Family law seeks to regulate everything concerning the life of a human being, from birth and therefore filiation, through to the decisions on ties that a person chooses to take on, such as marriage, taking in everything relating to the arrangements for children and their care, guardianship and maintenance, and ending with matters of succession, when the person dies.
At BBMabogados we are experts in every family matter, so do not hesitate to contact us for personalised advice in which we can assess your situation in depth.
Marriage and its legal consequences
At the moment of marrying, it is unlikely that anyone thinks about the legal consequences that arise. However, this is a reality that must be faced, since with marriage there arises what is known as the joint marital property regime, or community of marital property.
Thus, there is a whole legal system governing the administration and ownership of the assets that the spouses acquire. Such assets, if no different agreement is signed, will be governed by what the law provides in respect of private property (bienes privativos) and joint property (bienes comunes). Nevertheless, there is the possibility for the parties to modify this community regime.
In such a case, we are referring to marriage settlements (capitulaciones matrimoniales), which are an agreement that the couple may sign before marrying and even after marrying, in which they will determine precisely how the financial regime will operate during the marriage.
At times, it is often thought that this applies only as a preventive measure in the event of divorce; however, that is not the case. In fact, the idea of marriage settlements is for the parties themselves to determine how the administration of assets, profits and debts during the marriage will work.
In any event, it should be remembered that this agreement or set of settlements must be drafted with the greatest possible clarity and precision, so do not hesitate to contact us for the drafting and notarisation of this document.
Marriage settlements after getting married?
Even after marrying, no matter how long one has been married, a marriage settlements regime can be signed. Now, as mentioned above, this regime may establish all kinds of financial conditions for the parties within the marriage, as well as for the destination of their assets.
The only caveat is that these settlements will only govern the community of marital property from the moment they are signed and going forward, so everything generated beforehand will remain subject to the community of marital property established by law.
Filiation
Another highly relevant aspect of family law is that concerning filiation between parents and children. In any event, it should be remembered that filiation is the legal bond by which a person is recognised as the child of their parent, and so on up and down the family line.
Along these lines, it should be mentioned that where children are born within marriage, there is a legal presumption that they are the children of their parents. However, in the case of children conceived outside marriage, a situation may arise in which the father does not wish to take on responsibility for them.
In this regard, there are legal mechanisms to compel a child’s true father to assume his responsibilities towards the child, from giving the child his surname or acknowledging the child as his own, to providing the corresponding maintenance, care and other duties. If this is your case, do not hesitate to contact us to provide you with the best advice.
Family arrangements in Santander
Within marriage it is logical to assume that both parents will be responsible for the custody and care of the children, but at the moment when the parents separate or divorce, it then becomes necessary to establish arrangements for each parent regarding their offspring.
The above covers the contact regime, the setting of the child’s residence or shared custody, food and recreation, as well as everything relating to the care of these minor children.
In any event, this type of situation must be regulated at the time of the divorce or separation; however, there is no time limit for demanding compliance with a given obligation or for requesting that such an obligation be fulfilled by the irresponsible parent.
Support measures for persons with a disability
When an adult needs support to exercise their legal capacity, family law provides for support measures —chiefly curatorship (curatela), alongside de facto guardianship (guarda de hecho), the judicial defender (defensor judicial) or enduring powers of attorney (poderes preventivos)— always proportionate to their needs and respecting their will and preferences. Guardianship (tutela), following Law 8/2021, is now reserved for minors.
At the same time, it should be stressed that this is a complex process that necessarily requires the advice of a lawyer to guide you through each of the steps you must follow.
Succession
Finally, family law seeks to establish how the assets that a person may have left after their death will be administered. This system of inheritance has many features to analyse, especially since succession is fairly strictly regulated by law; nevertheless, with our advice there will be no difficulty at all, so do not hesitate to contact us or to look at our succession section for more information on this special regime.
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