Act 25/2010, of 29 July, on the second book of the Civil Code of Catalonia, on persons and family

PREAMBLE
I. Purpose
The purpose of this act is to adopt the second book of the Civil Code of Catalonia on persons and family, and to set up another part of the new private law system which is meant to complete the general Code.
Since the Generalitat of Catalonia regained legislative jurisdiction in civil matters, the Parliament of Catalonia has done remarkable work in the field of personal and family law. Initially, Act 13/1984, of 20 March, adapted the Compilation of the Civil Law of Catalonia to the constitutional principles of legal equality of spouses and equal legal status of children in and out of wedlock, while incorporating the compiled text into the Catalan legal system. Shortly after, a phase of adaptation of civil law to new family realities was initiated, which combined the technique of special acts ─ acts 7/1991, of 27 April, on filiation; 37/1991, of 30 December, on measures for the protection of minors deprived of parental care and on adoption; 39/1991, of 30 December, on guardianship and guardianship regimes; 12/1996, of 29 July, on parental authority, and 10/1996, of 29 July, on maintenance obligations between relatives ─ with the reform of the Compilation of the Civil Law of Catalonia, by Act 8/1993, of 30 September, modifying the Compilation on property relations between spouses. In this way a comprehensive body of legislation in the field of civil law was set up: following the path set by Act 40/1991, of 30 December, on the Code of Succession mortis causa in the civil law of Catalonia, said body of legislation was consolidated, through the adoption of Act 9/1998, of 15 July, on the Family Code. However, for various reasons, some institutions were kept out of the Family Code: for example, stable partners unions, regulated by Act 10/1998, of 15 July.
However, Parliamentary legislative action in the field of personal and family law was not limited to the Family Code. Other very significant milestones were Act 8/1995, of 27 July, on the care and protection of children and adolescents, and Act 1/2001, of 15 March, on family mediation in Catalonia. Additionally, specific realities were addressed, as in Act 19/1998, of 28 December, on situations of cohabitation for mutual assistance, and issues specific to certain areas, such as Act 21/2000, of 29 December, on the right to information concerning the health and autonomy of the patient, and clinical documentation. Subsequently, Act 3/2005, of 8 April, modifying Act 9/1998, on the Family Code, Act 10/1998, on stable partners unions, and Act 40/1991, on the Code of Succession by reason of death in the civil law of Catalonia, regarding adoption and guardianship, eliminated the differences in the possibility of joint adoption by same-sex couples.
In accordance with Article 3 of Act 29/2002, of 30 December, first Act on the Civil Code of Catalonia, the second book was to include the regulation of the natural persons, the matters covered by Act 9/1998 and the special acts in this field. This is why the Observatory for Private Law of Catalonia (Observatori de Dret Privat de Catalunya) began working, since its creation, on the tasks of reviewing, harmonising and systematising family law, understood in a broad sense, that is, covering the regulation of the natural persons. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 6 of Act 29/2002, personal and family law was not integrated into the Civil Code by introducing amendments through additions, deletions or rewording of current regulations, pending a future recast in a new second book. It was chosen, instead, to produce a complete alternative text, which avoids the difficulties brought about by subsequent consolidation, and allows to contextualise the many important developments introduced with the adoption of the second book.
II. Principles
Article 40 of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia provides that public authorities shall guarantee legal, economic and social protection to the various types of family, as a basic structure and a factor favouring social cohesion and as the primary unit of social cohabitation. Said Statute provision also emphasises the protection that the law should give to children, young people, disabled persons and the elderly. Family is, indeed, the essential reference for citizens and one of the few which mobilises general public support. In all societies, it is one of the most highly valued spheres of life and it is of great importance to family members.
It is the environment where interaction and solidarity between generations take place, particularly during the upbringing and education of children and young people. This book incorporates and reinforces the principle of the best interests of the child regarding all regimes and areas where the person or the property of the minors may be affected by decisions made by others on their behalf. The new regulation also provides criteria to better define this interest depending on the circumstances of the case, especially when it is necessary to establish how parental responsibilities over minor children are to be exercised after the breakdown of the marriage or stable partnership, but also regarding the exercise of parental authority or guardianship.
Moreover, social changes mean that today family is rather understood as an environment where communication and respect for the individual wishes and aspirations of its members are important in defining their common life project. That is why individual development, freedom and autonomy but also individual responsibility are emphasised. This concept of family also inspires all the rights of the minor and the regulation of the relations between parents and children under parental authority.
Regarding the interests of especially vulnerable groups, and notwithstanding the special protection needs based on age or physical or mental disability, civil legislation should make it possible for all people to develop their life projects and participate in social life with equal rights and duties. That is why the new regulation emphasises the natural capacity of the persons and the respect for their autonomy in personal and family life, without ignoring that the possibility of abuse calls for appropriate control mechanisms. In line with this, two new regimes are included to protect and support the autonomy of people who, for various reasons, may need protection: on the one hand, assistance, conceived as a means of protection available to people for whom, due to their psychophysical condition, incapacity and the subsequent guardianship are often not possible nor even desirable, and, on the other hand, the possibility of establishing estate protection in order to meet their needs of people with physical or mental disability or in a situation of dependency.
The second book takes account that Catalan society, like other neighbouring societies, has evolved and that family characteristics have changed substantially in relation to the immediately preceding generation. Catalonia has gone through the demographic transition and it is today an aging society with a large increase in the number of single households, the result of an increased life expectancy, a rather low fertility and increasing divorce rates. Furthermore, the man is no longer the only household member who contributes to household income, and in more and more families both men and women engage in paid employment. The female employment rate has risen steadily and is now close to the average for the most developed countries, which also explains that the age at first marriage is over thirty years for both women and men. As in other neighbouring countries, divorce has become standard and has risen steadily in Catalonia. In the mid-eighties, divorce rates were still low, around 0.1 per thousand inhabitants, but they have now reached around 2.1 per thousand inhabitants. This increase in divorces has resulted in a significant increase in families where only one parent lives together with the children, as well as in blended families, that is, families formed by one parent, his or her spouse or partner, the children of at least one of them and, possibly, their common children, a situation which, until now, had not been dealt with by any legislation, except for some isolated rules on family expenses and adoption.
Finally, there is today a greater tolerance for forms of life and personal fulfilment different from traditional ones. In an open society, people's lifestyle choices and personal lives may not be dictated by a prevailing pattern of life, as long as the option freely chosen poses no harm to others. This principle is the basis of the second book regarding the recognition of family forms. Thus, unlike the Family Code, this book includes family relationships based on forms of cohabitation other than marriage, such as families formed by single parents with their descendants, cohabitation of stable partners and the relations of cohabitation for mutual assistance. The new regulation also includes homoparental families, subject to the differences imposed by nature.
III. Structure and content
This act, of one article, adopts the second book of the Civil Code of Catalonia, on persons and family, and contains nine additional provisions, eight transitional provisions, one repealing provision and five final provisions. It is based on the Family Code: it reorganises its content, amends its technical errors and introduces a number of innovations to adapt the legal system to the new social needs.
The second book of the Civil Code is divided into four titles: Title I concerns the natural persons, Title II regulates the personal protection regimes, Title III deals with the family, and Title IV regulates the other cohabitation relationships.
a) The natural persons
Chapter I of Title I, concerning legal personality and capacity, places the natural persons at the core of civil law. For the purposes of Catalan law, legal personality is acquired by birth, in line with the provisions of Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 November 1989 and ratified by the Spanish State on 30 November 1990. As a matter of fact, this rule merely clarifies and develops what is already apparent from Articles 196.1 and 254.2 of the Code of Succession, which, regarding the capacity to inherit, imply that the acquisition of personality occurs upon the birth of the conceived child. It also makes explicit the principle, which already governed Catalan inheritance law, laid down by Articles 9 and 143.2 of the Code of Succession, among others, that the conceived child is considered to have legal personality for all purposes favourable to him provided he be born later. Concerning personal capacity, the second book emphasises natural capacity as a basic criterion for the acquisition of the capacity to act, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code, which, combined with age, makes it possible to assess capacity in a gradual way, without a strict division in stages over the life of the person.
This chapter also establishes a rule on simultaneous death by stating that, in order for the transmission of rights to occur, the beneficiary of the succession or transmission must have survived the deceased at least seventy-two hours. It seeks to eliminate the problems of proof often arising from these situations. This rule also better respects the will of the deceased who wanted to favour a specific person and not the heirs of the latter.
Finally, this chapter contains provisions on the age of majority and minority and a complete regulation of emancipation and of the legal system concerning the acts of emancipated minors, which fills existing gaps. In this field, it was chosen to repeal the intervention of the two closest relatives to supplement the capacity of the emancipated minor in case of disagreement with or impossibility of the person who should supplement the capacity, as this provision has had no practical significance. For the same reason, the intervention of two relatives regarding curatorship has been repealed.
Chapter II, concerning personal autonomy in the field of health, incorporates the principles of Act 21/2000. The rather scattered provisions of the Family Code regarding these principles in the context of guardianship and de facto custody did not reflect them well nor did they harmonise them. In this regard, the scope of the entitlement to make decisions in place of the patient is clarified and the court approval which had to be asked by the guardian or parents to apply some medical treatments to the persons under their guardianship or authority is removed when this is not required by health legislation. This chapter is completed by rules concerning the advance directive and the placement for reasons of mental disorder, which remove the requirement that it had to be in a closed institution.
b) Personal protection regimes 
The distinction made by Article 3 of Act 29/2002, regarding the content of the second book, between the natural persons and the family, made it possible to emphasise the role of guardianship regimes, as they are dealt with in an autonomous and independent way, preventing them from being seen, in part, as a substitute for family relations. Indeed, Title II of the second book groups together the regimes protecting the adults who can not make decisions for themselves and the protection of minors, particularly minors deprived of parental care. Along with these regimes, this title includes the regulation of assistance and estate protection for disabled and dependent persons.
The main feature of Title II is that it incorporates a variety of protection instruments, which aim to cover the whole range of situations in which disabled persons may find themselves.
This Act maintains the traditional protection regimes related to incapacity, but it also regulates other regimes which operate or may eventually operate without a declaration of incapacity, as in many cases the disabled persons or their families prefer not to request it. This diversity of protection regimes is in line with the duty to respect the rights, will and preferences of the persons, and with the principles of proportionality and adaptability to the circumstances of the protection measures, as advocated by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in New York on 13 December 2006 and ratified by the Spanish State. In particular, the references of the second book to incapacity and incapable persons must be interpreted in accordance with this convention, in the sense least restrictive for personal autonomy.
Chapter I of this title systematises provisions common to all protection regimes and defines such regimes as a duty, under the control of the judicial authority, which must be exercised in the interest of the persons protected and according to their personality, so that the decisions affecting them meet their aspirations and expectations.
Regarding guardianship, Chapter II incorporates the regime of the Family Code, but with some noteworthy developments. On the one hand, in line with a further strengthening of personal autonomy −following the path set by Act 11/1996, of 29 July, modifying Act 39/1991, of 30 December, on guardianship and guardianship regimes, with the admission of the grant of guardianship made by oneself−, it increases the flexibility of the legal response to the progressive loss of personal cognitive and volitional powers, by recognising that, if a power of attorney has been granted in anticipation of a situation of loss of capacity, the fact that this circumstance is reached does not necessarily lead to the termination of such power. That is, it allows the attorney-in-fact to continue to care for the interests of the person who is unable to look after himself or herself, without having to establish guardianship. That does obviously not preclude guardianship from being eventually established, in the interest of the protected person, and the judicial authority can, if asked by the guardian, pronounce the termination of the power of attorney. The declaration of incapacity and the formal establishment of guardianship should not always be necessary, as guardianship is defined as a protective measure, especially in situations of lack of protection of incapable persons, when a serious mental illness is added to the lack, inadequacy or impossibility of family support. Similarly, some precautions have been taken regarding the execution of deeds containing the grant of guardianship made by oneself, as it has too often been found that some deeds of appointment of a guardian are executed just before applying for a declaration of incapacity, which raises the suspicion that there may be a manipulation of free will by the appointed person or, simply, that the grantor was not fully capable. Therefore, on the one hand, the grant of guardianship made by oneself is considered null and void if the deed of grant was executed after the application for a proceeding on capacity has been filed or after the Public Prosecution has taken the initial procedural steps for such proceeding; and on the other hand, the persons called upon by law to exercise guardianship or the Public Prosecution are given standing to challenge the grant made by the person concerned within one year prior to the start of the proceeding on capacity.
This regulation also affects the ability to exercise guardianship functions, and the grounds which excuse a person from guardianship are adapted to the reality of the necessary and appropriate specialisation of guardianship non-profit institutions dedicated to the protection of incapable persons. Therefore, legal persons can be excused from guardianship if they lack sufficient means to exercise guardianship properly or if the personal circumstances of the ward are alien to the purposes for which they were created. Finally, in line with the unanimous criticism of legal practitioners, the regulation of the submission of accounts during the exercise of a guardianship function and upon termination thereof has also been reviewed, and the holders of a guardianship function are accountable to the judicial authority that ordered the guardianship.
Chapters III and IV respectively deal with curatorship and guardianship ad litem. Although curatorship is conceived as a regime where capacity is merely supplemented and the protected person acts for himself or herself, the court order can, in cases of partial incapacity, confer administrative powers to the curator, who may, if necessary, act as a representative. That is why the obligation of accountability, which is proper to the management of affairs of others, is also included. Chapter IV retains the versatile and flexible nature of guardianship ad litem based on its definition as a guardianship regime which has a role in the adjustment of the other protection regimes, including parental authority.
Chapter V defines more precisely de facto custody, which concerns the care of minors deprived of parental care or of adults with a ground for incapacity. In the latter case, the obligation to communicate de facto custody to the judicial authority is limited to cases where the person is in a residential facility, subject to the provisions of procedural law. Practice has shown that only in exceptional and rather extreme cases do families decide to request the declaration of incapacity of elderly persons suffering from senile dementia or other illnesses that prevent them from deciding for themselves. Moreover, when de facto custody is exercised over a person under parental authority or guardianship, the judicial authority may give the custodian guardianship functions, if this seems appropriate in regard of the circumstances of the case, such as the anticipated duration of custody or the needs of the person under custody. The grant of guardianship functions suspends parental authority or guardianship, and prevents the custodian from having to request the deprivation of authority or the removal of guardianship rights, which is a heavy burden, especially in a family context.
Along with the provision which allows not to establish guardianship if a power of attorney was granted in anticipation of a loss of capacity, changes regarding de facto custody are a reflection of the new model of personal protection established by the second book. This model is guided by the idea that incapacity is too drastic a remedy and that it sometimes shows little respect for the natural capacity of the protected person. It is for this very reason that Chapter VI includes a new instrument of protection, assistance, aimed at the adult who needs to care for his person or property because of a non-disabling decrease in his physical or mental faculties. Personal protection is thus not necessarily linked to cases of lack of capacity: it also includes instruments, based on the free development of the personality, which serve to protect persons in situations such as aging, mental illness or disability. This instrument can also be very useful for certain vulnerable groups for whom incapacity and the implementation of a regime of guardianship or curatorship seem disproportionate, such as persons affected by mild mental retardation or other persons for whom, due to the kind of impairment they suffer, traditional instruments are not appropriate to meet their needs. In line with the guidelines of Recommendation R (99) 4, of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, of 28 February 1999, and with the existing precedents in various neighbouring legal systems, it was considered that this model of protection, parallel to guardianship or curatorship, could be more appropriate. Moreover, this trend also inspires the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Chapter VII incorporates into Catalan law the concept of protected estate, whereby assets transferred gratuitously by a settlor, including the proceeds thereof and assets acquired as a replacement thereof, are allocated to meet the basic needs of a person affected by some serious mental or physical disability or by an equally severe situation of dependency. It has been evidenced that, despite the tax benefits established by State law, few Catalan families have used this instrument. That is why, consistently with the purpose of providing estate protection to the beneficiary, the proposed regulation assigns the protected estate to this purpose and is based on the idea that said estate is not liable for the obligations of the beneficiary, of the settlor or of any person who contributed thereto, but is rather solely bound by the obligations entered into by the administrator to meet the basic needs of the protected person. In addition to this concept, a system of management of the protected estate and of supervision of the activity of the administrator is designed and the first additional provision also regulates the creation of the Registry of protected estates.
To complete Title I, Chapter VIII, on the protection of minors deprived of parental care, incorporates into the second book the civil law aspects of Act 37/1991, of 30 December, on measures for the protection of minors deprived of parental care and on adoption, and it takes account of the new model of protection established by the legislation relating to children and adolescents, where the declaration of deprivation of parental care is reserved to severe cases, that is, those where the child should be separated from his family. In this field, the Civil Code of Catalonia regulates the protection of minors deprived of parental care in parallel with the other personal protection regimes, and refers to the legislation on children and adolescents regarding the indicators on deprivation of parental care, the protection measures, the procedure for the adoption and review of such measures, the system of appeals and the grounds for termination. Greater visibility is also given to the role of the foster person or family, who exercises the custody and the parental responsibilities of a personal nature regarding the child, with the powers resulting therefrom, subject to the supervision, advice and help of the responsible agency. In addition, pre-adoptive foster care, as a trial period for adoption, is now regulated, together with adoption, in Chapter V of Title III. This puts an end to the discrimination, albeit only in terms of legislative technique, derived from the fact that the regime of protection of minors deprived of parental care, that is, those for whom there can not be an ordinary guardianship because there is no one in their inner circle to exercise it, was kept apart in a special act, outside of the symbolically most emblematic regulation of Catalan civil law.
Although the exercise of this competence has been rather limited, the public Administration remains entitled to require the deprivation of parental authority and the regulation is complemented by a rule stating that a just cause for deprivation is the fact that parents, without sufficient justification, have failed to provide parental care to their child or to comply with the schedule of personal relations for six months, or the fact that minor or incapable children suffer ill-treatment or sexual abuse.
c) The family
Title III maintains the system of the Family Code, except for the significant addition, in its first provision, of other forms of family, such as the stable partnership and the family formed by a single parent and his or her descendants, together with the recognition that households where non-common children live together are families, without prejudice to the bonds of these children with their other parent.
Chapter I regulates the general provisions on and the effects of marriage, which is defined in line with the new regulatory framework governing the right to marry, and it incorporates an explicit reference to the duty of both spouses to contribute to household responsibilities, including the care for other dependent family members living with them.
Indeed, the new regulatory framework of marriage, along with the determination of filiation by a woman's consent to the application of assisted reproduction techniques to her wife or female partner, and the possibility of joint adoption by same-sex married couples or stable partners, imply that the child may have two fathers or two mothers. It was therefore necessary to harmonise language to achieve greater gender neutrality. In line with this, most of the references made to "husband" and "wife" [“muller”] are replaced by "spouses", and "father" and "mother" are replaced by "parents", which includes both natural and adoptive parents.
