Marriage contract
Verified 27 January 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
You're going to get married and you want to choose your matrimonial regime ? If you marry without a contract, you are subject to the legal community regime. You must sign an marriage contract if you want to opt for another diet. If you wish to change your plan, you must also establish a contract. In both cases, the use of a notary is mandatory. We present you the information to know.
Before the wedding
The signing of a marriage contract is not mandatory.
If you do not sign a contract, you are automatically under the legal regime of the community reduced to gains.
If you sign a marriage contract, you can choose your matrimonial regime.
You can adopt one of the matrimonial regimes provided by law (separation of property, universal community, participation in property, etc.) or choose more appropriate rules.
You must sign your marriage contract before a notary.
The notary has an obligation to advise you.
This is particularly important if one of you is not a French national (due to the risk of conflict between the rules applied by the countries of origin and due to possible civil and tax consequences).
Who shall I contact
Separation of property
Your assets remain separate.
You retain the administration, enjoyment and free disposal of your personal property.
However, you must contribute to the costs of marriage.
All debts that one of you 2 incurs to you all 2 if they relate to one of the following obligations:
- Housekeeping
- Education of children.
For other debts, only the spouse who takes them out is liable.
Please note
Depending on your situation, you can choose suitable clauses (pooling of certain assets for example).
Developed community of acquests
You can adopt the regime of community of furnishings and acquisitions or the scheme of community reduced to gains, but by amending certain clauses.
For example, you might want to include the following:
- Unequal sharing of common goods between you 2
- Possibility of redemption by either of you of all or part of the other's property, according to a price or rules set in advance.
All debts that one of you 2 incurs to you all 2 if they relate to one of the following obligations:
- Housekeeping
- Education of children.
For the settlement of other debts, the nature of your property, common or specific to a single spouse, is taken into account.
Universal Community
All your goods (furniture or real estate, present and future) are common.
You may or may not include a full community attribution clause for the surviving spouse in the event of death.
Please note
All the goods being common, your creditors may demand repayment of your debts on all your assets.
Participation in acquisitions
For the duration of the marriage, this matrimonial regime works as if you were married under the regime of separation of property.
But when the union is dissolved (divorce or death), the community of property prevails.
The notary first calculates the enrichment of each of you 2 during the marriage. It is then shared fairly between you 2.
The least enriched person is entitled to a receivable of participation.
Please note
A specific vesting scheme is open to you if you are a Franco-German couple. It is also more widely accessible, especially to French or German couples living in Germany or France.
Role of the notary
You must contact a notary.
He must draw up the contract before the celebrating your wedding.
It's best to do this several weeks in advance.
The notary asks you about the following elements:
- Your respective assets
- Presence or not of children (common or not)
- Your professional situations.
He advises you, offers you a drafting of contract, then proceeds to the registration of the version finally adopted.
The following rules, laid down by law, must always be observed:
- Rights and duties that result from the marriage
- Rules of parental authority
- Rules of a legal nature of the heirs.
Who shall I contact
Cost of the marriage contract
Costs depend on the size and nature of the assets furniture or real estate which are mentioned in the contract.
In any case, you must pay the following fees:
- Emoluments of the notary for the establishment of the marriage contract
- Procedural costs (registration fee, authentic copy, etc.) and publicity
- Taxes.
The notary's emoluments are proportional to the value of the property mentioned in the marriage contract, if this value exceeds €30,800.
Up to €30,800, the remuneration of the notary shall be fixed at €188.68 (excluding taxes).
A spouse may be deprived of the benefits of the matrimonial property regime if he has been convicted of certain serious acts.
A husband is automatically disqualified the benefits of the matrimonial property regime if convicted (as perpetrator or accomplice) for any of the following acts:
- Voluntarily giving or attempting to give death to her husband
- Willfully committing violence that resulted in the death of her husband without intent to give it away.
The husband may also be disgraced benefits related to his or her matrimonial property regime if convicted for any of the following:
- Torture, barbaric acts, intentional violence, rape or sexual assault against her husband
- False testimony against her husband in criminal proceedings
- Voluntary failure to prevent a crime or offense against the bodily integrity of her deceased spouse
- Slanderous denunciation against her husband concerning criminal acts.
FYI
The forfeiture must be pronounced by the court.
After the wedding
To change your regime, you must sign your new marriage contract before a notary.
You can make one of the following choices:
- Establish a contract after marriage if you married without contract
- Edit existing contract
- Change the matrimonial regime.
You must contact a notary.
The notary has an obligation to advise you.
This is particularly important if one of you is not a French national (due to the risk of conflict between the rules applied by the countries of origin and due to possible civil and tax consequences).
