Participation in acquests

Participation in acquests

"I've been living in Switzerland for a few years now, where I met my current partner. We want to get married soon. I've heard that the ordinary matrimonial property regime is that of participation in acquests. Can you give me an outline of what this involves?

Daniel, Vaud

Since 1 January 1988, the regime of participation in acquests has been applicable to couples who have not entered into a marriage contract to be subject to the regime of separation as to property or community of property. This system comprises four sets of assets: the wife's own property, the husband's own property, the wife's acquests and the husband's acquests.

Own property is a separate asset, the substance of which does not have to be shared with the spouse. Each spouse remains the sole owner of his or her own property during the marriage and takes it over when the matrimonial property regime ends. The law gives an exhaustive list of what constitutes own property: this includes all property owned by a spouse before the marriage, as well as property acquired during the marriage free of charge, i.e. by inheritance, bequest, gift or compensation. Personal property also includes items that are exclusively for personal use, such as jewellery, clothing and books, as well as items that have been acquired as a replacement for personal property. Replacements are defined as new acquisitions made with own property. It should be noted that, by marriage contract, it is possible to agree that property allocated to the exercise of a profession or to the operation of a business forms part of the private property.

Acquests, on the other hand, include assets acquired by a spouse for valuable consideration during the marriage, i.e. in exchange for some form of consideration. This includes income from work (salaries, tips, fees), compensation due for incapacity for work, sums paid by employee benefit institutions or by insurance or social welfare institutions, income from own property, and property acquired in replacement of acquests.

When the matrimonial property regime is dissolved and liquidated, in particular in the event of divorce, each spouse takes back his or her own property. On the other hand, the acquests of the spouses are shared between them, provided that their account shows a profit. (TDG)