Prenuptial Agreements in the Czech Republic

What is and is not included in the marital estate? How do prenuptial agreements work? And how can the scope of the marital estate be modified during marriage? We answer these questions in this article.

What Is Included in the Marital Estate Under the Statutory Regime?

Unless spouses (or fiancés before marriage) agree otherwise, the marital estate includes everything acquired by either spouse, or by both spouses jointly, during the marriage.

There are, however, several important exceptions. The marital estate does not include:

property serving the personal needs of one spouse (e.g. clothing, a toothbrush, a diary, personal skis);
property acquired by only one spouse through a gift, inheritance, or legacy (e.g. an apartment inherited from parents or a painting bequeathed by a grandparent);
compensation received by one spouse for non-pecuniary harm to their natural rights, such as life, health, dignity, reputation, honour, or privacy. For example, compensation for pain and suffering following a traffic accident;
property acquired through a legal transaction relating to a spouse's exclusive property. For example, where one spouse sells an apartment inherited from a relative, the sale proceeds remain that spouse's exclusive property. Any asset purchased solely from those proceeds will generally also remain that spouse's exclusive property;
compensation received for damage to, destruction of, or loss of a spouse's exclusive property. For example, if a tenant damages a window in an apartment owned exclusively by one spouse and subsequently compensates the owner for the damage.

However, income generated from a spouse's exclusive property generally forms part of the marital estate.

For example, if one spouse owns an apartment as their exclusive property and rents it out, the net rental income (after deducting expenses such as taxes and repair costs) becomes part of the marital estate. This differs from the situation where the apartment itself is sold, in which case the sale proceeds remain exclusive property.

Shares in companies and cooperatives may also form part of the marital estate if acquired during the marriage.

Debts and the Marital Estate

The marital estate generally includes debts incurred during the marriage.

There are exceptions:

where the debt relates to one spouse's exclusive property and exceeds the profit generated by that property, the excess portion does not become part of the marital estate;
where one spouse incurs a debt without the other's consent and the debt was not incurred for ordinary family needs.

Case law has addressed situations where one spouse borrows money without the consent of the other spouse and uses the funds to purchase an asset that becomes part of the marital estate.

For example, a spouse takes out a substantial loan without the other spouse's consent and purchases a family car. The car forms part of the marital estate. However, the obligation to repay the loan remains that spouse's exclusive debt and does not become part of the marital estate. During the division of the marital estate, the court may take this exclusive debt into account.

How Do Spouses Manage the Marital Estate?

Unless they agree otherwise, spouses manage the marital estate jointly.

Rights and obligations arising from transactions concerning the marital estate generally belong to both spouses jointly and severally.

In matters that go beyond ordinary day-to-day management, both spouses must act together or one spouse must obtain the consent of the other.

Where such consent was required but not obtained, the legal transaction may be relatively invalid, meaning that the other spouse may challenge its validity.

For example, a husband purchases a racing car using funds belonging to the marital estate without informing his wife. The spouses had been saving those funds for a home renovation. Upon discovering the purchase, the wife informs the seller that the purchase price was paid from marital assets, that she did not consent to the transaction, and that she is invoking the relative invalidity of the purchase agreement.

How Can the Scope of the Marital Estate Be Modified?

The scope of the marital estate may be modified before marriage through a prenuptial agreement or during marriage through a marital property agreement.

Such agreements may help prevent future disputes or protect the family from risks associated with one spouse's business activities.

A prenuptial agreement does not merely exclude property from the marital estate. It may also expand the marital estate to include property acquired before marriage.

Separate Property Regime

The spouses may agree that no marital estate will arise at all (or that an existing marital estate will be terminated and divided).

Each spouse then acquires property and incurs debts independently.

If they purchase real estate together, they acquire it as co-owners, each holding a specified ownership share.

Expansion of the Marital Estate

The spouses may agree to include certain categories of property, or specific assets, in the marital estate.

For example, real estate owned by one spouse before marriage may be included in the marital estate by agreement.

Restriction of the Marital Estate

The spouses may also agree that certain property or assets will not form part of the marital estate.

The restriction may apply to categories of assets (such as employment income or profits derived from exclusive property) or to specific assets (such as a particular apartment).

The spouses may also agree that property acquired in the future will remain outside the marital estate.

Deferred Community Property Regime

The spouses may agree that during the marriage they will maintain separate property, while the marital estate will arise only upon the termination of the marriage, whether by divorce or death.

At that point, all assets and liabilities acquired during the marriage that would otherwise belong to the marital estate under the statutory regime become subject to division.

Assets that were consumed or no longer exist by that time are generally not taken into account.

Prenuptial Agreements and Marital Property Agreements

When entering into an agreement modifying the marital estate, spouses should also regulate how the marital property will be managed.

For example, they may agree that one spouse may act independently in relation to certain marital assets without requiring the consent of the other spouse.

Such agreements must take the form of a notarial deed.

If both spouses agree, the agreement may be registered in the Register of Matrimonial Property Agreements.

Registration makes the agreement publicly accessible and prevents third parties from relying on the assumption that the spouses are subject to the statutory marital property regime.

This can be particularly useful in enforcement proceedings against only one spouse. A court enforcement officer is required to verify the existence and contents of any registered marital property agreement and should therefore avoid enforcing against assets belonging exclusively to the other spouse.

Court-Ordered Restriction or Termination of the Marital Estate

The marital estate may also be restricted or terminated by a court upon the application of one spouse, provided that there is a serious reason for doing so.

Examples include:

wasteful spending by the other spouse;
one spouse commencing business activities;
one spouse becoming a partner with unlimited liability in a legal entity; or
one spouse repeatedly engaging in excessive or unreasonable financial risks.

In such circumstances, the court may intervene to protect the interests of the other spouse and the family as a whole.