As for family expenses, the acquisition and improvement of the family dwelling is excluded from such expenses, as these are investment expenditures which must be linked to the ownership of the immovable property. As a matter of fact, the Family Code already limited them to the share of value in use, but that was not consistent with the fact that this obligation of contribution did not apply if the dwelling was already owned by one spouse before marriage or if he or she had acquired it for profit while married. Moreover, when comparing the abovementioned rule on contribution with the regulation of the liability for the obligations entered into by reason of family expenses, it did not seem consistent that the non-owner spouse could be held jointly and severally liable for this obligation.
The regulation of acquisitions with tontine clause remains incorporated into family law. However, in line with the case law of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya), it is no longer limited to sales but it is rather extended to all kinds of acquisitions for consideration and it is dissociated from the matrimonial property regimes of separation of property or of participation. That does obviously not preclude the possibility that, within or outside of a family unit, other legal forms might be chosen which are clearly related to it, but with a different scope and regulation, such as the inheritance pacts and the specific assignments.
Regarding the marriage contract, the generic reference done in the Family Code to the agreements in anticipation of a marriage breakdown has been developed. The formal and substantive requirements they need to comply with to be fully valid and effective are laid down. These requirements include the possibility of adopting them through a deed other than a marriage contract and a key role is given to the notary who performs the deed, to ensure that the agreements, particularly the agreement to waive rights, were preceded by adequate information about the respective assets and financial perspectives. In line with comparative precedents in this field, the possibility is left to review the effectiveness of the agreement if, at the time of intended performance thereof, it poses a serious harm to either spouse and such spouse proves that changes of circumstances have arisen that were unforeseen or could not reasonably be foreseen at the time of execution of the agreement. Likewise, limits are set to the contractual freedom of the parties regarding the legal provisions where agreements may have more impact, as for the compensatory payment and the financial compensation by reason of work, and a distinction is drawn between the agreements entered into in anticipation of a marriage breakdown and those made when the marriage is already in crisis. It was also considered appropriate to clarify that the exercise of the claims included in the agreement in anticipation of a marriage breakdown can become effective in the subsequent matrimonial proceedings, without the need for any further declaration by the parties.
Finally, in line with the new regulation of succession agreements included in the fourth book of the Civil Code of Catalonia, it was chosen not to include, among others, the rules governing the universal usufruct agreement, as these are based on a model of contractual succession specific to a rural economy that has nothing to do with present-day Catalan society. However, this regime may be agreed upon by the parties if they wish so. Similarly, the complete regulation of gifts contained in the fifth book made it possible to simplify the provisions regarding gifts by reason of marriage, although it was necessary to correct the inconsistency of maintaining in that book a specific rule which referred to the regulation of gifts by reason of marriage contained in the Family Code.
Chapter II, concerning matrimonial property regimes, maintains the regime of separation of property as supplementary legal regime and retains its defining characteristics, with some noteworthy changes. It maintains the principle that property acquired for consideration during marriage belongs to the owner spouse, which is traditionally reinforced by a presumption of gift of the consideration if it can be proven that this came from the property of the other spouse. However, a new feature is that movable assets for family use, such as vehicles, furniture, household appliances or other household items have been excluded from this regime. For this type of assets, proof of formal ownership alone, for example through purchase receipts, is often not very meaningful and, therefore, given the family purpose of these assets, it seems preferable to presume that these belong jointly and equally to both spouses, without prejudice to the possibility of rebutting this presumption by more conclusive evidence.
This chapter also regulates more thoroughly and appropriately the financial compensation by reason of work carried out for the household or for the other spouse, as a corrective to the unwelcome effects sometimes produced by this regime. So far, the implementation of the financial compensation by reason of work has generated many problems mainly due to a lack of regulation, which means that in practice it has become a rather unpredictable factor, given the high degree of discretion of the judicial authority. Legislative action was considered necessary to provide clearer regulatory guidelines together with rules clarifying whether compensation is to be paid and for which amount. Accordingly, the new regulation no longer refers to compensation as an alternative remedy against unjust enrichment, it dismisses the concept of excessive contribution to family expenses implicit in the wording of Article 41 of the Family Code, in force until the entry into force of this Act, and it is simply based on the imbalance that occurs between the financial situations of the spouses when one spouse performs a task which generates no accrued gains and the other performs a task which does. To this end, it suffices to establish that either spouse was substantially more involved with household responsibilities than the other. The type of work performed and the duration and intensity of the involvement are considered to calculate the amount of compensation, and limits are set to judicial discretion in assessing the importance of these factors, as said amount is limited to one fourth of the difference in the accrual of assets obtained by the spouses while the matrimonial regime was in force. However, a higher compensation can be granted if the creditor spouse can prove that the impact of his or her work in the other spouse's accrual of assets has been significantly higher. The regulation of the financial compensation also clarifies the scope of the autonomy of the spouses to enter into agreements on compensation, even in anticipation of a marriage breakdown. A new feature is that the de facto assumption also applies to cases of termination of the regime due to the death of one spouse if the surviving spouse is entitled to compensation.
Regarding the other property regimes, both the regime of participation in gains and the regime of community of property have been reviewed to address the weaknesses which, in practice, hampered their use as an alternative to the supplementary legal regime.
Chapter III looks at the consequences of annulment of marriage, divorce and legal separation and it begins with a specific regulation of the interim measures which is more in line with the needs of Catalan civil law. It also regulates for the first time the so-called “amicable separation agreements” and it determines their validity and effects, while stressing their binding nature, but also providing for a period of revocation in order to ensure that agreements are taken freely. Specifically, the spouse who did not have independent legal aid when the agreement was taken may have it annulled within three months following adoption or, at most, until the moment of the response to the claim or, where appropriate, the counterclaim in the matrimonial proceeding where its enforcement is sought. This possibility is justified by the particular context in which the parties sign these agreements. There are often serious imbalances in the information available to each party, and agreements are reached in situations of anxiety or stress which make it difficult to objectively assess the terms agreed upon, where there is a high risk of exploitation or abuse of one party by the other.
As for the responsibility of the parents towards the children upon separation or divorce, two developments are noteworthy. The first one is that any proposal of the parents in this field should be incorporated into the judicial proceedings in the form of a parenting plan, which is an instrument detailing how both parents propose to exercise parental responsibilities and what their commitments are regarding the custody, care and education of the children. Without imposing a specific type of organisation, it encourages parents, whether the proceeding is amicable or contested, to organise child care in a responsible and autonomous manner when marriage breaks down, by anticipating criteria to solve the major problems affecting them. In line with this, it facilitates collaboration between the lawyers of both parties and with independent psychologists, psychiatrists, educators and social workers, to intervene on aspects related to marriage breakdown before filing the application. This aims at encouraging the adoption of specific agreements, the transparency between both parties and the implementation of the commitments made.
Another new feature is that this regulation departs from the general principle that the breakdown of cohabitation between parents automatically means that children should be separated from one parent and left to the other one. Instead, this regulation introduces as a rule that the annulment, divorce or separation does not alter the responsibilities of the parents towards their children. Consequently, after breakdown, these responsibilities remain shared and it is for the judicial authority to determine, if there is no agreement on a parenting plan or if this is not approved, how parental responsibilities, and in particular the custody of the minor, should be exercised, bearing in mind the joint nature of these responsibilities and the best interests of the minor.
It is considered that, in general, co-parenting and the maintenance of shared parental responsibilities materially reflect the child's interest to maintain a stable relationship with both parents. Equal rights and duties between parents eliminate the dynamics of winners and losers, and promote collaboration in the affective, educational and financial aspects. France, Italy and Belgium have recently adopted regulations in this sense. However, this does not prevent the judicial authority from deciding according to the circumstances of each case and depending on the specific interest of the children. That is why the second book provides a set of criteria which must be considered together in order to determine custody schedules and how to exercise them.
The message of the second book is to encourage forms of co-parenting and the use of mediation as a tool to ensure the stability of relations after the breakdown between the parents, and the natural adaptation of the rules to changing circumstances, but it does not forget that family relationships in our society still maintain a high degree of sexism. It has also been considered that the role of the mother is qualitatively more necessary for children than that of the father when the family dynamics are built on traditional models, be it a Catalan traditional model or that of other cultures which have become part of the Catalan society. For this reason, the specific bonds of the children with one of the parents and the dedication to the children that the mother or father may have had before marriage breakdown are stressed as criteria for determining individual custody.
More specifically, in line with Act 5/2008, of 24 April, on the right of women to eradicate sexist violence, and bearing in mind the fight against this violence, this regulation excludes from any involvement in the custody the parent against whom there exists a final judgement or grounded suspicion of domestic or sexist violence and it explicitly establishes the supervision of personal relations in risk situations.
Finally, based on the recognition of the privileged nature of the relations between minors and their closest community, particularly with their grandparents and siblings, a procedure is established to ensure the effective application of the right of minor children to maintain these personal relations in case of marital crisis.
With respect to the regulation of the compensatory allowance, the outlines established in the Family Code remain unaltered, but, as the possibility of payment in a lump sum is generalised, it is now called compensatory payment. Indeed, many divorces involve marriages with a very short average duration and relatively young people, so that, in general, the loss suffered by both partners is similar, or married life has not hopelessly jeopardised the financial opportunities of any of them. This has not led, however, to fundamental changes in the legal definition of compensatory payment. It has been considered that the increased participation of women in the labour market has not been paralleled, in practice, by a sharing of home and family responsibilities between spouses and in many cases the occupational or professional activity of one spouse is still subordinate to that of the other spouse, to the extent that in certain educational and income levels, it remains common for one spouse, typically the woman, to exit the labour market upon marriage or when having children. Both circumstances call for a recognition of the right to compensatory payment related to the living standards that the spouses enjoyed during marriage, in the understanding that preference is given to the children’s maintenance right and that the amount of said payment needs to be determined according to the criteria detailed by this regulation. However, for cases in which the payment is done as an allowance, the regulation stresses its essentially temporary nature, unless exceptional circumstances make it advisable to grant it indefinitely. In general, the waiver of the right to compensatory payment, including that incorporated into premarital agreements, is permitted within the framework set by the second book and subject to the fact that the initial waiver may not end up compromising the basic needs of the spouse who is entitled to such payment.
The rules on the award of the use of the family dwelling show important developments. Despite awarding it preferably to the custodial spouse, the need to assess the circumstances of the case is emphasised. To this end, the Act provides that, upon request of the person concerned, the award of the use of the family dwelling can be excluded if this would be beneficial to a parent who has sufficient resources to meet his or her needs and those of the children, or if the parent who should assign such use can meet with sufficient guarantee his or her obligations regarding child maintenance and the compensatory payment awarded to the spouse, which should cover his or her housing needs. Conversely, if the use of the family dwelling is awarded to a spouse by reason of the custody of the children, but it is foreseeable that the needs of this spouse shall continue after the children attain majority, the use of the family dwelling can be awarded from the beginning on this ground. In any case, the award on grounds of needs is always temporary, without prejudice to the extensions which may be requested as appropriate. This regulation aims at limiting the excessive tendency in case law to give the award a permanent nature to the detriment of the interests of the owner spouse. This field is completed by the establishment of criteria for the distribution of the obligations regarding the dwelling and for the resolution of the case, very frequent in practice, where a close relative has assigned an immovable property to be used by the spouses as a dwelling. As reiterated in case law, those who occupy the family dwelling in precarious conditions can not get a possessory protection superior to that provided to the family by the person who holds the precarious title. However, if possession derives from a contract, the provisions thereof must be observed, without prejudice to the possibility of subrogation provided for by tenancy legislation.
With regard to the consequences of annulment of marriage, divorce and separation, the second book further develops the limited rules on mediation laid down by Article 76.2 of the Family Code. It is based on the general regulation of mediation made by general law, but special features are defined for the institutions specific to personal and family law especially regarding the confidentiality of mediation prior to filing an application. It lays down that in any stage of matrimonial proceedings the spouses may request to submit the disagreement to mediation or that the judicial authority can refer them on its own motion to an information session on mediation, without affecting the voluntary nature thereof.
Chapter IV is dedicated to stable cohabitation partnerships and it fully replaces Act 10/1998, hence ending the separate treatment given by the Catalan legal system to stable partnerships. As is well known, although the regulation of stable partnerships followed a parliamentary procedure parallel to that of the Family Code and was adopted at the same plenary session, it was ultimately incorporated into a special act. Moreover, with the adoption of State Act 13/2005, of 1 July, amending the Civil Code concerning the right to marry, a very substantial part of the objectives originally pursued by that special act have become obsolete, because it is undeniable that one of its main purposes was to give a legal status to couples who, according to the state of the law before State Act 13/2005, were excluded from access to marriage.
Unlike the Act on stable partnerships, the regulation of stable cohabitation partnerships included in the second book no longer provides any difference on grounds of sexual orientation of the partners. It also extends the substantive scope of the legislation, by including stable partners who are unable to marry because one of them is still married to someone else. As this is essentially a regulation aimed at solving the problems arising from the end of cohabitation, unequal treatment is not justified. This regulation further aims at avoiding that a significant number of couples - according to some estimates, around 30% of heterosexual couples in Catalonia and an unknown number of homosexual couples - remain outside the scope of the regulation and that the consequences of breakdown should be determined through vague case law.
While cohabitation lasts, stable partnerships are governed solely by the agreements of the cohabitants, including, in line with the case law of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, the possibility of joint acquisitions for consideration with tontine clause. However, the protection against the disposal of the family dwelling, already established by Act 10/1998, remains in force as a measure to protect the family. New developments are the incorporation into the law of the agreements in anticipation of the end of cohabitation, with references to the limits established for married couples, and a regulation of the award of the use of the family dwelling in the case of a relationship breakdown. Finally, the fifth additional provision states that legal disputes concerning the breakdown of stable partnerships follow the same procedure as matrimonial proceedings.
The regulatory model of stable partnerships established by the second book is the most appropriate one for the current Catalan society. It is clear that a project of common life nowadays does not necessarily start through marriage. Unlike other countries around Catalonia, however, the incidence of non-marital cohabitation is relatively low, and recent studies show that this cohabitation is seen by young couples as quite different from marriage, based on indicators such as duration, stability, fertility and the degree of mutual commitment expressed through acts such as the sharing of assets or similar goods. It is mostly seen as a trial marriage, be it because the couple ultimately breaks down or because it leads to marriage. A legal status for stable partnership seems thus dispensable, and it would also be very difficult to reconcile with the wide variety of forms of cohabitation. Obviously this does not preclude that, when the breakdown of cohabitation entails that one of the partners is in a situation of need – because of its duration, because children were born out of it or, in general, because of decisions made by each of the cohabiting persons in the common interest – this person may obtain from the other partner the resources necessary to rebuild his or her life. All this without prejudice to the right to financial compensation by reason of work carried out for the household or for the other partner, which arises irrespective of the legal status of the cohabitation and which is due to the fact that, in the common interest, one partner carried out a task which generated accrued gains while the other carried out another task which did not.
Chapter V, on filiation, covers both natural filiation and filiation by adoption, which were regulated by separate titles in the Family Code.
As for natural filiation, this regulation incorporates the changes regarding the filiation of children born as a result of assisted reproduction which were introduced by Act 10/2008, of 10 July, on the fourth book of the Civil Code of Catalonia, regarding successions, which make it possible to establish the maternity of the woman who consents to the application of techniques of assisted human reproduction to her spouse or to the partner with whom she lives as a stable partner. Obviously, maternity resulting from the mere consent to the assisted reproduction of the spouse or partner is not, by nature, a biological maternity but a purely legal relationship. But this is nothing new in the Catalan legal system. It also occurs with the paternity of the man, married or not, who consents to the assisted reproduction of his spouse or partner. For this reason, it was not thought appropriate to include a new legal category for this type of filiation and it was chosen to assimilate it, in terms of legal treatment, to the paternity of the man who consents to assisted reproduction as in both cases the ground for the establishment of filiation is consent, and not the biological relationship. The fact that the maternity of the spouse or partner who consents to the assisted reproduction of the future biological mother can be established directly affects the means of establishing filiation: it was thus necessary to add the consent to assisted reproduction to the list of grounds to establish filiation. It was also considered necessary to extend the challenge of the recognition to include this new ground, which avoids having to implement by analogy the legislation on assisted human reproduction techniques.
Finally, to dispel any doubt about the inapplicability in Catalonia of the provisions of State Act 1/2000, of 7 January, on civil procedure, which require, in the proceedings on filiation, to provide prima facie evidence of the facts in support of the action, this regulation clearly states that, under Catalan law, this evidence is not required for the admissibility of the action, also in line with the case law of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, in the tradition of Catalan law.
With regard to filiation by adoption, the most substantial changes occurred with the adoption of Act 3/2005, which enabled same-sex couples to adopt. Subsequently, Act 10/2008 removed restrictions on the creation of family ties between the adopted child and its descendants and the family of the adopter. The second book introduces systemic changes, as it was opted for a joint regulation of adoption and pre-adoptive foster care, giving precedence to the conception of foster care as a period of adaptation of the minor to the person or the family who is to adopt it. As for the formalisation of pre-adoptive foster care, references are made to the procedure established by the legislation on children and adolescents. Furthermore, this regulation explicitly recognises the right of adoptees to know the information regarding their origin and, in line with modern comparative law, adoptive parents have the obligation to inform the adopted child about his or her adoption. To ensure effectiveness thereof, a confidential mediation procedure is provided for. Exceptionally, procedures are also established to allow the adopted child, in his or her best interest, to maintain personal relations with the family of origin.
Chapter VI concerns parental authority, which is part of the parental responsibilities that parents bear as a result of filiation.
In this area, in line with the developments in other European legal systems, provisions are included to meet the needs of so-called blended or reconstructed families, that is, those families involving couples with non-common dependent children. Until the entry into force of the second book, the adoption of the child of a spouse or partner, though not always possible, was the only way to allow the spouse or partner of the biological parent to exercise parental authority over the children of the latter, especially in case of death of the other parent or if the other parent had neglected the child and the current partner of the mother or father had become the paternal or maternal reference of the child. The second book entitles said partner to intervene in matters concerning relations with educators, care for ordinary needs and other decisions that affect the minor and in which he or she is often physically involved. In addition to being entitled to perform, during the cohabitation, these actions of everyday life in the interest of the child of the other spouse or partner, this regulation provides for the possibility that, in case of death of the parent who had exclusive custody, if the child is not returned to the custody of the other parent, the judicial authority may exceptionally award custody and the other parental responsibilities to the surviving spouse or partner, provided that this is in the child’s interests and that both the child and the other parent have been heard.
Finally, in order to give a clear answer to the problems of violence in family relations, the fact that minor children may have been direct or indirect victims of sexist violence in their personal relations with their parents is considered a just cause for the judicial authority to suspend or withdraw the relations of the parents with their minor children.
