Under civil law, spouses may change their marital property regime by means of a reasoned request, subject to judicial authorization, and provided it does not cause harm to third parties. The question remains whether, for this purpose, it is essential to present a detailed list of the spouses’ assets.
Recently, the Superior Court of Justice addressed the issue and ruled that spouses should be required to provide reasonable and non-excessive justifications and evidence. It held that “the presentation of a detailed list of the couple’s assets is not an essential requirement for granting a request to change the property regime.”
It seems to us that the STJ’s decision is reasonable since the modification of the property regime generates ex nunc effects (that is, valid from the date of the decision onwards), and there is no justification for demanding details of the couple’s assets, which would violate the intimacy and private life of the spouses.