Who shall I contact
Persons to be informed of the proposed change of matrimonial property regime
You must inform about your project of change of matrimonial property regime the following persons:
- Representative of a minor child under guardianship
- Adult children
- Creditors (via a legal announcement log)
- Persons who were parties to the amended marriage contract.
Your adult children may oppose the modification of the matrimonial property regime in a 3 months delay.
Your creditors may object to the amendment within 3 months following publication.
They must notify the notary who draws up the deed of their challenge. The latter will inform you.
Approval of the court
You must ask the court of law from your home the approval of your change of regime, only in case of opposition of any of the following:
- Major child
- Representative of a protected adult child or a minor child under guardianship
- Creditor.
The assistance of a lawyer is mandatory.
The lawyer presents a query to the court on your behalf at all 2, to which is attached a copy of the notarial deed.
To approve the new regime, the judge considers the following:
- Interest of family
- Injury to creditors.
He can get input from the children, but he doesn't have to follow it.
Who shall I contact
Cost of contract change
The cost of changing the matrimonial property regime depends on the change envisaged, the composition of the spouses' assets (property furniture or real estate) and the value of the goods mentioned in the contract.
It is up to the notary to calculate the cost of the plan change.
You must pay the following fees:
- Advertising and procedural costs
- Emoluments of the notary calculated on the value of the goods
- Costs of winding up the matrimonial property regime
- Legal fees in the event of probate before the court
- Information fees for creditors and adult children.
The notary's emoluments are proportional to the value of the property mentioned in the marriage contract, if this value exceeds €30,800.
Up to €30,800, the remuneration of the notary shall be fixed at €188.68 (excluding taxes).
You can change your diet, whether you are married without contract or that you have already signed a marriage contract.
You can adopt one of the matrimonial regimes provided by law or choose more suitable rules.
Separation of property
Your assets remain separate.
You retain the administration, enjoyment and free disposal of your personal property.
However, you must contribute to the costs of marriage.
All debts that one of you 2 incurs to you all 2 if they relate to one of the following obligations:
- Housekeeping
- Education of children.
For other debts, only the spouse who takes them out is liable.
Please note
Depending on your situation, you can choose suitable clauses (pooling of certain assets for example).
Developed community of acquests
You can adopt the regime of community of furnishings and acquisitions or the scheme of community reduced to gains, but by amending certain clauses.
For example, you might want to include the following:
- Unequal sharing of common goods between you 2
- Possibility of redemption by either of you of all or part of the other's property, according to a price or rules set in advance.
All debts that one of you 2 incurs to you all 2 if they relate to one of the following obligations:
- Housekeeping
- Education of children.
For the settlement of other debts, the nature of your property, common or specific to a single spouse, is taken into account.
Universal Community
All your belongings (furniture or real estate, present and future) are common.
You may or may not include a full community attribution clause for the surviving spouse in the event of death.
Please note
All the goods being common, your creditors may demand repayment of your debts on all your assets.
Participation in acquisitions
For the duration of the marriage, this matrimonial regime works as if you were married under the regime of separation of property.
But when the union is dissolved (divorce or death), the community of property prevails.
The notary first calculates the enrichment of each of you 2 during the marriage. It is then shared fairly between you 2.
The least enriched person is entitled to a receivable of participation.
Please note
A specific vesting scheme is open to you if you are a Franco-German couple. It is also more widely accessible, especially to French or German couples living in Germany or France.
A spouse may be deprived of the benefits of the matrimonial property regime if he has been convicted of certain serious acts.
A husband is automatically disqualified the benefits of the matrimonial property regime if convicted (as perpetrator or accomplice) for any of the following acts:
- Voluntarily giving or attempting to give death to her husband
- Willfully committing violence that resulted in the death of her husband without intent to give it away.
The husband may also be disgraced benefits related to his or her matrimonial property regime if convicted for any of the following:
- Torture, barbaric acts, intentional violence, rape or sexual assault against her husband
- False testimony against her husband in criminal proceedings
- Voluntary failure to prevent a crime or offense against the bodily integrity of her deceased spouse
- Slanderous denunciation against her husband concerning criminal acts.
FYI
The forfeiture must be pronounced by the court.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
For more information on this subject, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and therefore cannot provide information on their progress.
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The informants who answer you belong to the Department of Justice.
- Point-justice
- Notary
General provisions on matrimonial property regimes
Conventional Community
Universal Community
Separation of property regime
Equity participation scheme
Cost of a marriage contract (Article A444-82)
FAQ
Service Public
Notaries of Europe