Chapter VII, on family maintenance obligations, retains the regulation of the Family Code with few changes. Firstly, reference needs to be made to the rule, aiming at protecting from and fighting against the scourge of domestic and sexist violence, which allows to claim the performance of the maintenance obligations due prior to the judicial or extrajudicial claim, if these were not claimed for a reason attributable to the person required to perform such obligations, which happens frequently in cases of abuse of the person who should claim them. Secondly, the inconsistent regulation on rights to maintenance for siblings, descendants and ascendants is repealed, so that, based on the principle of self-satisfaction of the own needs, it is made explicit in general terms that the persons who are in need for a cause attributable to themselves are not entitled to maintenance, while this cause exists.
d) Other relations of cohabitation
Act 19/1998 regulated the cohabitation between collateral relatives or between people merely united by bonds of friendship or companionship who, though not forming a nuclear family, live in the same dwelling and share the housework in a spirit of mutual assistance and of durability. This Act is incorporated, with some changes, into the second book, as a title IV. The first change is the name of the institution, which is now called, in a more descriptive way, relation of cohabitation for mutual assistance. In terms of content, it was felt that it was unnecessary to maintain the right to financial compensation by reason of work, which was based on a strict parallelism with marriage and stable relationships, as this situation will hardly arise, since the purpose of the relations of cohabitation for mutual assistance is to resolve the specific difficulties of the elderly. Likewise, the rule which allowed to assign the use of the jointly owned dwelling to one of the co-owners, without any time limit nor guidelines, has been repealed. This is a matter to be resolved by the rules of the co-ownership.
Regarding the private care agreement governed by Act 22/2000, of 29 December, on private care for elderly people, although it is somehow inspired by institutions of family law and its content is based on concepts of kinship, it must be kept out of the second book, as it is a contract for pecuniary interest which involves a consideration, and it should, if this is deemed appropriate, be integrated into the sixth book, on obligations and contracts.
IV. Final part of the Act
This Act includes nine additional provisions, concerning the establishment of the Registry of protected estates, measures to reconcile work and family life directed at the staff of the Catalan public administration who cohabit with a stable partner, special procedures regarding property claims in matrimonial proceedings and in the proceedings of liquidation and distribution of inheritance, the procedures relating to the breakdown of stable partnership, the expert opinions regarding the regulation of the exercise of parental responsibility, the supervision of the schedule of personal relations, the intervention of specialists as ancillary court staff in the control of the protection regimes and the information about the parenting plan. With respect to special procedures, this regulation aims at providing a procedural remedy to lodge the claims of financial compensation by reason of work and to encourage that all relevant documentation is submitted in those proceedings. To this end, it lays down that the judicial authority can incorporate into the proceedings all substantial information contained in the files of other cases, pending or resolved, between the parties. There are eight transitory provisions. These provisions deal with various practical consequences of the replacement of the law predating the entry into force of the second book. Of particular importance is the third transitory provision, whereby parties may agree to review the measures adopted in matrimonial proceedings in those areas where the new regulation opens up new possibilities.
This Act replaces all the existing Catalan law on personal and family matters and, properly harmonised and adapted to current social needs, it incorporates it into the most emblematic text of Catalan civil law.
The three final provisions amend certain provisions of the first, fourth and fifth books of the Civil Code of Catalonia, in order to harmonise their content with the criteria set by the second book. The fourth final disposition concerns the references made by Act 21/2000 to the Family Code, which must now be understood as referring to the second book. A fifth provision establishes the entry into force of this Act.
Sole article 
The second book of the Civil Code of Catalonia is adopted, with the following content:
Second book. Persons and family
Title I. Natural persons
Chapter I. Legal personality and capacity
Article 211-1. Legal personality
1. Legal personality is inherent to natural persons from birth.
2. The conceived child is considered to have legal personality for all purposes favourable to him provided he be born later.
3. Legal personality is extinguished by death.
Article 211-2. Simultaneous death
Eligibility for succession or the transfer of rights in favour of a person, when these depend upon whether such person survived another, are only effective if such person lived at least seventy-two hours longer than the predeceased.
Article 211-3. Capacity to act
1. The capacity to act of the persons is based on their natural capacity, in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
2. Full capacity to act is reached upon attaining majority.
3. The limitations on the capacity to act must be interpreted restrictively, with regard to the natural capacity.
Article 211-4. Majority
1. Majority is attained at the age of eighteen years.
2. The day of birth is considered as a whole to calculate age.
Article 211-5. Minority
The minor may, according to his age and natural capacity, perform the following acts alone:
a) Those concerning personality rights, unless otherwise provided by the laws governing such rights.
b) Those concerning goods or services which are proper to his age, according to social practices.
c) Other acts permitted by law.
Article 211-6. Minor’s best interests
1. The minor’s best interests are the guiding principle for any decision affecting him.
2. The minor, according to his age and natural capacity and, in any case, if twelve years of age or over, has the right to be informed and heard before a decision is taken which directly affects his person or property.
3. Any act of the legal representative involving any personal performance of the minor requires the consent of the latter if he is twelve years of age or over or if, although younger, he has enough discernment.
Article 211-7. Emancipation
1. The emancipated minor can perform the same legal acts as an adult, provided his capacity is supplemented for the acts laid down by Article 211-12.
2. The capacity of the emancipated minor is supplemented by the assistance of his adult spouse in case of emancipation by marriage, of his parents or, if he has none, of his curator.
Article 211-8. Forms of emancipation
1. Emancipation can occur:
a) By marriage.
b) By consent of the persons exercising parental authority or guardianship.
c) By court order.
2. Emancipation is irrevocable and must be recorded in the Civil Registry. Prior to recording, it produces no effect against third parties.
Article 211-9. Emancipation by consent
1. Emancipation by consent of the persons exercising parental authority or guardianship requires that the minor be sixteen years or over and consent thereto. If emancipation is by consent of the guardian, it also requires court approval with a report by the Public Prosecution.
2. Emancipation by consent is granted by public deed or by appearance before the judicial authority in charge of the Civil Registry. The notary must notify of his own motion the emancipation to the Civil Registry.
Article 211-10. Emancipation by court order
1. The judicial authority may grant emancipation, at the request of the minor under sixteen years, if there are reasons which make it impossible to live with the parents or guardian, or which seriously impede the exercise of parental authority or guardianship.
2. The court order granting emancipation requires the preliminary hearing of the persons exercising parental authority or guardianship and a report of the Public Prosecution.
Article 211-11. Independent living of the minor
1. The minor over sixteen years of age is considered emancipated if he lives in a financially independent manner from his parents or guardian, with their consent. Such consent may be revoked.
2. In the case referred to in paragraph 1, the capacity of the minor needs to be supplemented for the same acts than in the case of an emancipated minor.
Article 211-12. Acts requiring the capacity to be supplemented
1. The capacity of the emancipated minor needs to be supplemented to:
a) Perform the acts referred to in Article 236-27.1.
b) Accept the office of director of a company.
2. Supplemented capacity may not be granted in general, but it may be granted for various acts, be they current or future, of the same nature or relating to the same economic activity, by specifying their circumstances and basic features.
3. Acts performed without supplemented capacity are voidable within four years, at the request of the person who should have granted such supplemented capacity in accordance with Article 211-7, and, upon attaining majority, at the request of the person concerned.
4. Supplemented capacity concerning property and rights acquired by way of gift or inheritance is not required if the donor or the deceased expressly excluded it.
Article 211-13. Failure to grant supplemented capacity
Emancipated minors may apply for court approval to act alone in cases of impossibility of or disagreement among the persons who should grant the supplemented capacity, or if such capacity is not granted without due cause.
Chapter II. Personal autonomy in the field of health
Section one. Medical treatments
Article 212-1. Right to health information
1. Any person has the right to receive truthful and understandable information in a manner appropriate to his needs and to his requests on the importance of any intervention in the field of his personal health to help him make independent decisions, unless he has expressed his desire not to be informed. This right is directly enforceable in the courts.
2. The patient is the person entitled to the information and he has the right to permit and authorise access to information concerning his health, unless otherwise provided by law.
3. Any person has the right to the confidentiality of the data relating to his health and to the non-recording of his personal health data which are not strictly necessary.
4. If the person is in a physical or mental condition preventing him from receiving or understanding information, such information should be given, in the manner prescribed by health legislation, to the person appointed in the advance directive, to his duly appointed assistant, to his legal representative, to the person who exercises the de facto custody, to family members or to persons connected to him, as appropriate.
Article 212-2. Informed consent
1. Persons over sixteen years of age and minors with sufficient intellectual and emotional maturity to understand the importance of an intervention to their health must give consent themselves, unless otherwise provided by health legislation.
2. When a person is in a physical or mental condition preventing him from looking after himself or making a decision, consent must be obtained, in the manner prescribed by health legislation, from those persons who must receive the information referred to in Article 212-1.4.
3. The person concerned, or those who supplement his capacity, may, in the interest of the person concerned, withdraw the consent given.
4. If the persons called upon to give substitute consent refuse to do so, the judicial authority may authorise the intervention at the request of the attending medical practitioner and in the interest of the person who is unable not consent.
Article 212-3. Advance directive
1. Any adult person with full legal capacity can express in an advance directive the instructions regarding the performance of medical acts and treatments in case he may be in a situation where he can not decide for himself. He can also appoint a substitute person to receive information about his health and to decide on the performance of such actions and treatments.
2. The advance directive may contain provisions concerning organ or body donation and forms of burial or cremation.
3. The professionals who treat the grantor of an advance directive must comply with the instructions expressed therein within the limits laid down by health legislation.
4. The formalisation of the advance directive, the procedure for the communication thereof to the health centre and the effects thereof must comply with the provisions of the specific health legislation.
5. The advance directive can be revoked.
6. If the person executing an advance directive has also voluntarily granted guardianship over himself in accordance with Article 222-4 and both acts contain designations or instructions incompatible with each other, the later document prevails.
Section two. Placements
Article 212-4. Placement
The placement of a person in a specialised institution by reason of any mental disorder or disease which may affect the cognitive ability requires prior court approval if, irrespective of his age, his situation does not allow him to decide for himself.
Article 212-5. Emergency placement
1. No prior court approval is required in case of medical emergency requiring immediate placement. This cause must be proven by a medical practitioner and must be based on an immediate and serious threat to the health of the patient or to the physical or mental integrity of the patient or of other persons.
2. The director of the institution where the placement is made must within twenty four hours inform thereof the judicial authority in whose territorial jurisdiction the institution is located.
3. The judicial authority must approve or annul the placement, according to procedural law, within seventy-two hours after receiving the information.
4. The judicial authority, in the court order approving the placement, must state the duration thereof, which can not exceed two months. During said term, the director of the institution must report regularly on the situation of the person placed, in order to review whether the measure is still necessary. At the request of the director of the institution, the judicial authority may decide, given the situation of the person placed, that subsequent reports be issued at greater intervals, not exceeding six months.
Article 212-6. Change in the circumstances of the voluntary placement
If a person who consented to his own placement by reason of a mental disorder is no longer able to decide on the continuing placement because the clinical circumstances or the risk associated with the disorder have changed significantly, the director of the institution must inform thereof the judicial authority so that, where appropriate, the latter may ratify the continuing placement, in accordance with the provisions of Article 212-5.3.
Section three. Decisions about one’s own body
Article 212-7. Decisions about one’s own body
Free consent of the persons is essential in the issues which may affect their dignity, integrity and physical and mental well-being, particularly as to their own bodies and their reproductive and sexual health.
Title II. Personal protection regimes
Chapter I. Common provisions
Article 221-1. Protective function 
The functions of protection of the minors, of the persons who can not make decisions for themselves, if not under parental authority, and of the persons who need assistance, must always be exercised in the best interest of the persons assisted, in accordance with their personality, and such functions are directed to the care of such persons, to the administration or protection of their assets and property interests and to the exercise of their rights.
Article 221-2. Duty to exercise the protective function
1. The exercise of the protective function is a highly personal obligation. The excuse from carrying out such function is only supported in the cases referred to in Article 222-18.
2. The holders of the protective functions may only grant special powers for specific acts or several acts of the same nature or relating to the same economic activity.
Article 221-3. Gratuitous nature
The persons holding protective functions exercise them gratuitously, except where remuneration is expressly provided for. However, they are entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred and compensation for damage by reason of said exercise, which are borne by the property of the assisted person.
Article 221-4. Duty to inform and to hear the assisted person
The holders of the protective functions must inform and hear the assisted person in accordance with the provisions of Article 211-6 if it is a minor and, if it is an adult, provided he has enough discernment.
Article 221-5. Measures of control 
1. The judicial authority, on its own motion or at the request of the Public Prosecution, of the holders of the protective functions, of the assisted person himself, or of persons called upon to exercise guardianship under Article 222-10, may decide, at any time, the measures necessary to control the proper functioning of the protection regime, without prejudice to the control measures laid down by the person concerned or by the parents of the minor or incapable person.
2. The judicial authority, for the purposes of monitoring the progress and living conditions of the persons and in respect of measures of control of the administration of property, may require the intervention of specialists, who have the consideration of ancillary court staff.
Chapter II. Guardianship
Section one. General provisions
Article 222-1. Persons who must be placed under guardianship
The following persons must be placed under guardianship:
a) Unemancipated minors who are not under parental authority.
b) Incapable persons, if so required by court order.
Article 222-2. Power of attorney in anticipation of a loss of capacity
1. Adults who, due to an illness or persistent physical or psychological impairment, can not make decisions for themselves, need not be placed under guardianship if, for this purpose, they have designated by public deed an attorney-in-fact to care for their interests.
2. The principal may specify that the power of attorney shall become effective upon execution thereof, or he may state the circumstances whereby it shall becomes effective. In the first case, the subsequent loss of capacity by the principal does not cause the termination of the power. The principal may also lay down measures of control and the grounds for the termination of such power.
3. When, in the interest of the protected person, guardianship is established, the judicial authority may, at that time or thereafter, at the request of the guardian, order the termination of the power of attorney.
Article 222-3. Forms of grant of guardianship
1. Guardianship is granted by:
a) Will or codicil.
b) Public deed.
c) Court order.
2. Guardianship of minors deprived of parental care is granted in the manner prescribed by law and is governed by special regulation.
Section two. Voluntary grant of guardianship
Article 222-4. Grant of guardianship made by oneself
1. Any person with full legal capacity may, for the case he should be declared incapable, designate by public deed one or more persons for the exercise of guardianship functions or exclude them therefrom. He may also make arrangements concerning the functioning and the content of the protection regime which may be appropriate, especially regarding care for his person.
2. The execution of a later deed containing the grant of guardianship revokes the previous deed in all matters which may have been modified or may be inconsistent with the later deed.
3. Grants of guardianship made by oneself executed after the application for a proceeding on capacity has been filed or after the Public Prosecution has taken the initial procedural steps for such proceeding are null and void.
Article 222-5. Guardianship granted by the holders of parental authority
1. The holders of parental authority may establish guardianship over their unemancipated minor children and, if they exercise the extended or recovered parental authority, over their incapable adult or emancipated children to the extent permitted by Article 222-4.1.
2. In the case referred to in paragraph 1, grant of guardianship may be made by public deed, will or codicil, individually or jointly.
Article 222-6. Concurrent appointments or exclusions
In case of concurrent appointments or exclusions made by the holders of parental authority, the will of that holder who exercised it last prevails, without prejudice, where appropriate, to the effectiveness of the appointment made by the other holder of parental authority of a special administrator of the property which said holder may have transmitted by way of gift or inheritance to the minor or incapable person.
Article 222-7. Substitutes
1. In the acts of voluntary grant of guardianship functions, substitutes may be designated.
2. If several persons are designated as a substitute guardian and the order of replacement is not specified, the one designated in the later document prevails and, if there is more than one person, the one designated first.
Article 222-8. Recording
1. The grant of guardianship by public deed in exercise of the powers provided for in Articles 222-4 and 222-5 must be recorded in the Registry of Inter Vivos Appointments of Guardians.
2. The notary who performs the deed must communicate it on his own motion to the registry referred to in paragraph 1 in accordance with its specific regulation.
3. The powers granted in anticipation of a situation of incapacity must be recorded in the Registry of Inter Vivos Appointments of Guardians.
Article 222-9. Appointment
1. When guardianship is established, the judicial authority must appoint the persons designated in the act of voluntary grant of guardianship.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, given the circumstances of the case and at the request of the Public Prosecution or of any of the persons called upon by law to exercise guardianship in accordance with Article 222-10, the judicial authority may ignore such designation in the following cases:
a) If there has been a change of the grounds which were explicitly or presumably considered when establishing the act of voluntary grant of guardianship.
b) If the act of voluntary grant of guardianship was done within the year preceding the commencement of the proceeding on the capacity of the protected person.
Section three. Judicial grant of guardianship
Article 222-10. Order of the grant of guardianship
1. The judicial authority is competent to appoint a guardian if no one is designated by an act of voluntary grant of guardianship, if said designation is inappropriate or if the designated person declines such appointment or ceases to carry out his duties for any reason.
2. In the case referred to in paragraph 1, the judicial authority prefers, to exercise guardianship:
a) The spouse or stable partner of the incapable person, if they live together.
b) The adult descendants of the incapable person.
c) The ascendants of the minor or incapable person, unless parental authority has been extended or recovered.
d) In case of death of the parent of the minor or incapable person, the spouse or stable partner of such parent, if he or she lives with the person to be placed under guardianship.
e) The siblings of the minor or incapable person.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, if it deems it best for the interests of the minor or incapable person, the judicial authority may, by a duly reasoned decision, alter the established order or choose the person who has acted as an assistant or as a de facto custodian, those who volunteer to carry out these functions or any other person.
4. If several persons are willing to exercise guardianship, the judicial authority can refer them to an information session on family mediation, in order to reach an agreement.
5. If no one in the family or community environment is willing to exercise guardianship, the judicial authority must appoint public or private non-profit legal persons capable of satisfactorily exercising guardianship.
Article 222-11. Guardianship of siblings
Judicial grant of the guardianship of minor siblings should be assigned to one person, unless circumstances justify a different decision.
Article 222-12. Separation from administration of property
1. When establishing guardianship, the judicial authority may separate the guardianship of the person from the administration of his property, appoint the holders of both functions and determine their field of competence.
2. The judicial authority, on its own motion or at the request of the guardian, of the Public Prosecution or of the ward, may appoint an administrator of the property during the exercise of guardianship if the property of the ward reaches considerable importance or if there is another reason making it necessary.
Article 222-13. Remuneration
1. The person concerned or the holders of parental authority, in the act of voluntary grant of guardianship, or the judicial authority, in the decision approving the inventory, where appropriate, may determine a remuneration for the guardian and, as the case may be, for the administrator of the property, provided the property of the ward permits it.
