Why Should Couples Register a Marital Property Agreement?

• Kongleaphy Keam
• 9 January 2021
• Local News
• 5521 Views

In Cambodia, married couples frequently face asset division disputes when divorce occurs, which in most cases are real estate assets such as houses or land. The reason is that most of the couples here in Cambodia do not have a formal marital property agreement or also known as a Registration of a Spouse Property Contract.

What is a marital property agreement, and how is essential it?

A marital property agreement is a written contract created by the couple before or after they are married. It lists all of the property each person owns before the marriage and specifies what each person’s property rights will be after marriage.

The marital property agreement objective is to make it easier to make sales and purchase transaction or divide the asset when a divorce occurs or when one party dies.

The abovementioned asset can be in many forms, but real estate assets such as land and houses are very complex to divide as most real estate prices are always rising. Therefore, spouses must sign a marital property agreement to avoid unresolved disputes.

On the other hand, the spouse’s obligation to repay the debt on the property is also necessary. For example, regarding the mortgage, the two parties should clearly define whether the mortgage occurred before or after the marriage, who will be responsible after the divorce and for what percentage. Therefore, the marital property agreement will help the married couple in completing these tasks more simply.

Married couples or spouses must register a marital property agreement at the Department of Civil Affairs of the Ministry of Justice. The department also registers changes and deletions of the marital property agreement.

According to Prakas No.81 KY.PRK dated 09 August 2013 on the Registration of a Spouse Property Contract, when registering, the spouse needs to attach some necessary documents such as:

• Draft Marital Property Agreement
• Marriage certificate in case the either applicant has already been married
• Certificate confirming the information listed in the registry book (an immovable property registration, a land registration, a perpetual lease registration, a usufruct registration)
• Deed of assignment (If any)
• ID or Passport

The registration of the marital property agreement fee is 300, 000 riels and is permanently valid.

All applications must be agreed in writing. The original application must have the applicants’ signature or fingerprint, enclosed with a copy of the original.

• Laws and Regulation