonial Property

Statement that a property is not matrimonial property – a professional template in Word format

A statement that a property is not matrimonial property (bračna stečevina) is a unilateral certified document by which a spouse or cohabiting partner confirms that a particular property is the separate property of his or her partner and that he or she makes no claims over it. In practice it is required by banks where a mortgage is created over a property registered in the name of one spouse only, and also by land registry courts where registration of ownership acquired during the marriage is being decided and the acquirer wishes to be registered as the sole owner.

The division of property between spouses is governed by the Family Act (Obiteljski zakon). Matrimonial property is property acquired by work during the marriage or property deriving from it, and the spouses are co-owners of it in equal shares. Separate property is what a spouse had before the marriage and what he or she acquired during the marriage by inheritance or gift. It is precisely that distinction that this statement documents.

Key features

• Professional template – a statement in five points drawn up in line with the concepts of matrimonial property and separate property from the Family Act.
• Practical reliability – shaped for the actual recipients, a bank in the loan procedure and the land registry court for registration of ownership 1/1.
• Easy customisation – four ready-made variants of the manner of acquisition and a variant for a cohabiting union; the rest is deleted.
• Digital availability – the DOCX file with instructions arrives by e-mail immediately after purchase, ready to be printed and to have the signature certified.

What the template includes

• Details of the person giving the statement and of the spouse or cohabiting partner (name, OIB, address)
• Point 1 – identification of the property by address, cadastral parcel number, land registry folio and cadastral municipality, and an express statement that it is not matrimonial property but separate property
• Point 2 – four variants of the manner of acquisition: before the marriage or the cohabiting union, by gift with the date of the contract, by inheritance with the number of the decision, and from separate funds outside the matrimonial property
• Point 3 – a statement that the person giving it makes no claims over the property and will not rely on the regime of matrimonial property
• Point 4 – consent to the registration of the spouse as sole owner in full (1/1)
• Point 5 – a statement of free will and an indication that the document is intended for use before the court, the bank and the notary public
• A highlighted note on the mandatory certification of the signature before a notary public
• Instructions for completion, explaining the difference between matrimonial property and separate property and how it applies to a cohabiting union

Legal framework

For use in the land register and before a bank, the signature on the statement is certified by a notary public. Without certification of the signature the statement will as a rule not be accepted either as a document suitable for registration or as a document in the loan procedure. The statement is used in a corresponding way for a cohabiting union, because such a union, provided the statutory conditions are met (a duration of at least three years, or shorter if a child has been born in it), produces the same effects in property terms as a marriage.

If the situation is the other way round, that is the property is matrimonial property and one spouse is disposing of it, you need the spousal consent template. If the property was acquired by gift, it is a good idea to have the real estate gift agreement alongside the statement.