2. The judicial authority may change the amount of remuneration if it is excessive or insufficient in view of the circumstances of the guardianship, or if the property of the ward varies substantially.
Section four. Establishment and exercise of guardianship
Article 222-14. Persons who must request the establishment of guardianship
1. The persons referred to in Article 222-10 and the persons or institutions who exercise custody over a minor or over a person who has to be placed under guardianship must request establishment thereof and are responsible for the damages caused to that person, if they fail to do so.
2. The public entity competent for the protection of minors must request the establishment of guardianship for the minors deprived of parental care left under its care if there are persons capable of exercising guardianship in the interest of the minors.
3. The Public Prosecution must request the establishment of guardianship or the judicial authority must order it on its own motion if they have knowledge that any person should be placed under guardianship within the scope of their jurisdiction.
4. Any person who knows the situation referred to in paragraph 3 must inform the judicial authority or the Public Prosecution.
Article 222-15. Ability to exercise guardianship functions
Guardianship or administration of property can be held by natural persons with full capacity to act in the absence of any of the following grounds of inability:
a) Being deprived of or suspended from the exercise of parental authority or custody by final court order or administrative ruling, or having been previously so for a period of five years.
b) Having been removed from guardianship on a ground attributable to said persons.
c) Serving a custodial sentence.
d) Being in a situation of declared bankruptcy and not having been rehabilitated, unless guardianship does not include the administration of property.
e) Having been convicted for any crime based on which it can be assumed that guardianship would not be exercised properly.
f) Acting in a manner which might adversely affect the child's education or the care of the disabled person.
g) Being in a situation of de facto impossibility to exercise a guardianship function.
h) Having enmity with the person under guardianship, or having past or present disputes or conflicts of interest with him.
i) Lacking any known means of subsistence.
Article 222-16. Guardianship by legal persons
1. Guardianship can be exercised by non-profit legal persons dedicated to the protection of minor or disabled persons and which comply with the legal requirements.
2. Legal persons must notify to the competent public entity the appointment and cessation as guardians within fifteen days after the occurrence thereof.
3. Legal persons must entrust welfare of the ward to one or more professionals. None of the situations of inability established by Article 222-15 may apply to these persons.
Article 222-17. Exclusion due to a conflict of interest
1. Guardianship and administration of property, or the material implementation of guardianship functions, may not be exercised by private legal or natural persons that are in a situation of conflict of interest with the protected person. In particular, such functions may not be exercised by persons who, under a contractual relationship, provide care services, be they residential services or services similar in nature, to the protected person.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, under exceptional circumstances due to the needs of the person under guardianship, the judicial authority may allow the guardianship institutions to provide care and residential services.
Article 222-18. Excuses from exercising guardianship functions
1. The following grounds may be invoked to be excused from exercising guardianship functions: age, disease, lack of relationship with the person to be placed under guardianship, reasons arising from the characteristics of the professional occupation of the designated person, or any other ground which makes the exercise of guardianship especially burdensome or which may affect it.
2. Legal persons can be excused from exercising guardianship functions if they lack sufficient human and material resources to properly exercise such functions or if the situation of the person to be placed under guardianship does not conform to the purposes for which said legal persons were created.
Article 222-19. Claim and acceptance of the excuse
1. The excuse must be claimed within fifteen days from notice of the appointment. If the excuse comes later, it must be claimed with the utmost diligence.
2. The person who invokes excuse after having accepted the guardianship function must exercise such function until the judicial authority accepts the excuse.
3. The judicial authority, simultaneously with the acceptance of the excuse, must appoint another person to exercise guardianship.
4. The acceptance of the excuse causes the loss of what was donated or bequeathed in view of the appointment. If the excuse intervenes subsequently, the judicial authority may order a total or partial loss depending on the circumstances of the case.
Article 222-20. Security
Prior to awarding a guardianship function, the judicial authority may require the appointed person to provide a security. At any time and for just cause, such security can be revoked or amended.
Article 222-21. Inventory
1. The guardian and, where applicable, the administrator of property must make an inventory of the property of the ward, within two months after taking up their duties. The judicial authority may extend this period for just cause by up to two months.
2. The inventory must be formalised by the judicial authority or a notary. In the latter case, the guardian and, if applicable, the administrator of property must deposit a copy at the court which established guardianship.
3. The Public Prosecution and the ward, if he has enough discernment and, in any case, if he is a minor over twelve years of age, must be summoned to the formalisation of the inventory.
4. The guardian and, where applicable, the administrator of property must give access to the inventory to the ward if he has enough discernment and, in any case, if he is a minor over twelve years of age and the guardianship established is a guardianship of a minor.
Article 222-22. Content of the inventory
1. The inventory must describe in detail the assets, credits, charges and debts which make up the property subject to guardianship, including, where applicable, the assets whose administration has been entrusted to a special administrator. If the guardianship or administration includes any commercial organisation, the inventory must also include its inventory and its latest annual accounts.
2. The guardian and, where applicable, the administrator of property who fail to include in the inventory the claims which the protected person may have against them must be removed from their function. If the failure concerns a credit in favour of the guardian or administrator, such credit is thereby understood to be waived.
Article 222-23. Deposit of securities and valuables
The guardian and, where applicable, the administrator of property must deposit or keep in a safe place the securities, jewellery, works of art and other valuables of the ward, and the court must be informed thereof.
Article 222-24. Expenses
The expenses incurred for the inventory, the provision of a security and the measures of control provided for in Article 221-5 are borne by the property of the ward.
Article 222-25. Number of guardians
Guardianship is exercised by one person, except in the following cases:
a) If the person concerned or the holders of parental authority have appointed two persons to exercise this function.
b) If the guardian is a married person or a person living with a stable partner and it is deemed appropriate that the spouse or partner should also exercise such function.
Article 222-26. Joint guardianship
Where there are two guardians, guardianship must be exercised in the manner provided for at the time of establishment thereof. In the absence of such provisions, both guardians must act jointly but either may perform any act which, according to the circumstances, may be regarded as normal to be performed by one guardian, and also acts of urgent need.
Article 222-27. Distribution of functions between guardian and administrator
Where there is an administrator of property, the guardian only deals with the personal issues. The decisions concerning both the person and the property must be taken jointly.
Article 222-28. Disagreements
Disagreements between guardians or between the holders of guardianship and administration of property, if they must act jointly, must be resolved judicially, in both cases without further appeal and after hearing the persons concerned and the person under guardianship, if he has enough discernment and, in any case, if he is over twelve years of age and the guardianship established is a guardianship of a minor.
Article 222-29. Conflict of interest
In case of a conflict of interest with the ward, where there are two guardians or a guardian and an administrator of property, the person concerned is replaced by the other. Where there is only one guardian or where there is also a conflict of interest with the person who should replace him, the judicial authority must appoint a guardian ad litem.
Article 222-30. Cessation of a guardian or an administrator of property
1. Where there are two guardians or a guardian and an administrator of property and, for any reason, one ceases to carry out his duties, the other should continue to exercise guardianship or administration, unless expressly excluded, and he must inform the judicial authority so that a substitute may be appointed.
2. The persons who must request the establishment of guardianship must report the cessation of the guardian or administrator of property to the judicial authority. The ward may also report it.
Article 222-31. Annual accounts
1. The guardian or, where applicable, the administrator must annually submit the accounts of the guardianship within the first six months of the following year. However, if the ward owns few assets, the judicial authority may decide, after the first annual accounts were submitted, and after hearing the ward if he has enough discernment and, in any case, if he is over twelve years of age and the guardianship established is a guardianship of a minor, that subsequent accounts may be submitted at greater intervals, not exceeding three years.
2. The accounts referred to in paragraph 1 must be submitted to the judicial authority which established the guardianship, with the intervention of the Public Prosecution.
3. The annual submission of accounts consists of a detailed statement of incomes and expenses, an inventory of the assets and liabilities of the ward’s property at year-end with detailed changes compared to previous year's inventory, together with supporting documents.
4. If the gross incomes of the ward exceed 100,000 euros per year or if he receives incomes from allowances, pension plans or other regular incomes for an overall amount above 7,500 euros per month, the judicial authority may ask the guardian or the administrator of the property to commission an independent audit supporting, if appropriate, the annual accounts. This audit must detail the changes compared to previous year's inventory and it must be accompanied by supporting documents.
Article 222-32. Report on personal circumstances
When submitting the accounts, the guardian must provide detailed information on the main changes which have affected the incapable person under guardianship since the previous submission of accounts, indicating his state of health, place of residence and personal and family circumstances.
Article 222-33. Grounds for removal
1. The guardian and, where applicable, the administrator of property should be removed from their duties if there arises a ground of inability, if they fail to comply with their duties or if they act negligently in the exercise thereof. The guardian may also be removed from his duties if there are serious and continued problems of cohabitation with the ward.
2. The judicial authority may order the removal of the guardian or administrator on its own motion or at the request of the Public Prosecution, of the ward, of the guardian or the administrator regarding each other, or of the persons who must request the establishment of guardianship.
3. Prior to deciding on the removal of the guardian or administrator, the judicial authority must hear the person concerned, the person who can request the removal and the ward, if he has enough discernment and, in any case, if he is over twelve years of age and the guardianship established is a guardianship of a minor.
Article 222-34. Appointment of a new holder of a guardianship function
1. The court order pronouncing the removal must include the appointment of the person to replace the person removed. Pending the issue of such order, a guardian ad litem must be appointed.
2. The judicial authority, depending on the circumstances of the case, may order that the person removed from guardianship or administration of property should lose, in whole or in part, what he received in view of the appointment.
Section five. Content of the guardianship
Article 222-35. Duty of care and of maintenance
1. The guardian must care for the ward and provide for his maintenance if the financial resources of the ward are not sufficient.
2. The administrator of property, if any, must provide financial resources to the guardian in order to adequately fulfil his obligations. In case of disagreement on this matter, the judicial authority must resolve in accordance with the provisions of Article 222-28.
Article 222-36. Relations between guardians and wards
1. The guardian must treat the ward with consideration and they must respect each other.
2. The ward, if minor, must obey the guardian, who can discipline him in a proportionate, reasonable and moderate manner, with full respect for his dignity. The guardian can not impose humiliating sanctions or sanctions which violate his rights. To this end, the guardian may request assistance from the public authority.
Article 222-37. Duty of education
1. The guardian has the duty to educate the ward and to provide a comprehensive training, as appropriate to his age and personal circumstances.
2. The guardian needs court approval to make decisions concerning education if the ward is over twelve years of age and expresses an intent contrary to that of the guardian.
3. Court approval is required to place the ward in a special education facility or institution.
Article 222-38. Duties to the incapable person
1. The guardian must ensure the moral and material welfare of the incapable person and he must respect as much as possible his wishes in accordance with his natural capacity.
2. The guardian must do whatever is necessary to help the ward recover his capacity and integrate into society or, if that is not possible, to prevent further deterioration and to mitigate the consequences of incapacity.
Article 222-39. Place of residence and dwelling
1. The guardian may determine the place of residence of the ward.
2. The guardian must live with the protected minor. If there is sufficient reason, the judicial authority, having previously heard the ward, may authorise him to reside in a different place.
3. If the guardian is a legal person, it must inform the judicial authority of the place of residence of the ward and of any subsequent change of residence.
4. The dwelling of the ward is that of his guardian. If there is more than one guardian and they have different addresses, the address of the ward is that of the guardian with whom he lives, except if provided otherwise at the time of the establishment of guardianship or in any subsequent court decision.
Article 222-40. Administration of assets
1. In the exercise of their respective functions, the guardian, the administrator of property or the attorney-in-fact pursuant to Article 222-2.1 must act with the diligence of a good administrator and are responsible for the damage caused by their actions.
2. Claims for the liability referred to in paragraph 1 lapse within three years from the final submission of accounts.
3. The fruits of the assets under administration belong to the ward. He also owns the assets which he may acquire through his work.
Article 222-41. Assets subject to special administration
1. The assets acquired by the ward by way of gift or inheritance are subject to special administration if the donor or deceased specified this and appointed the person to exercise such administration.
2. The appointment of a person for special administration is not effective until the gift or inheritance has been accepted.
3. The holders of the special administration are subject to the rules on guardianship regarding the ability, excuse and removal of guardians and also on the administration and disposal of the assets concerned and the responsibility of those who act as administrators of property, if the donor or the deceased did not lay down other rules.
Article 222-42. Administration by the ward
The protected minor who acquires assets through his work has, from the age of sixteen years, the power to administer them, with the assistance of his guardian in the cases referred to in Article 222-43.
Article 222-43. Acts requiring court approval
1. The guardian and the administrator of property need court approval for the following acts:
a) To alienate immovable property, commercial establishments, intellectual or industrial property rights or other assets of extraordinary value as well as to encumber them or subrogate pre-existing encumbrances unless the encumbrance or subrogation is made to finance the acquisition of such assets.
b) To alienate real rights over the assets referred to in point a or to waive them, with the exception of redemptions of emphyteusis.
c) To alienate or encumber securities or shares. No authorisation is required, however, to alienate publicly traded shares for at least their quoted market price, or to alienate pre-emption rights.
d) To waive claims on credits.
e) To renounce gifts, inheritances and bequests; to accept bequests and conditional or onerous gifts.
f) To lend and borrow money, unless this is to finance the acquisition of an asset.
g) To grant leases on immovable property for a period exceeding fifteen years.
h) To act as a guarantor and to provide sureties regarding third party obligations.
i) To become a partner in companies which do not limit the liability of their partners, and to create, wind up, merge or divide these companies.
j) To renounce, assent to or abandon claims, or to reach a settlement on issues related to the assets or rights referred to in this paragraph.
k) To assign to third parties the claims that the ward may have against the guardian or to acquire for consideration the claims of third parties against the ward.
2. No court approval is required with respect to assets acquired by way of gift or inheritance if the donor or the deceased expressly excluded such approval.
3. The guardian and the administrator of property can not submit to arbitration the issues related to the assets or rights referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 222-44. Court approval
1. Court approval is granted in the interest of the ward in case of duly justified benefit or need, after hearing the Public Prosecution.
2. Court approval may not be granted in general. However, general approval may be granted for various acts of the same nature or relating to the same economic activity, be they current or future. In all cases, the circumstances and basic features of said acts must be specified.
3. The attorney-in-fact pursuant to Article 222-2.1 needs court approval for the same acts than the guardian, unless the principal expressly excluded it.
4. When the economic impact of the disposal or encumbrance to be authorised exceeds 50,000 euros, the judicial authority may require that the guardian provide a technical report prepared by a real estate agent, an economist or an independent auditor or accountant, depending on the nature of the act. Impartial professionals chosen within predetermined registers or lists of professional organisations have the consideration of independent professionals.
Article 222-45. Denial of the renunciation of gratuitous acquisitions
The denial of court approval for the renunciations referred to in Article 222-43.1.e constitutes acceptance of the transfer. In case of an inheritance, this is understood to mean acceptance under benefit of inventory.
Article 222-46. Acts performed without court approval by the guardian or the attorney-in-fact specially appointed
1. Any act performed by the guardian, or by the administrator of property, without court approval, where such approval is necessary, is voidable at the request of the new guardian or, if there is none, of the persons legally required to establish guardianship and of the ward himself, in this last case within four years from the termination of guardianship. Such act can also be challenged by the heirs of the ward within four years from his death, or within the time remaining before the end of this period if it started running before.
2. Any act of the attorney-in-fact appointed pursuant to Article 222-2.1 which is performed without court approval is voidable at the request of the guardian, upon establishment of the guardianship, or at the request of the principal within four years from occurrence of such act, if the ward has sufficient capacity, or from termination of guardianship. Such act may also be challenged by the heirs of the principal within four years from his death, or within the time remaining before the end of this period if it started running before.
Article 222-47. Legal representation
1. The guardian and, where applicable, the administrator of property, within the scope of their respective powers, are the legal representatives of the ward.
2. The following acts are excluded from legal representation:
a) Those relating to personality rights, unless otherwise provided by the laws governing such rights.
b) Those which can be made by the ward according to his natural capacity and, in case of guardianship of minors, those concerning goods or services which are proper to his age, according to social practices.
c) Those where there is a conflict of interest with the ward.
d) Those concerning assets excluded from the administration of the guardianship or, where appropriate, of the administration of property, in accordance with Articles 222-41 and 222-42.
Section six. Termination
Article 222-48. Grounds for termination
1. Guardianship terminates on the following grounds:
a) Majority or emancipation. Majority does not cause the termination of guardianship if previously the minor was incapable.
b) Adoption of the ward.
c) Court order annulling the declaration of incapacity, or modifying it and replacing guardianship by curatorship.
d) Death or declaration of death or absence of the ward.
2. Upon termination of guardianship, the ward, the guardian or the administrator of property, where applicable, must communicate the fact causing such termination to the court where guardianship was established. This act can also be performed by any other person concerned.
Article 222-49. Final submission of accounts
1. Upon termination of guardianship, the guardian or, where applicable, the guardian and the administrator of property must submit final accounts of the guardianship to the judicial authority within six months after termination thereof. The judicial authority may extend this period, for just cause, for a further period of three months at most. This obligation is transferred to the heirs if the obligor dies before the accounts were submitted, but in this case the period is suspended between the death and the acceptance of the inheritance.
2. The ward or, where applicable, his legal representative or his heirs can require the submission of the accounts within three years from the expiration of the period established by paragraph 1. Prescription does not run while the ward and the guardian live together.
3. The expenses necessary to submit the accounts are borne by the property of the ward.
Article 222-50. Submission of accounts due to cessation in office
1. When, prior to the termination of guardianship, the guardian or, where applicable, the administrator of property, cease to exercise their office, they must submit the accounts of their management to the judicial authority which established guardianship, within the period laid down by Article 222-49, which starts from the date of the cessation.
2. When cessation occurs upon the death of the guardian or administrator of property, it is for the heirs to submit the accounts and the period runs from the date of acceptance of inheritance.
Article 222-51. Approval of accounts
1. The judicial authority must approve or disapprove the accounts, be they final or by reason of cessation, with the intervention of the Public Prosecution and after hearing, where appropriate, the ward, the guardian or the administrator of property. To this end, the judicial authority can take all measures it deems appropriate.
2. Approval of the accounts does not preclude the actions regarding each other available to the persons referred to in paragraph 1 by reason of the guardianship.
Article 222-52. Accrual of interest
1. The sums owed, pursuant to the submission of accounts, by the ward or guardian or, where applicable, the administrator of property, earn the legal interest.
2. If the resulting balance is in favour of those who exercised guardianship functions, interest accrues from the time that the ward is required payment, once the accounts have been approved and the property delivered. If the resulting balance is against such persons, interest accrues upon approval of the accounts.
