Marital Property Law

If you are married and buying a share of the Terra Frutis Personal Plots with your spouse, you will want to be aware of marital property law in Ecuador.

Note that for minimum buy-in shares (as in, only 1 lot), we can only list one name per share on the title. This is because of our rule regarding minimum buy-ins. But this is not important, because marital property law considers both spouses to be owners anyways, unless you make a marital property contract.

Ecuadorian law considers property in a marriage to be jointly owned, by default. Whether your marriage is a foreign marriage, and whether it is registered in Ecuador or not, your spouse has actionable rights on your properties in Ecuador if your name is on the title. That means that if you try to sell the property, the notary will see that your civil status is listed as “married” on the title, and will require your spouse or your spouse’s attorney-in-fact (via power of attorney) to sign.

If a married couple does not wish their property to be considered jointly owned, they may have a lawyer draft a “marital property contract” which is basically the same as a prenuptial agreement. It can specify which properties are jointly owned and which are singly owned by only one spouse. Once this document is notarized, it needs to be registered with the property registrar in the canton(s) in which your property is owned. We can provide a lawyer and assistance with drafting this document if you so desire.

Last updated on October 4, 2020