Article 222-53. Disapproval of the accounts
If approval of the accounts is denied, the judicial authority must inform the Public Prosecution so that appropriate actions, including liability actions, may be initiated, if necessary, and it can ask guarantees to the persons who exercised the office of guardian or, where applicable, of administrator of property, or to their heirs, in order to protect the interest of the ward.
Section seven. Guardianship council
Article 222-54. Guardianship council
Concerning guardianships granted by oneself or by the holders of the parental authority under the provisions of Articles 222-4.1 and 222-5.1, the exercise of guardianship may be supervised by a guardianship council, which must be established and act in accordance with the following rules:
a) The guardianship council must consist of at least three members, who are subject to the rules on ability to hold guardianship functions, excuse from exercising such functions and removal of guardianship. The judicial authority is competent to appoint the board members in the act of establishment of the guardianship.
b) The guardianship council must act in accordance with the rules established by the act of grant of guardianship or, in the absence thereof, in accordance with the rules adopted by the council regarding its functioning. Likewise, the council must ensure the proper exercise of the guardianship and, to that end, its members must maintain a regular relationship with the guardian or guardians. The council must meet at least once a year to be informed of the situation of the ward and so that the annual accounts of the guardianship may be submitted thereto.
c) The council, if the act of grant of guardianship so establishes, can be competent for the resolution of conflicts between guardians and to authorise the acts referred to in Article 222-43.
Chapter III. Curatorship
Article 223-1. Cases of curatorship
The following persons must, if necessary, be placed under curatorship:
a) The emancipated minors, if their parents have died or are unable to exercise the care required by law, except for the case of the minor emancipated by marriage to a fully capable person.
b) The incapable persons for whom the establishment of guardianship has not been considered appropriate.
c) The prodigals.
Article 223-2. Establishment
1. The persons who must request the establishment of guardianship must request, if necessary, the establishment of curatorship.
2. The judicial authority may order the establishment of curatorship, although guardianship has been applied for, according to the circumstances of the person concerned.
Article 223-3. Pre-existing guardianship
When a person under guardianship must be placed under curatorship, the curatorship must be exercised by his guardian or administrator of property, unless the judicial authority decides otherwise.
Article 223-4. Content
1. The curator does not represent the person placed under curatorship and he only supplements the capacity of such person, subject to the provisions of Article 223-6.
2. If the curator refuses, without just cause, to provide assistance in any act requiring it, the person placed under curatorship may apply for court approval to act alone.
3. The court order declaring the prodigality or the relative incapacity must determine the scope of the assistance by the curator. In any case, such assistance is necessary for the acts referred to in Article 222-43 and for marriage contracts.
Article 223-5. Curatorship of emancipated minors
Curatorship of emancipated minors must only be established, at their request, where the intervention of a curator is needed.
Article 223-6. Curatorship of incapable persons
The declaration of incapacity can give the curator functions of ordinary administration for certain aspects of the property of the assisted person, without prejudice to the powers of such person to perform by himself other acts of the same nature.
Article 223-7. Conflict of interest
When there is a conflict of interest between the person placed under curatorship and the curator, or in case of impossibility, the judicial authority must appoint a guardian ad litem.
Article 223-8. Lack of supplemented capacity
Acts done without the assistance of the curator, where this is necessary, are voidable at the request of the curator, or of the person placed under curatorship within four years from the termination of curatorship.
Article 223-9. Termination
Curatorship terminates on the following grounds:
a) Majority of the emancipated minor.
b) Marriage of the emancipated minor with a fully capable person.
c) Adoption of the person placed under curatorship.
d) Court order annulling the declaration of incapacity, or modifying it and replacing curatorship by guardianship.
e) Death or declaration of death or absence of the person placed under curatorship.
f) Court order annulling the declaration of prodigality.
Article 223-10. Regulation
Curatorship is subject to the rules of guardianship when these are not contrary to the specific regulation of curatorship, including those relating to the submission of accounts if the curator exercises functions of ordinary administration.
Chapter IV. Guardian ad litem
Article 224-1. Guardian ad litem
The judicial authority must appoint a guardian ad litem in the following cases:
a) When there is a conflict of interest between the guardian and the ward, or between the curator and the person placed under curatorship.
b) When the circumstances of the person to be protected so require, pending the establishment of guardianship.
c) Pending the establishment of curatorship for prodigal persons or persons with relative incapacity.
d) Where, for any cause, the guardians or curators do not exercise their functions, while this cause lasts or pending the appointment of another person to exercise such functions.
e) In all other cases determined by law.
Article 224-2. Appointment
1. The judicial authority appoints a guardian ad litem, on its own motion or at the request of the Public Prosecution, the guardian, the curator, the minor himself or any person with a legitimate interest.
2. The judicial authority must appoint the person it deems most appropriate, taking account of the circumstances motivating the appointment.
Article 224-3. Intervention
In cases of conflict of interest, the intervention of the guardian ad litem is limited to the acts which motivated his appointment. If these acts require court approval, this is understood to be implicitly given by the appointment.
Article 224-4. Nullity of the acts in case of a conflict of interest
The acts performed by the guardian, the attorney-in-fact appointed pursuant to Article 222-2.1 or the person under curatorship with the assistance of the curator, are voidable in case of a conflict of interest, if no guardian ad litem has been appointed, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 222-46 and 223-8 on guardianship and curatorship, respectively.
Article 224-5. Regulation
1. The guardian ad litem is subject to the rules regarding the ability to exercise the office of guardian, the excuses from exercising it, the grounds for removal and, if appropriate, remuneration. The guardian ad litem must account for his management, once completed, to the judicial authority.
2. When the guardian ad litem, in accordance with the provisions of Article 224-1, exercises guardianship functions, he is subject to the rules on guardianship or curatorship, as the case may be.
Chapter V. De facto custody
Article 225-1. De facto custodian
The de facto custodian is the natural or legal person who cares for a minor or for a person with a ground for incapacity, if not under parental authority or guardianship or if, although under parental authority or guardianship, the holders of such functions do not exercise them.
Article 225-2. Obligation to notify custody
1. The de facto custodian who temporarily hosts a minor who has been deprived of the care of the persons obliged to care for him must inform the public entity competent for the protection of minors or the judicial authority within seventy-two hours from the beginning of the custody.
2. In case of de facto custody of an adult with a ground for incapacity, if this person is in a residential facility, the operator of the residential facility must inform the judicial authority or the Public Prosecution within the period specified by paragraph 1.
Article 225-3. Functions of the de facto custodian
1. The de facto custodian must care for the person in custody and must always act in his favour. If he exercises the administration of his property, this must be limited to acts of ordinary administration.
2. Regarding de facto custody of persons under parental authority or guardianship, the judicial authority may assign guardianship functions  to the custodian, at the request of said persons, if circumstances make this appropriate. Guardianship functions are granted through a non-contentious proceeding, with the hearing of the holders of the parental authority or guardianship, whenever possible. This grant causes the suspension of parental authority or guardianship.
Article 225-4. Compensation
The de facto custodian is entitled to reimbursement of expenses and to compensation for damages arising from custody, which must be borne by the property of the protected person.
Article 225-5. Termination
1. De facto custody is terminated by the extinction of the causes which motivated it, by the declaration of deprivation of parental care of the minor, by the appointment of a guardian ad litem or by the establishment of the appropriate protection regime.
2. Upon termination of de facto custody, the judicial authority may provide that the custodian must account for his management if this is justified by the duration of the custody.
Chapter VI. Assistance	
Article 226-1. Appointment of an assistant
1. The adult who requires assistance to care for his person or property because of a non-disabling decrease in his physical or mental powers, may, through a non-contentious proceeding, request the judicial authority to appoint an assistant, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
2. The judicial authority must respect the wishes of the person requiring assistance regarding the appointment or exclusion of any person to perform the function of assistance.
Article 226-2. Content of assistance
1. In the decision of appointment, the judicial authority determines the personal or property scope of the assistance and the interests the assistant must protect.
2. Regarding personal issues, the assistant must ensure the welfare of the assisted person, with full respect for his will and personal choices. In particular, the assistant must receive the information and give the consent referred to, respectively, in Articles 212-1 and 212-2, if the assisted person can not decide for himself on the performance of medical acts and treatment and he has not executed an advance directive.
3. Regarding property issues, the assistant must intervene, together with the assisted person, in the legal acts related to the functions of assistance. At the request of the assisted person, the judicial authority may also give the assistant functions of administration of the property of the assisted person, without prejudice to the powers of the latter to perform acts of this nature by himself.
Article 226-3. Voidability of the acts of the assisted person
The legal acts performed by the assisted person without the intervention of the assistant, if this intervention is necessary, are voidable at the request of the assistant or of the assisted person. Likewise, they are voidable at the request of the guardian, if guardianship is established, and of the heirs of the assisted person, within four years from the establishment of guardianship or the death of the assisted person.
Article 226-4. Modification of assistance
1. At the request of a party, including the assisted person, the judicial authority must reduce or enlarge the scope of the functions of the assistant if this is necessary in view of the circumstances.
2. If the assistant is aware of circumstances permitting the termination of the assistance or the change in its scope, he must inform the judicial authority.
Article 226-5. Termination of assistance
1. Assistance terminates on the following grounds:
a) Death or declaration of death or absence of the assisted person.
b) Extinction of the circumstances which motivated assistance.
c) Declaration of incapacity of the assisted person.
2. In the case referred to in paragraph 1.b, the judicial authority, upon application of a party, must specify the ground for the termination of assistance and must annul the appointment of the assistant.
Article 226-6. Regulation
To the extent that these rules are consistent with the function of assistance, the assistant is subject to the rules of this Code regarding ability, excuse and removal of guardians, and also those relating to the submission of accounts if the assistant also has functions of ordinary administration of the property of the assisted person.
Article 226-7. Publicity through registration
1. Assistance, if not recorded in the Civil Registry, is not effective against third parties.
2. The beginning of exercise of assistance functions must be recorded in the Civil Registry of the domicile of the assisted person through communication of the court decision.
Chapter VII. Estate protection for disabled or dependent persons
Article 227-1. Beneficiaries
1. Persons with a mental disability of 33 percent or more or with a physical or sensory disability of 65 percent or more may be beneficiaries of a regime of protected estate established under this chapter. So may persons who are dependent on grade II or III, in accordance with the applicable legislation.
2. The degree of disability or dependency is established through the certificate issued by the competent administrative authority or by a final court decision.
Article 227-2. Protected estate
1. A protected estate is settled when assets, including the proceeds thereof and the assets acquired as a replacement thereof, are gratuitously allocated by the settler to meet the basic needs of the beneficiary. Said protected estate is identified by the name included in the deed of settlement. It is an autonomous estate, without legal personality, and the settlor, the administrator and the beneficiary do not own it or have any other real right thereon.
2. A protected estate is not liable for the obligations of the beneficiary, of the settlor or of the person who contributed assets. However, contributions made to a protected estate after the date of a fact or act giving rise to a claim do not prejudice the creditors of the person who made such contributions, if other resources lack to satisfy such claim, nor do said contributions prejudice forced heirs.
Article 227-3. Settlement
1. Any person, including the beneficiary, may settle a protected estate. The settlement of a protected estate in the interest of a person other than the settlor requires acceptance of the beneficiary or, where applicable, of his legal representatives.
2. The settlement of a protected estate is formalised through a public deed where the following details must be recorded:
a) The settlor and the beneficiaries, and also the circumstances of the persons who authorise the settlement of the protected estate.
b) The expression of the will to settle a protected estate and to allocate its assets to meet the basic needs of the beneficiaries.
c) The designation of the protected estate, as "protected estate in favour of" followed by the name and surname of the beneficiary.
d) The description of the assets transferred and of the manner of such transfer.
e) The persons appointed to administer the protected estate, who can not be the beneficiaries.
f) The persons to whom they are accountable in case of a conflict of interest.
3. The deed of settlement may include any other provision relating to the protected estate, especially the rules of administration of the assets comprised therein, the powers of disposal and administration vested in the administrator and the guarantees that the administrator must offer. It may also provide for the reallocation of the assets remaining upon the termination of the protected estate in accordance with Article 227-7.
4. Subsequent contributions to a protected estate must be formalised in public deed and the administration thereof must be subject to the provisions of the deed of settlement, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 227-4.5 regarding amendments to the rules of administration.
Article 227-4. Administration of the protected estate
1. The protected estate is administered by the natural or legal person designated in the deed of settlement. If this person is unable or unwilling to accept, or if he ceases to exercise his function, the judicial authority may be requested by any interested person or by the Public Prosecution to appoint another administrator. Administrators of protected estate are subject to the rules of this Code regarding ability, excuse and removal of the guardian.
2. The settlor may be the administrator of the protected estate if he is not also its beneficiary.
3. The administrator has the duty to preserve the assets comprised in the estate, to maintain their productivity and to use them, directly or through their proceeds, to meet the basic needs of the beneficiary.
4. The administrator has legal standing to defend the protected estate in a legal proceeding and he may enter into obligations which are borne by the estate with a view to fulfilling the purpose for which it was settled.
5. If the deed of settlement is silent on the powers of disposal and administration of the assets concerned, Articles 222-40 to 222-46 on the administration of the assets of the ward apply to the administrator of the protected estate.
6. If the rules of administration provided for in the deed of settlement of the protected estate do not adequately serve their purpose, the judicial authority may amend them at the request of any interested person or of the Public Prosecution.
Article 227-5. Measures of control of the administration
1. At the time of the settlement of the protected estate, persons may be appointed to supervise the administration thereof and appropriate measures of control of the task of the administrator may be taken.
2. If the beneficiaries of the protected estate are minor or disabled persons, the provisions of Article 221-5 should be implemented, concerning the power of the judicial authority to order on its own motion any measures it considers necessary for the proper functioning of the administration of the protected estate.
Article 227-6. Submission of accounts
1. The administrator must submit the annual accounts to the beneficiary or his legal representatives. Where appropriate, the accounts must be submitted to the person designated for that purpose in accordance with Article 227-3.2.f.
2. In addition to the provisions of paragraph 1, the accounts should be submitted yearly to the persons specifically in charge of supervising the administration of the protected estate and, if expressly provided therefor in the deed of settlement, to the settlor or his heirs.
3. The provisions of Articles 222-31 and 222-32 apply to the submission of accounts, unless otherwise provided by the deed of settlement of the protected estate.
Article 227-7. Termination
1. The protected estate terminates on the following grounds:
a) Death or declaration of death of the beneficiary.
b) Loss of status of disabled or dependent person.
c) Waiver of all beneficiaries to their rights.
d) Expiry of the period of settlement or occurrence of any condition subsequent set forth in the deed of settlement.
2. At the request of the settlor or his heirs, the judicial authority must order the termination of the protected estate if the beneficiary is guilty of ingratitude to the settlor, in accordance with the provisions of Article 531-15.1.d on revocation of gifts.
3. The termination of the protected estate causes its liquidation, which must be made by the persons designated by the deed of settlement or, if there are none, by the administrator.
4. The termination of a protected estate due to the occurrence of one the causes provided for in this Article entails the obligation for the administrator to submit the final accounts of his administration to the beneficiary or his heirs.
Article 227-8. Remainder
1. The person who liquidates the protected estate must reallocate the remainder as provided for in the deed of settlement, which may include the reversion of the assets to the settlor or his heirs.
2. If the deed of settlement does not establish the reallocation of the assets or if such reallocation can not be met, the remainder must revert to the settlor or his legal or testamentary heirs. Successions escheated to the Generalitat must be assigned to a non-profit organisation aiming at the protection of disabled or dependent persons.
Article 227-9. Publicity through registration
1. The assets comprised in the protected estate may be recorded in the Property Registry or in any other public registry for said estate with the name contained in the deed of establishment in accordance with Article 227-3.2.c.
2. The record of the assets comprised in the protected estate must include the powers of the administrator, the grounds for termination of the protected estate and the reallocation established for the remainder.
Chapter VIII. Protection of minors deprived of parental care
Article 228-1. Minors deprived of parental care
1. Minors deprived of parental care are those minors who de facto lack the basic elements for the full development of their personality, or who are subject to physical or mental ill-treatment or sexual abuse, and who, in view of their effective protection, must be separated from their nuclear family.
2. The competent public entity must take the necessary measures to achieve effective protection of minors deprived of parental care, in accordance with the provisions of this Code and of the legislation on children and adolescents.
Article 228-2. Declaration of deprivation of parental care
The declaration of deprivation of parental care is governed by the provisions of this Code and of the legislation on children and adolescents regarding the indicators of deprivation of parental care, procedure, system of appeal and review due to changes of circumstances.
Article 228-3. Effects of the declaration of deprivation of parental care
1. The declaration of deprivation of parental care causes the immediate assumption by the competent public entity of the functions of guardianship over the minor, until guardianship is established pursuant to the ordinary rules or until the minor is adopted or returned to the person having parental authority or guardianship over him, or until he is emancipated or attains majority. Such functions include the same powers as the ordinary guardianship and are subject to the provisions of Chapter II which do not conflict with the specific regulation of this chapter or with the regulation governing the public entity, in accordance with the legislation on children and adolescents.
2. The assumption of guardianship functions causes the suspension of parental authority or ordinary guardianship during the time of application of the measure.
3. The competent public entity may request, if necessary, the deprivation of parental authority or the removal of guardianship and commence the pertinent criminal proceedings.
4. The suspension or deprivation of parental authority does not affect the obligation of the parents or of the other relatives to do everything necessary to assist the minors and to provide them maintenance in the broadest sense.
Article 228-4. Biogenetic data
The competent public entity, when exercising guardianship functions over minors deprived of parental care, may request the parents’ biogenetic data, in the interest of his health.
Article 228-5. Changes of circumstances
Only in case of a substantial change in the circumstances which motivated the declaration of deprivation of parental care may the parents or guardians who have not been deprived of parental authority or removed from ordinary guardianship apply for the annulment of said declaration before the competent public entity, within the time limit and in accordance with the requirements and procedures established by the legislation on children and adolescents.
Article 228-6. Custody by the public entity
1. The competent public entity assumes the care of the minors if requested to do so by the parents or legal guardians due to serious circumstances beyond their control which temporarily prevent them from performing their functions of custody. Regarding applications for protection measures, the provisions of the legislation on children and adolescents must be complied with.
2. Custody does not affect the obligation of the parents or of the other relatives to do everything necessary to assist the minors and to provide them maintenance in the broadest sense.
Article 228-7. Protection measures
The measures for the protection of minors deprived of parental care, the procedure to adopt and to review such measures, the system of appeals and the grounds for termination are those established by the legislation on children and adolescents.
Article 228-8. Personal relations
The declaration of deprivation of parental care and the subsequent implementation of a measure of protection may not impede the personal relations of the minor with the members of his familiy, unless it is in the minor's best interests to limit or exclude them.
Article 228-9. Foster care as a protective measure for minors deprived of parental care
1. When a minor is deprived of parental care, the competent public authority may order simple or permanent foster care as a protective measure. The foster person or family must care for the minor, keep him in their company, provide for his maintenance, educate him and provide him comprehensive training, under the continuing supervision, advice and assistance of the competent authority.
2. The foster person or family assumes the care and the regular exercise of the personal guardianship functions over the minor, by delegation of the competent administrative authority.
3. The procedure to formalise and review foster care, the system of appeals and the grounds for termination are established by the legislation on children and adolescents.
Title III. Family
Chapter I. Scope of the institution of the family
Article 231-1. Heterogeneity of families
1. Family enjoys the legal protection provided by the law, which protects indiscriminately family relationships based on marriage or stable cohabitation partnership and families formed by single parents with their descendents.
2. The children of each parent who live in the same family unit, following the formation of reconstituted families, are recognised as members of the family, with the effects laid down by law. This recognition does not alter the bonds to the other parent.
Section one. Marriage: general provisions and effects
Article 231-2. Marriage
1. Marriage creates a legal relationship between two persons who thereby share a common life where spouses must act in the interest of the family and owe each other respect, loyalty, help and relief.
2. Spouses have the same rights and duties in marriage, especially the care and attention for the other members of the family who depend on and live with them, and they must share household responsibilities.
Article 231-3. Family dwelling
1. The spouses mutually decide the family dwelling. To third parties, it is presumed that the family dwelling is that where the spouses or either of them and most of the family normally live.
2. In case of disagreement about the family dwelling, either spouse may apply to the judicial authority, which must determine the dwelling for the purposes of the law in the interests of the family.
Article 231-4. Direction of the family
1. Both spouses direct the family by mutual agreement, taking account of the interests of all its members.
2. In the interest of the family, either spouse may act alone to meet the ordinary family needs and expenses, in accordance with the usage and the living standards of the family, and the spouse who performs the act is presumed to have the consent of the other.
3. Neither spouse may represent the other if representation has not been granted, except in cases of emergency or impossibility for the other spouse to give consent.
4. Rules on negotiorum gestio apply to the act made by one spouse on behalf of the other.
Article 231-5. Family expenses
1. Family expenses are those which are necessary to maintain the family, in accordance with the usage and the living standards of the family, and in particular:
a) Maintenance expenses, in the broadest sense, according to the definition given by this Code.
b) The ordinary expenses of upkeep, maintenance and repair of houses or other assets used by the family.
c) Welfare, medical and health expenses.
2. The expenses referred to in Article 237-1 incurred for the maintenance of the uncommon children who live with the spouses, and the expenses resulting from other relatives living with them, except, in both cases, if they are unnecessary, are family expenses.
3. The expenses resulting from the administration and defence of private property, except those directly related to family maintenance, are not family expenses, nor are those which are in the interest of only one spouse.
Article 231-6. Contribution to family expenses
1. The spouses must contribute to family expenses, in the manner agreed upon between them, with the proceeds of their work or property, in proportion to their revenues and, if these do no suffice, in proportion to their property. The contribution to housework is a form of contribution to family expenses. If some assets are especially assigned to family expenses, their fruits and revenues should be used preferentially to pay such expenses.
2. The children, common or not, while living with the family, must contribute proportionally to these expenses in the manner prescribed by Article 236-22.1.
3. Relatives living with the family must contribute, where appropriate, to family expenses within their means and according to the expenses they generate.
Article 231-7. Duty of mutual information
Spouses have a reciprocal obligation to properly inform each other of their administration of the property regarding family expenses.
Article 231-8. Liability for family expenses
Both spouses are jointly liable to third parties for the obligations entered into to meet the ordinary family needs and expenses in accordance with the usage and the living standards of the family. For other obligations, the liability is on the spouse who entered into them.
Article 231-9. Disposal of the family dwelling
1. Irrespective of the applicable matrimonial property regime, the owner spouse may not, without the consent of the other spouse, perform any act of alienation, encumbrance or, in general, disposal of his right on the family dwelling or on the ordinary furniture that could impair their use, even if it is in undivided ownership. Such consent may not be excluded by agreement or granted in general. In the absence of consent, the judicial authority may authorise the act, taking account of the interests of the family, or if there is another just cause.
2. The act performed without the consent or authorisation provided for in paragraph 1 is voidable, at the request of the other spouse, if living in the same dwelling, within four years of having knowledge thereof or from the time that the act is recorded in the Property Registry.
3. The act remains effective if the purchaser acts in good faith and for consideration and the owner stated that the property was not a family dwelling, even though it was an inaccurate representation. There is no good faith if the purchaser knew or could reasonably have known at the time of the acquisition that it was a family dwelling. In any case, the spouse who disposed thereof is liable for the damages caused, in accordance with the applicable laws.
Section two. Property relations between spouses
Subsection one. General provisions
Article 231-10. Matrimonial property regime
1. The matrimonial property regime is agreed for in the marriage contract.
2. If there is no agreement or if the marriage contract is null and void, the property regime is the separation of property.
Article 231-11. Contractual freedom
The spouses may transfer property and rights to each other in any manner and perform all sorts of legal transactions. In case of a legal challenge, it is for the spouses to prove that transmission was for consideration.
Article 231-12. Presumption of gift
1. When one spouse is declared bankrupt, assets acquired by the other for consideration during the year preceding the declaration are subject to the following regulation:
a) If the consideration for the acquisition came from the bankrupt spouse, the consideration is presumed to be a gift.
b) Where the origin of the consideration can not be proven, half of the consideration is presumed to be a gift.
2. The presumption in paragraph 1.b is rebutted if it is proven that at the time of acquisition, the acquirer had sufficient incomes or resources to perform it.
3. The presumptions established by this article do not apply if the spouses were separated legally or de facto at the time of acquisition.
Article 231-13. Joint accounts
Where either spouse is declared bankrupt or where joint accounts are seized to pay private debts of either spouse, the non-debtor spouse may exclude from the bankruptcy estate or from the seized assets the amounts which can be proven to belong to him.
Article 231-14. Gifts other than under marriage contract
Gifts between spouses, when not made under marriage contract, are revocable in the general cases of revocation of gifts, though, in case of subsequent birth of children, they can only be revoked if these are common children.
Subsection two. Acquisitions for consideration with tontine clause
Article 231-15. rules regarding assets acquired with tontine clause
1. The spouses or future spouses who jointly acquire assets for consideration may agree in the acquisition contract itself that, upon the death of either spouse, the surviving spouse shall become the sole owner of the entire assets.
2. While both spouses live, assets acquired with tontine clause are subject to the following rules:
a) They may not be alienated or encumbered, except by agreement of both spouses.
b) Neither spouse may transfer his rights over the assets to a third party.
c) The assets must be maintained in indivisible co-ownership.
3. Regarding assets acquired with tontine clause, the acquisition of the share of the predeceased must be added to the estate for the value that such share had at the time of the death, for the purposes of calculating the legitime and the widow allowance, and it must be deducted therefrom by the same value. In case of renunciation, it is understood that the renouncer never acquired the share of the predeceased.
4. The tontine clause executed by future spouses expires if marriage is not solemnised within one year.
Article 231-16. Incompatibility with inheritance pact
The tontine clause becomes null and void if either acquiring spouse previously executed a universal inheritance pact and said pact is effective on the death of the executor thereof.
Article 231-17. Seizure and bankruptcy proceedings
1. The creditor of either spouse may request the seizure of the share of the debtor in the assets acquired with tontine clause. The seizure must be notified to the spouse who is not a party to the dispute.
2. If bankruptcy is declared, the share of the bankrupt spouse becomes part of the bankruptcy estate. The other spouse is entitled to subtract this share from the bankruptcy estate by paying its value. If the asset concerned is the family dwelling, said value is its current purchase price according to the consumer price index specific to the housing sector. For other assets, the value is that jointly agreed by the spouse of the bankrupt person and the bankruptcy administrator or, if there is none, that determined by the judicial authority after hearing the parties and after receiving a report of an expert as it deems relevant.
Article 231-18. Termination
1. The tontine clause terminates upon:
a) Agreement by both spouses during marriage.
b) Annulment of marriage, legal or de facto separation, or divorce.
c) Award to a third party of half of the asset as a result of seizure or bankruptcy proceedings.
2. The nullity and termination of the tontine clause entail that the assets are held, in ordinary undivided co-ownership, by the spouses, or by the surviving spouse and the heirs of the predeceased spouse, or by the non-debtor spouse and the grantee of the share of the debtor spouse.
Section three. Marriage contracts
Article 231-19. Content
1. The marriage contract may determine the matrimonial property regime, and it may also be used to enter into succession agreements, to make gifts and to stipulate the lawful terms and agreements deemed useful, even in anticipation of a marriage breakdown.
2. Marriage contracts may be executed before or after marriage. Those executed before marriage become effective only after the solemnisation of marriage and they are void if marriage is not solemnised within one year.
Article 231-20. Agreements in anticipation of a marriage breakdown
1. Agreements in anticipation of a marriage breakdown may be entered into in the marriage contracts or in a public deed. Ante-nuptial agreements are only valid if executed thirty days at least prior to the date of marriage.
2. The notary, prior to performing the deed referred to in paragraph 1, must inform separately each of the contracting parties on the scope of the changes which the agreements are intended to introduce with respect to the supplementary legal regime and he must warn them of their reciprocal obligation to provide the information referred to in paragraph 4.
3. Agreements waiving or limiting rights must be reciprocal and they must clearly specify the rights limited or waived.
4. The spouse claiming enforcement of an agreement in anticipation of a marriage breakdown has the burden of proving that the other party had, at the time of its execution, sufficient information about his assets, incomes and financial perspectives, if such information was relevant in relation to the content of the agreement.
5. Agreements in anticipation of a breakdown which pose a serious harm to any spouse at the time of their intended performance are null and void if such spouse proves that important changes of circumstances have arisen which were unforeseen or could not be reasonably foreseen at the time of execution of the agreement.
Article 231-21. Capacity
Persons who can validly marry can enter into a marriage contract but, where necessary, their capacity must be supplemented.
Article 231-22. Form and registration
1. Marriage contracts and amendments thereto must be executed by notarial deed.
2. Marriage contracts, amendments thereto and judicial decisions affecting the matrimonial property regime are not enforceable against third parties if not entered into the record of the marriage in the Civil Registry and, if appropriate, in other public registries.
Article 231-23. Amendment
1. Any amendment to or annulment of the marriage contract requires the consent of all persons who executed it, or of their heirs, if the amendment affects rights conferred by these persons.
2. Spouses may amend the matrimonial property regime without the intervention of the other persons who executed the marriage contract.
Article 231-24. Acquired rights
The amendment of the matrimonial property regime does not affect the rights acquired by third parties.
Article 231-25. Gifts
Gifts made in marriage contracts are revocable only for failure to perform the conditions.
Article 231-26. Nullity due to annulment of marriage, legal separation or divorce
The marriage contract is null and void in case of annulment of marriage, legal separation or dissolution of marriage by divorce, but the following acts remain effective:
a) Recognition of children made by either spouse.
b) Agreements made in anticipation of a marriage breakdown.
c) Succession agreements where required by this Code.
d) Agreements included in the marriage contract as a merely documentary instrument.
Section four. Gifts in consideration of marriage awarded outside marriage contracts
Article 231-27. Regulation
Gifts made by one spouse outside the marriage contract in favour of the other in consideration of marriage and gifts made by other persons for the same reason are governed by the general rules on gifts, except as provided by this section.
Article 231-28. Conditional and onerous gifts and gifts of encumbered assets
1. Gifts in consideration of marriage made outside the marriage contract may be subject to conditions and charges.
2. If the asset given is subject to liens or encumbrances, the donor is not bound to release the asset.
Article 231-29. Revocation
Gifts referred to in this section may be revoked on the following grounds:
a) Failure to solemnise marriage within one year from the gift.
b) Annulment of marriage, if the donee acted in bad faith and the donor is the spouse of the donee.
c) Failure to comply with conditions.
d) Ingratitude of the donee.
Section five. Family widowhood rights
Article 231-30. Right to household items
1. The surviving spouse, if not separated legally or de facto, is entitled to the ownership of the clothing, furniture and accessories that make up the household items of the marital dwelling. Said assets are not taken into account to calculate his share of the inherited estate.
2. The right to household items does not include jewellery, artistic or historical objects or other assets of the predeceased spouse which have an extraordinary value in relation to the living standard of the couple and to the estate of the deceased. Neither does it include the furniture from the family if the predeceased spouse disposed thereof by last will or testament in favour of others.
Article 231-31. Widowhood year
1. During the year following the death of a spouse, the survivor spouse who is not legally or de facto separated and who is not universal usufructuary of the estate of the predeceased has the right to continue using the marital dwelling and to receive maintenance provided by the estate of the predeceased, in accordance with the former living standard of the spouses and the importance of the estate. This right is independent of the other rights which the surviving spouse is entitled to following the death of the predeceased spouse.
2. The surviving spouse loses the rights referred to in paragraph 1 if, during the year following the death of the spouse, he remarries or starts to cohabit with another person, or if he abandons or severely neglects common children under his parental authority. In no case is the surviving spouse required to repay the amount of the maintenance received.
Chapter II. Matrimonial property regimes
Section one. Regime of separation of property
Article 232-1. Content
In the regime of separation of property, each spouse has the property, enjoyment, administration and free disposal of all his assets within the limits set by law.
Article 232-2. Separate property
In the regime of separation of property, the separate property of each spouse is property owned by the spouse prior to marriage and property acquired subsequently by the spouse in any manner.
Article 232-3. Acquisitions for consideration
1. Property acquired for consideration during marriage belongs to the spouse who owns it. If it can be proven that the consideration was paid with property or money of the other spouse, gift thereof is presumed.
2. If the property acquired for consideration during marriage is movable property of ordinary value for family use, it is presumed to belong jointly and equally to both spouses. Such presumption is not rebutted by proof of mere formal ownership.
Article 232-4. Dubious ownership
When it is doubtful to which spouse any property or right belongs, it is presumed to belong jointly and equally to both spouses. However, it is presumed that the movable property of either spouse without extraordinary value which is directly used for the purposes of his work belongs exclusively to such spouse.
Article 232-5. Financial compensation by reason of work
1. In the regime of separation of property, if either spouse has worked for the household substantially more than the other, such spouse is entitled to financial compensation for this involvement if, at the time of termination of the regime by separation, divorce, annulment or death of either spouse or, as the case may be, of effective end of cohabitation, the other spouse has accrued more assets in accordance with the provisions of this section.
2. The spouse who worked for the other spouse without any or sufficient remuneration is entitled to compensation on the terms set forth by paragraph 1.
3. To determine the amount of financial compensation by reason of work, account must be taken of the duration and intensity of such involvement, of the length of the cohabitation, and, specifically, in case of housework, of the fact that such work may have included the upbringing of children or personal care for other family members living with the spouses.
4. Financial compensation by reason of work is limited to one fourth of the difference of accrual of assets between the spouses, calculated in accordance with the rules established by Article 232-6. However, if the creditor spouse proves that his contribution was significantly higher, the judicial authority can increase this amount.
5. Upon termination of the regime of separation by death, the surviving spouse may claim compensation by reason of work as a personal right, if the rights assigned by the deceased, in the testate succession or in anticipation of his death, or the rights assigned to the surviving spouse in the intestate succession, do not cover the amount which should accrue to said spouse.
Article 232-6. Calculation rules
1. The accrual of assets of the spouses is calculated according to the following rules:
a) The property of each spouse consist of the assets held upon termination of the regime or, as the case may be, of effective end of cohabitation, after deduction of liabilities and charges over the assets.
b) The value of the property of each spouse must be accrued by the value of the assets disposed of gratuitously, calculated at the time of its transfer, excluding gifts made to common children and usual gifts as well as the value of the damage caused by acts intentionally done to harm the other spouse.
c) The value of the property of each spouse must be decreased by the value of the assets that each spouse owned at the beginning of the regime and that he still holds upon termination thereof, after deduction of the charges over these assets, and also the value of the assets acquired gratuitously while the regime was in force and the compensation for personal damage, excluding loss of profits during the time of cohabitation.
2. Assets assigned by the debtor spouse to the creditor spouse while the regime was in force are charged against the compensation for the value they have upon termination of the regime.
Article 232-7. Agreements on compensation
In anticipation of a marriage breakdown or a dissolution of marriage by death, it can be agreed to increase, reduce or exclude financial compensation by reason of work in accordance with the provisions of Article 231-20.
Article 232-8. Payment of compensation
1. Compensation must be paid in money, unless the parties agree otherwise. However, for just cause and at the request of either party or of the heirs of the debtor spouse, the judicial authority may order payment to be made fully or partially in assets.
2. At the request of the debtor spouse or his heirs, the judicial authority may defer payment of compensation or order it to be made in instalments, with a maximum maturity of three years and accrual of legal interest from the date of its admission. The judicial authority may, in this case, order the creation, if necessary, of a mortgage, according to the provisions of Article 569-36, or of other securities in favour of the creditor spouse.
Article 232-9. Acts to the detriment of the right to compensation
1. If the property of the debtor spouse is not sufficient to meet the financial compensation by reason of work, the creditor may apply for the abatement or elimination of the gifts and the specific assignments under succession agreement made by the debtor spouse while the regime was in force, starting from the most recent one, following with the next most recent one, and so on, in reverse order of date. Abatement must be proportional if the date is the same or is undetermined. The creditor may challenge acts for consideration made by the debtor in fraud of his rights.
2. The actions referred to in paragraph 1 lapse four years after the termination of the regime and are not applicable when the assets are held by a third party who acquired them for consideration and in good faith.
Article 232-10. Compatibility
The right to financial compensation by reason of work is compatible with other economic rights held by the creditor spouse, and account must be taken thereof to establish and, if necessary, modify these rights.
Article 232-11. Exercise of the right to compensation
1. In case of annulment of marriage, separation or divorce, financial compensation by reason of work must be claimed in the proceeding which causes the termination of the regime, and in case of ecclesiastical decisions, in the proceeding to give effect to such decisions in the civil order. As a preliminary issue, the marriage judgment may rule on the regime in force if the parties question this point.
2. Upon termination of the regime of separation by death, the claim for compensation by reason of work lapses after three years of the death of the spouse. However, if the surviving spouse brings a claim under Article 233-14.2, compensation must be claimed in the same proceeding.
Article 232-12. Division of property in ordinary undivided co-ownership
1. In separation, divorce or annulment proceedings and in those proceedings seeking to give civil effect to ecclesiastical decisions, either spouse can simultaneously bring the action of division of common property in respect of assets hold in ordinary undivided co-ownership.
2. If several assets are in ordinary undivided co-ownership and one spouse requests it, the judicial authority may consider such assets together for the purpose of forming batches of assets and awarding them.
Section two. Regime of participation in gains
Subsection one. General provisions
Article 232-13. Content
1. The matrimonial property regime of participation in gains entitles either spouse, upon termination of the regime, to participate in the accrual of assets obtained by the other during the time this regime was in force.
2. During marriage, each spouse has the property, enjoyment, administration and free disposal of his assets, but with a duty to properly inform the other of his administration of the property.
3. If there is no agreement and the provisions of this section can not be applied, the regime of participation in gains is governed by the rules of the regime of separation of property.
Article 232-14. Inventory
The public deed establishing the regime of participation in gains must be accompanied by an inventory of the initial property of each spouse, which must reference the assets, indicating their physical condition, charges and obligations.
Article 232-15. Agreements on the scope of the participation in gains
1. Agreements assigning a participation in gains other than half the accrual of assets are valid only if reciprocal and equal for either spouse.
2. The nullity of the agreement entails a participation in gains equal to half the accrual of assets.
Article 232-16. Termination
1. The regime of participation in gains is terminated by:
a) Annulment or dissolution of marriage or legal separation.
b) Agreement of the spouses by marriage contract stipulating a different regime.
2. The regime of participation in gains is terminated by court order, at the request of either spouse, when any of the following circumstances arises:
a) De facto separation for a period exceeding six months.
b) Serious or repeated failure by the other spouse to observe the duty to inform pursuant the provisions of Article 232-13.2.
c) Irregular administration of property or change which arises in the other spouse’s personal circumstances or assets situation and which seriously compromises the interests of the spouse requesting termination.
Article 232-17. Retroactive effects of termination
If the regime of participation in gains is terminated by court order, the effects of the termination thereof are retroactive from the date of the application. At the request of either spouse or of their successors in title, the judicial authority may give retroactive effects to the termination from the date of the end of cohabitation.
Subsection two. Liquidation of the regime
Article 232-18. Start of the liquidation
The regime of participation in gains, once terminated, must be liquidated to set the participation credit, by determining the difference between the final and initial property of each spouse.
Article 232-19. Determination of final property
1. The final property of each spouse includes all the assets belonging to each spouse upon termination of the regime in the physical condition in which they are at that time, after deduction of liabilities and charges over the assets, excluding assets acquired with tontine clause.
2. The property calculated in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 must be increased by:
a) The value of the assets disposed of gratuitously while the regime was in force, taking account of their physical condition upon disposal, with the exception of usual gifts and gifts done with the consent of the other spouse.
b) The value of the assets disposed of for consideration while the regime was in force in order to fraudulently reduce gains, taking account of their physical condition upon disposal and regardless of the price stated, and also the value of the liabilities or encumbrances created fraudulently.
c) The value of the assets destroyed or damaged, in the circumstances referred to in point b.
3. The assets are valued at the amount they are worth upon termination of the regime. When assets were alienated, damaged or destroyed, their value is that at the time of transmission, damage or loss.
Article 232-20. Determination of initial property
1. The initial property of each spouse includes all assets that belonged to each spouse at the start of the regime, after deduction of liabilities and charges over the assets. If the liabilities of the initial property are greater than the assets, the negative value is recorded, unless the parties agree otherwise.
2. The property calculated in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 must be increased by:
a) The value of the assets acquired for profit while the regime was in force, after deduction of the charges over the assets.
b) Compensation for personal damage, excluding the compensation for loss of profits while the regime was in force.
3. The assets are valued at the amount they are worth upon termination of the regime, taking account of their physical condition at the beginning of the regime and, regarding assets acquired gratuitously, their physical condition at the time of acquisition.
Article 232-21. Determination of credit
Failing agreement, the participation credit is determined according to the following rules:
a) If only one spouse has accrued assets, calculated by the difference between final and initial property, the other spouse or his heirs are entitled to half the value of this accrual.
b) If both spouses have accrued assets, the spouse who has less, or his heirs, are entitled to half the difference in value between his own accrual and that of the other spouse.
c) If neither spouse has accrued assets, there is no participation credit.
Subsection three. Payment of participation credit
Article 232-22. Form of payment
1. The participation credit must be paid in money, unless the parties agree otherwise. However, for just cause and at the request of either party or of their heirs, the judicial authority may order payment to be made fully or partially in assets of the obligor.
2. If the regime is terminated by the death of one spouse and the surviving spouse is entitled to a participation credit, he can request the award of the family dwelling under full ownership or in usufruct. If the value of the asset or of the right awarded exceeds the participation credit, the beneficiary of the award must pay the difference in money.
3. For just cause and at the request of the debtor spouse or his heirs, the judicial authority may defer payment or order it to be made in instalments with a maximum maturity of three years and accrual of legal interest from the date of its admission. In this case, the judicial authority may order the creation of securities in favour of the creditor.
Article 232-23. Restraint order
The creditor or his heirs may apply for precautionary measures, including the filing of a notice of seizure in public registries to ensure payment of the participation credit pending the resolution of the claim.
Article 232-24. Acts to the prejudice of the participation credit
1. If the property of the debtor spouse is not sufficient to meet the participation credit, the creditor may apply for the abatement or elimination of the gifts and the specific assignments under succession agreement made by the debtor spouse while the regime was in force and until liquidation thereof, starting from the most recent one, following with the next most recent one, and so on, in reverse order of date. Abatement must be proportional if the date is the same or is undetermined. The creditor may challenge acts for consideration made by the debtor in fraud of his rights.
2. The actions referred to in paragraph 1 lapse four years after the termination of the regime and are not applicable when the assets are held by a third party who acquired them for consideration and in good faith.
Section three. The association in purchases and improvements (associació a compres i millores)
Article 232-25. Regime
1. The association in purchases and improvements, specific to the Camp de Tarragona area and to other comarques, requires an express agreement by marriage contract.
2. In all matters not covered by the agreement establishing the regime or by this section, the association in purchases and improvements is governed by the local custom of the comarca and, in the absence thereof, by the provisions of the regime of participation in gains, to the extent permitted by its specific nature.
3. Each spouse may be associated by the other to purchases and improvements made during marriage. The association can also be reciprocal or associate the spouses with their ascendants, regardless of whether the latter have executed an inheritance pact in favour of the former.
4. All assets which are acquired for consideration by any associate or obtained for his professional activity or occupation, once the association is established, have the consideration of purchases.
5. All increases in the value of the assets of any associate due to an impensa utilis and a release from charges and encumbrances have the consideration of improvements.
Article 232-26. Administration
1. The association in purchases and improvements is administered by the associate designated in the marriage contract. In the absence of designation, it is administered by all associates.
2. The sole administrator of the association may, if necessary, without involving anyone else, dispose of the assets of the association for consideration, but he may not have the association to stand security, if not for the benefit of the family.
3. The individual debts of each associate only encumber their own share.
Article 232-27. Liquidation
The liquidation of the gains of each associate refers to the time of his death or of the termination of the regime and can be done with money or other assets of the association.
Section four. Regime of agermanament or pacte de mig per mig
Article 232-28. Regime
1. The regime of agermanament (“twinning”) or pacte de mig per mig (“agreement by half and half”), specific to the law of Tortosa, requires an express agreement by marriage contract.
2. In all matters not covered by the agreement establishing the regime or by this section, the regime of agermanament is governed by the local custom and, in the absence thereof, by the provisions of the regime of community, to the extent permitted by its specific nature.
3. The community includes all assets held by the spouses at the time of marriage or at the time of agreement upon the regime of agermanament, those acquired in any manner and gains or profits of any kind while the regime is in force.
4. In the regime of agermanament, the administration of the community is incumbent upon both spouses.
5. The liquidation of the regime of agermanament must assign the assets comprised therein equally between the spouses or between the surviving spouse and the heirs of the predeceased spouse.
Section five. Regime of convinença or mitja guadanyeria
Article 232-29. Regime
1. The regime of convinença, or mitja guadanyeria ( “agreement” or “half accrual”), an association specific to the Vall d’Aran, requires an express agreement by marriage contract.
2. In all matters not covered by the agreement establishing the regime or by this section, the custom of the Vall d’Aran and Chapter X of the privilege of the Querimònia shall apply.
3. In addition to the provisions of paragraph 1, the regime of convinença may also be established between parents and children, and even among strangers, by agreeing that the assets earned and to be earned shall remain in the community as long as the association exists.
4. The spouses must contribute equally to pay the costs arising from the regime and the administration of the household and gains and accruals must be divided, upon dissolution of the regime, if there are no children.
Section six. Regime of community of property
Article 232-30. Content
In the regime of community of property, the gains obtained by either spouse and the property which is given a common nature by the spouses become common.
Article 232-31. Common property
Common property includes:
a) Property which is given a common nature by the spouses at the time of the agreement on the regime or thereafter.
b) The gains obtained from the professional activity or from the occupation of either spouse.
c) The fruits and revenues of all assets, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary.
d) Property acquired by real subrogation of other common property.
e) The gains obtained from gambling by either spouse.
Article 232-32. Private property
Private property of each spouse includes:
a) Property belonging to each spouse prior to the beginning of the regime if it is not given a common nature.
b) Property acquired by way of gift or inheritance.
c) Property acquired by real subrogation of other private property.
d) Compensation for personal damage, excluding compensation for loss of profits while the regime is in force.
e) Assets for personal use without extraordinary value and the instruments necessary for the occupation, even when the acquisition was financed by reinvestment of common property.
Article 232-33. Administration and disposal of common property
1. Failing agreement, the administration and disposal of common property is incumbent upon the spouses jointly, or upon either of them with the consent of the other.
2. Either spouse may incur obligations to be borne by the community and dispose of the common property to pay family expenses.
3. If one spouse exercises a professional or commercial activity using common property with the consent of the other, such spouse can, with respect to movable property assigned thereto, perform alone the acts of administration and disposal arising from the normal exercise of said activity.
4. In case of incapacity of one spouse or of impossibility of joint administration, the judicial authority may grant the administration of the community and the disposal of common property to one spouse only. It may also allow one spouse to perform alone acts of disposal, in the interest of the family or if there is another just cause, when the other spouse does not consent.
Article 232-34. Regime of the private property
1. Each spouse has the administration and free disposal of his private property within the limits set by law.
2. Each spouse is liable for the debts incurred by him by reason of the ownership and administration of private property. When private property is not sufficient, the creditor may request the seizure of common property. Such seizure must be notified to the other spouse, who may require the dissolution of the community and that seizure should only affect the share of the common property belonging to the debtor spouse.
Article 232-35. Liability for family expenses
The common property and the property of the debtor spouse, jointly and severally, and secondarily the property of the other spouse, are liable for the debts incurred to meet family expenses.
Article 232-36. Termination of the regime
1. The regime of community of property terminates on the following grounds:
a) Annulment or dissolution of marriage or legal separation.
b) Agreement of the spouses by marriage contract stipulating a different regime.
2. The regime of community of property is terminated by court order, at the request of either spouse, when any of the following circumstances arises:
a) De facto separation for a period exceeding six months.
b) Serious or repeated failure by the other spouse to observe the duty to inform of his economic activities.
c) Irregular administration of property or change which arises in the other spouse’s personal or circumstances or assets situation and which seriously compromises the interests of the spouse requesting termination.
d) Seizure of common property in the case of Article 232-34.2.
Article 232-37. Determination and valuation of property
1. For the purposes of dividing the community, common property and private property must be determined with reference to the time of dissolution.
2. Common property held at the time of the dissolution of the community must be recorded for the value it has at the time of liquidation thereof.
Article 232-38. Division of common property
1. Upon termination of the community, common property must be equally divided between the spouses or between the surviving spouse and the heirs of the predeceased spouse, unless otherwise agreed.
2. In the case covered by paragraph 1, when the marital dwelling and its furnishings of ordinary use are common property, the surviving spouse may ask to be awarded ownership thereof in payment of his share. When the value thereof is greater than his share, the beneficiary of the award must pay the difference in money.
3. When common property is divided, each spouse may recover the assets which were his or her private property prior to the beginning of the regime of community and which remain at the time of termination, according to the initial state thereof. The other assets and the improvements made in the assets transferred should be included in the division of the community and, when the value of those assets is greater than the value of the share, the beneficiary must pay the difference in money.
Chapter III. Effects of annulment of marriage, divorce and legal separation
Section one. General provisions
Article 233-1. Interim measures
1. The spouse seeking to apply or applying for separation, divorce or annulment of marriage and the defendant spouse, when answering the complaint, may request the judicial authority to adopt, in accordance with procedures established by the procedural law, the following interim measures:
a) The determination of the forms of cohabitation of the children with their parents and the forms of relation to the parent with whom they do not cohabit. Exceptionally, the judicial authority may award custody of the children to grandparents, other relatives, other persons close to the children or, if there are none, to a suitable institution, which may be given guardianship functions with suspension of parental authority.
b) The form of exercise of parental authority over children.
c) The establishment, where applicable, of a schedule of relations of the children with the siblings who do not live in the same household.
d) The distribution of the duty of maintenance in favour of the children and, where appropriate, the establishment of provisional maintenance for one of the spouses.
e) The establishment of maintenance for adult or emancipated children with no personal financial resources and living with either parent, pursuant to the provisions of Article 237-1.
f) The award of the use of the family dwelling with its household items or, alternatively, the adoption of measures ensuring the housing needs of the spouses and the children. If the use of the family dwelling is awarded to one spouse, the judicial authority must establish the date on which the other spouse must leave the dwelling.
g) The regulation of the ownership and administration of the assets in ordinary undivided co-ownership and of those assets which, pursuant to the marriage contract or a public deed, are especially assigned to family expenses and, in case of a regime of community, of the common property.
h) The interim measures necessary to prevent wrongful removal or retention of children, if the risk exists.
2. In case of domestic or sexist violence, the competent judicial authority must adopt, in addition to the measures imposed by paragraph 1, the measures established by the specific legislation.
3. The judicial authority can order appropriate guarantees to ensure compliance with interim measures.
4. The judicial authority, when ordering the final measures, may review the agreements reached by the spouses regarding the content of the interim measures.
5. The application for interim measures causes the withdrawal of all consents and powers granted by either spouse to the other.
Article 233-2. Final measures proposed by separation agreement 
1. When the spouses jointly apply for divorce, legal separation or the adoption or amendment of measures regulating the consequences of the annulment of marriage, or when one spouse does so with the consent of the other, the original petition must be accompanied by a separation agreement.
2. When the spouses have common children under their parental authority, the separation agreement must include:
a) A parenting plan in accordance with the provisions of Article 233-9.
b) Maintenance in favour of the children, to meet both their ordinary and extraordinary needs, indicating its frequency, form of payment, criteria for update and, where provided for, guarantees.
c) Where appropriate, the regulation of personal relations with grandparents and siblings who do not live in the same dwelling.
3. In addition to the provisions of paragraph 2, the separation agreement must also contain, where appropriate:
a) The compensatory payment awarded to one spouse, indicating its form of payment and, where applicable, its duration, criteria for update and guarantees.
b) The award or distribution of the use of the family dwelling with its household items.
c) The financial compensation by reason of work.
d) The liquidation of the matrimonial property regime and the division of the assets in ordinary undivided co-ownership.
4. In addition to the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3, in the separation agreement the spouses may also agree on maintenance in favour of adult or emancipated children with no personal financial resources.
Article 233-3. Judicial approval of the agreements
1. The agreements reached in a separation settlement must be approved by the judicial authority, except for the provisions which are contrary to the interests of minor children.
2. If approval of the agreements reached in a separation agreement is denied, the judicial authority must state the provisions which must be amended and must set a time limit therefor. If the spouses fail to submit an amendment or if this is not approved, the judicial authority must issue the appropriate decision.
3. The judgment must include the provisions of the settlement which have been approved and the decision regarding the provisions which were not approved. It may also contain measures necessary to ensure effective implementation thereof.
Article 233-4. Final measures granted by the judicial authority
1. If a spouse seeks annulment of marriage, divorce or legal separation without consent of the other, or if the spouses fail to agree on the content of the separation agreement, the judicial authority must order appropriate final measures regarding the exercise of parental responsibilities, including the duty of maintenance and, where appropriate, the regulation of the personal relations with the grandparents and siblings. Likewise, the judicial authority, at the request of the spouse with whom the children cohabit, may grant maintenance in favour of adult or emancipated children taking account of the provisions of Article 237-1, and it may order that such maintenance should last until the children have or could reasonably have their own income.
2. If either spouse so requests, the judicial authority must take appropriate measures regarding the use of the family dwelling and its household items, the compensatory payment, the financial compensation by reason of work in case of a property regime of separation of property, the liquidation of the matrimonial property regime and the division of the common property or of the ordinary undivided co-ownership.
Article 233-5. Agreements outside the separation agreement
1. The agreements in anticipation of a marriage breakdown executed in accordance with Article 231-20 and those adopted after the breakdown of cohabitation which are not part of a proposed separation agreement are binding on the spouses. The action to enforce such agreements may be combined to the action seeking annulment, separation or divorce and it can be requested to integrate them into the judgement. It can also be requested to integrate them into the proceedings seeking interim measures so that they may be included in the court order, where appropriate.
2. Agreements adopted after the breakdown of cohabitation without independent legal aid for each spouse may be annulled at the request of any spouse within three months from the date of their adoption and no later than the date of the response to the claim or, where appropriate, the counterclaim in the matrimonial proceeding where enforcement of such agreements is sought.
3. Agreements regarding custody and personal relations with minor children or maintenance in their favour are only effective if they conform to their interests at the time enforcement is sought.
Article 233-6. Family mediation
1. The spouses, in any stage of the matrimonial proceedings and in any court or tribunal, may submit the differences to mediation and try to reach an agreement in whole or in part, except in cases of domestic or sexist violence.
2. The commencement of family mediation proceedings, prior to filing the application or in any stage of the matrimonial proceedings, at the initiative of the parties or by referral from lawyers or other professionals, is subject to the principles of voluntariness and confidentiality. Withdrawal from such proceedings may not harm the litigants who participated therein.
3. The judicial authority can refer the spouses to an information session on mediation, if it considers, from the circumstances of the case, that an agreement can be reached.
4. The parties may jointly agree to request the suspension of the proceedings during mediation. The communication to the judicial authority of the withdrawal of any party or of the agreement reached in mediation lifts the suspension of the proceedings.
5. Agreements reached in mediation, once incorporated into the proceedings, must be submitted to the judicial authority for approval on the same terms as provided by Article 233-3 for the separation agreement.
6. Agreements reached in mediation regarding the exercise of parental responsibility are deemed suitable for the minor’s interest. The lack of approval by the judicial authority must be based on criteria of public policy and on the minor’s interest.
Article 233-7. Amendment of measures
1. The measures issued in matrimonial proceedings may be modified by a subsequent court order, if circumstances have changed substantially at the time of the order.
2. The separation agreement or the judgment may determine in advance the relevant changes.
3. If the party requesting amendment to the measures provided for, due to a substantial change in circumstances, attempted to reach an extrajudicial settlement by commencing mediation proceedings, the court order amending the measures may give them retroactive effects to the date of the commencement of the mediation proceedings.
Section two. Care of the children
Article 233-8. Parental responsibility
1. The annulment of marriage, divorce or legal separation does not alter the responsibilities of the parents towards their children pursuant to Article 236-17.1. Consequently, these responsibilities retain their shared nature and, where possible, they must be exercised jointly.
2. For the purposes of determining how parental responsibilities should be exercised, the spouses must submit their proposed parenting plan, with the content provided for by Article 233-9.
3. In the decision of the judicial authority regarding parental responsibilities, the minor's interest must prevail.
Article 233-9. Parenting plan
1. The parenting plan should specify the manner in which both parents exercise parental responsibilities. It must include the commitments they make regarding the custody, care and education of their children.
2. The proposed parenting plan must include:
a) The place or places where the children normally live. This must include rules determining at all times which parent has custody.
b) The tasks falling under the responsibility of each parent regarding the daily activities of the children.
c) The manner in which changes must be made regarding custody and, where appropriate, how the costs involved should be shared.
d) The arrangements regarding the relation and communication with the children during the periods when a parent does not have them with him.
e) The arrangements regarding the stays of the children with each parent during vacation periods and dates especially important to the children, their parents or their family.
f) The type of education and, where appropriate, the extracurricular, educational and recreational activities.
g) The manner of complying with the obligation to share all information regarding the education, health and welfare of the children.
h) The manner of making decisions regarding changes of address and other issues of importance to the children.
3. The proposed parenting plan may provide for the possibility of resorting to family mediation in order to resolve disputes arising from the implementation of the plan, or of altering its contents in order to adapt it to the varying needs at the different stages in the life of the children.
Article 233-10. Exercise of custody
1. Custody must be exercised in the manner agreed by the spouses in the parenting plan, unless it is harmful to the children.
2. The judicial authority, if there is no agreement or if it is not approved, must determine how custody shall be exercised, taking account of the joint nature of parental responsibilities, in accordance with Article 233-8.1. However, the judicial authority may direct that the custody shall be exercised individually if this is more in accordance with the child’s interests.
3. The form of exercise of custody does not alter the content of the maintenance obligations towards common children, but account must be taken of the time spent by the minors with each parent and of the expenses directly paid by each parent.
4. The judicial authority may exceptionally award custody to grandparents, other relatives, other persons close to the children or, if there is none, to a suitable institution, which may be given guardianship functions with suspension of parental authority.
Article 233-11. Criteria for determining the regulation and exercise of custody
1. To determine the regulation and exercise of custody, account must be taken of the proposed parenting plan and, in particular, of the following weighted criteria and circumstances:
a) The emotional bond between the children and each parent, and the relations with the other persons living in the respective homes.
b) The ability of the parents to ensure the welfare of the children and the possibility to give them a suitable environment, according to their age.
c) The attitude of each parent to cooperate with each other to ensure maximum stability to the children, particularly to adequately ensure the relations of the children with both parents.
d) The time devoted by each parent to the care of the children before the breakdown and the tasks which were effectively exercised by them to ensure the welfare of the children.
e) The opinion expressed by the children.
f) The agreements in anticipation of the breakdown or those entered into outside the separation agreement before commencing the proceedings.
g) The location of the homes of the parents and the schedules and activities for children and parents.
2. The award of custody can not separate siblings, unless circumstances so require.
3. In the interest of the children, custody can not be awarded to the parent against whom a final judgment has been pronounced for acts of domestic or sexist violence suffered directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, by the children. In the interest of the children, custody can also not be awarded to the parent while there is a grounded suspicion that such parent may have committed acts of domestic or sexist violence suffered directly or indirectly by the children.
Article 233-12. Personal relations with grandparents and siblings
1. If the spouses propose an arrangement regulating the personal relations of the children with their grandparents and adult siblings who do not live in the same household, the judicial authority can approve it, after hearing the parties concerned and provided they consent.
2. The persons who have been awarded personal relations with the children are entitled to claim implementation thereof.
Article 233-13. Supervision of personal relations in risk situations
1. The judicial authority may, for justified reasons, adopt measures to ensure that the personal relations of the minor with the non-custodial parent or with the grandparents, siblings or other persons close to him are exercised in conditions where the safety and emotional stability of the minor is ensured.
2. If there is a danger or a social risk, the supervision of the relation may be entrusted to the network of social services or to a Family Meeting Point (punt de trobada familiar).
Section three. Compensatory payment
Article 233-14. Compensatory payment
1. The spouse whose economic situation is more affected, as a result of the breakdown of cohabitation, has the right during the first matrimonial proceedings to claim a compensatory payment not exceeding the living standards enjoyed during marriage or what the obligor spouse can sustain, taking account of the right to maintenance of the children, which prevails. In case of annulment of marriage, the bona fide spouse is entitled to such compensatory payment, in the same circumstances.
2. If either spouse dies before one year of the de facto separation, the other spouse may, within three months from the date of the death, claim to the heirs his right to compensatory payment. The same rule applies if the marriage proceedings end by reason of the death of the obligor spouse.
Article 233-15. Determination of the compensatory payment
The judicial authority, for the purpose of determining the amount and duration of the compensatory payment, should assess in particular:
a) The financial situation of the spouses, taking account, where applicable, of the financial compensation by reason of work or of the awards expected as a result of the liquidation of the matrimonial property regime.
b) The performance of family tasks and the taking of other decisions in the interest of the family during cohabitation, if this reduced the ability of the spouse to earn income.
c) The foreseeable financial perspectives of the spouses, taking account of their age and health conditions and the manner in which the custody of the common children is awarded.
d) The duration of cohabitation.
e) The new family expenses of the debtor, where applicable.
Article 233-16. Agreements on compensatory payment
1. In anticipation of a marriage breakdown, the form, amount, duration and termination of the compensatory payment may be agreed upon in accordance with Article 231-20.
2. Waiver agreements not included in a proposed separation agreement are null and void to the extent that they compromise the ability to meet the basic needs of the creditor spouse.
Article 233-17. Form of payment
1. The compensatory payment can be awarded in the form of a lump sum, whether in assets or in money, or as an allowance. In case of disagreement, the judicial authority must issue a decision on the form of payment according to the circumstances of the case and, especially, the composition of the assets and financial resources of the debtor spouse.
2. When payment is awarded in the form of a lump sum, the judicial authority, at the request of the debtor spouse, may defer payment or order it to be made in instalments, with a maximum maturity of three years and accrual of legal interest from the date of its admission.
3. When payment is awarded in the form of an allowance, it must be paid in money in monthly advanced instalments. At the request of a party, guarantees may be constituted and objective criteria may be provided for regarding the automatic adjustment of the allowance.
4. Compensatory payment in the form of an allowance is awarded for a limited period, unless exceptional circumstances justify the award of an indefinite allowance.
Article 233-18. Modification of the compensatory payment
1. The compensatory payment awarded in the form of an allowance may only be modified to reduce its amount if the financial situation of the beneficiary improves or if the financial situation of the debtor worsens.
2. To determine the financial capacity of the debtor, account must be taken of his new family expenses and preference must be given to the right of all his children to maintenance.
Article 233-19. Termination of the right to compensatory payment
1. The right to compensatory payment awarded in the form of an allowance terminates on the following grounds:
a) Improvement of the financial situation of the creditor, if this improvement ceases to justify the payment, or worsening of the financial situation of the obligor, if this worsening justifies the termination of the right.
b) Marriage of the creditor or his marital cohabitation with another person.
c) Death of the creditor.
d) Expiry of the period for which it was established.
2. The right to compensatory payment awarded in the form of an allowance is not terminated by the death of the obligor, but the creditor or the debtor's heirs may apply for replacement by the payment of a lump sum, taking into account the amount and, where applicable, the duration of the allowance, and also the liquid assets inherited upon the death of the debtor.
Section four. Award or distribution of the use of the family dwelling
Article 233-20. Award or distribution of the use of the family dwelling
1. The spouses may agree to award the use of the family dwelling with its household items to one of them, as a settlement, to the extent necessary, for the maintenance of the common children living with the beneficiary of the use or for the compensatory payment to said beneficiary. The spouses may also agree to distribute the use of the dwelling into specific periods.
2. If there is no agreement or if it is not approved, the judicial authority must award the use of the family dwelling, preferably, to the parent having custody of the common children while custody lasts.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, the judicial authority must award the use of the family dwelling to the spouse most in need in the following cases:
a) When the custody of the children is shared or distributed between the parents.
b) When the spouses have no children or when these are adults.
c) Where, although the use of the dwelling is awarded by reason of the custody of the children, it is foreseeable that the need of the spouse shall continue once the children have attained majority.
4. Exceptionally, even where there are minor children, the judicial authority may award the use of the family dwelling to the non-custodial spouse if such spouse is most in needs and the custodial spouse has sufficient resources to meet his housing needs and those of the children.
5. The award of the use of the dwelling to one spouse, in the cases referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, must be temporary and may be extended, also temporarily, should the circumstances remain which motivated it. Such extension must be requested, at the latest, six months before the expiry of the period, under the procedure governing the amendment of final measures.
6. The judicial authority may award the use of other residences in place of the family dwelling if they are suitable to meet the housing needs of the spouse and children.
7. The award of the use of the dwelling, if owned in whole or in part by the spouse who is not the beneficiary, must be reckoned as a contribution in kind when determining maintenance obligations towards the children and, where applicable be, the compensatory payment earned by the other spouse.
Article 233-21. Exclusion of and limits to the award of the use of the dwelling
1. The judicial authority, at the request of either spouse, may exclude the award of the use of the family dwelling in any of the following cases:
a) When the spouse who would be the beneficiary of the use by reason of the custody of the children has sufficient resources to meet his housing needs and those of the children.
b) When the spouse who should transfer the use can meet with sufficient guarantee his obligations regarding child maintenance and, where appropriate, the compensatory payment awarded to the other spouse, the amount of which should cover the housing needs of the latter.
2. When the spouses hold the dwelling under a title other than ownership, the effects of the judicial award of the use of the dwelling are limited by the provisions of the title of ownership, in accordance with the law. When the spouses hold the family dwelling on sufferance of a third, the judicial decision awarding the use of the dwelling ceases to produce effects when return of the dwelling is claimed. In this case, in accordance with the provisions of Article 233-7.2, the judgment may order the adjustment of the relevant obligations regarding maintenance or compensatory payment.
3. The agreements in anticipation of a marriage breakdown can provide for the award or distribution of the use of the dwelling and the forms of such use. Agreements harming the child’s interests and agreements outside the separation agreement which compromise the possibilities of meeting the basic needs of the spouse entitled to such use are null and void.
Article 233-22. Publicity of the right to use the dwelling
The right to use the family dwelling awarded to a spouse can be recorded or, if it has been awarded as an interim measure, provisionally noted in the Property Registry.
Article 233-23. Obligations in respect of the dwelling 
1. In case of award or distribution of the use of the dwelling, obligations entered into to acquire or improve it, including insurance related to that purpose, must be paid according to the provisions of the deed of establishment.
2. The ordinary expenses of upkeep, maintenance and repair of the dwelling, including community charges and supplies, and annual taxes and rates are borne by the spouse with right of use.
Article 233-24. Termination of right of use
1. The right of use terminates on the grounds agreed between the spouses and, if awarded by reason of the custody of the children, when custody ends.
2. The right of use, if temporarily awarded by reason of the needs of the spouse, terminates on the following grounds:
a) Improvement of the financial situation of the spouse with right of use or worsening of the financial situation of the other spouse, if this justifies termination.
b) Marriage of the spouse with right of use or marital cohabitation with another person.
c) Death of the spouse with right of use.
d) Expiry of the period for which it was established or, where applicable, of its extension.
3. Upon termination of the right of use, the owner spouse can regain possession of the dwelling in accordance with the judgment which awarded the right of use or the final decision on the duration or termination of such right, and he may request, where applicable, to cancel the registration of the right of use.
Article 233-25. Disposal of the dwelling subject to right of use
The owner or holder of real rights on the family dwelling can dispose thereof without the consent of the spouse having the right of use and without court approval, without prejudice to the right of use.
Chapter IV. Stable cohabitation partnerships
Section one. General provisions
Article 234-1. Stable partners
Two persons cohabiting and sharing a common life similar to marriage are considered stable partners in any of the following cases:
a) When cohabitation lasts longer than two consecutive years.
b) When they have a common child during cohabitation.
c) When the relationship is formalised in a public deed.
Article 234-2. Personal requirements
The following persons can not establish a stable partnership:
a) Unemancipated minors.
b) Relatives in the direct line, or in the collateral line up to the second degree.
c) Married persons who are not de facto separated.
d) Persons cohabiting as a couple with a third person.
Article 234-3. Regulation of partnership during cohabitation
1. Stable partnerships are governed solely by the agreements made by the cohabitants while cohabitation lasts.
2. Regarding the disposal of the family dwelling, the provisions of Article 231-9 apply.
3. Stable partners may acquire property jointly with tontine clause. In this case, Articles 231-15 to 231-18, on acquisitions for consideration with tontine clause, apply.
Section two. Termination of stable partnership
Article 234-4. Grounds for termination
1. The stable partnership terminates on the following grounds:
a) End of cohabitation with breakdown of common life.
b) Death or declaration of death of either partner.
c) Marriage of either partner.
d) Joint agreement between the partners formalised in public deed.
e) Willingness of either partner notified to the other in an irrefutable manner.
2. The termination of the partnership causes the withdrawal of all consents and powers granted by either partner in favour of the other.
Article 234-5. Agreements in anticipation of the end of cohabitation
In anticipation of the end of cohabitation, partners may agree in a public deed the effects of the termination of the stable partnership. These agreements are subject to Article 231-20.
Article 234-6. Agreements reached after the end of cohabitation
1. After the end of cohabitation, partners may agree the effects of the termination of the partnership.
2. In case of agreements reached after the end of cohabitation, both partners, by mutual agreement, or one partner, with the consent of the other, may submit for approval by the judicial authority a proposed separation agreement including all the effects of termination on the common children and between the partners.
3. Articles 233-4 and 233-5 respectively apply to the agreements included in a proposed separation agreement and to the agreements reached outside the separation agreement.
Section three. Effects of the termination of the stable partnership
Article 234-7. Exercise of child custody and personal relations
Regarding the exercise of child custody and personal relations, Articles 233-8 to 233-13 apply to stable partnerships.
Article 234-8. Award or distribution of use of the family dwelling
1. The stable partners may agree to award the use of the family dwelling with its household items to one of them, as a settlement, to the extent necessary, for the maintenance of the common children living with the beneficiary of the use or, where appropriate, for the compensatory payment to said beneficiary.
2. If there is no agreement or if this is not approved, and if the partners have common children, the judicial authority may award the use of the family dwelling, taking account of the circumstances of the case and according to the following rules:
a) Preferably, to the partner having custody of the children while custody lasts.
b) If custody of the children is shared or distributed between both partners, to the partner who most needs it.
3. The award or distribution of the use of the dwelling, if owned in whole or in part by the partner who is not the beneficiary, must be taken into account when determining maintenance obligations towards the children and, where applicable, maintenance earned by the other partner.
4. The award or distribution of the use of the dwelling is governed by the provisions of Article 233-20.6 and 7 and Articles 233-21 to 233-25.
Article 234-9. Financial compensation by reason of work
1. When either partner has worked for the household substantially more than the other or has worked for the other partner without any or sufficient remuneration, such partner is entitled to financial compensation for this involvement if, at the end of cohabitation, the other partner has accrued more assets, according to the provisions of Article 232-6.
2. The provisions of Articles 232-5 to 232-10 apply to financial compensation by reason of work.
Article 234-10. Maintenance
1. When the stable partnership terminates during the lifetime of the partners, either partner may claim maintenance from the other, if such maintenance is needed to properly care for his living, in any of the following cases:
a) When cohabitation has diminished the ability of the applicant to earn income.
b) When the applicant has the custody of common children in circumstances where his ability to earn an income is diminished.
2. Agreements to waive maintenance are null and void to the extent that they compromise the ability of the partner entitled thereto to meet his basic needs, unless such agreements are incorporated into a proposed settlement pursuant to Article 234-6.
3. If either partner dies within one year from the termination of the partnership, the other partner may, within three months following the death, claim from the heirs his right to maintenance. The same rule applies if the proceedings to claim maintenance end by reason of the death of the obligor partner.
Article 234-11. Payment of maintenance
1. Maintenance may be awarded in the form of a lump sum or as an allowance.
2. Failing agreement, the judicial authority decides on the form of payment in accordance with the provisions of Article 233-17.
3. Maintenance in the form of an allowance is temporary, with a maximum of three annual instalments, unless maintenance is based on the reduced ability of the creditor to earn an income resulting from the custody of common children. In this case, maintenance may be awarded for the duration of the custody.
4. Maintenance in the form of an allowance may be modified under the terms of Article 233-18.
Article 234-12. Termination of maintenance awarded in the form of an allowance
Maintenance in the form of an allowance terminates in accordance with the provisions of Article 233-19.
Article 234-13. Exercise of rights
The rights to financial compensation by reason of work and to maintenance must be claimed within one year from the termination of the stable partnership and, where applicable, in the proceedings determining the other effects of the termination of the stable partnership.
Article 234-14. Effects of termination by death
Upon termination of the stable partnership by the death of either partner, the surviving partner is entitled, in addition to the compensation by reason of work which may be applicable pursuant to Article 232-5.5, to the family widowhood rights provided for in Articles 231-30 and 231-31.
Chapter V. Filiation
Section one. General provisions
Article 235-1. Forms of filiation
Filiation can be natural or through adoption.
Article 235-2. Effects of filiation
1. Any filiation produces the same civil effects, without prejudice to the specific effects of filiation by adoption.
2. Filiation determines parental authority, surnames, maintenance and inheritance rights and entails the assumption of parental responsibilities towards the minor children together with the other effects specified by law.
3. The father and mother can jointly decide the order of the surnames when registering the birth or adoption of their first child. The children, when attaining majority or upon emancipation, may alter the order of the surnames.
Section two. Natural filiation
Subsection one. General provisions on the establishment of filiation
Article 235-3. Establishment
Natural filiation, as to the mother, results from birth; as to the father and the mother, it may be established by recognition, by consent to the application of assisted reproduction techniques to the woman”, by registration or by judgment; and, only as to the father, by marriage to the mother.
Article 235-4. Legal time of conception
The legal time of conception includes the first one hundred twenty days of pregnancy, which is presumed to last at most three hundred days, unless conclusive evidence shows that pregnancy lasted more than three hundred days.
Subsection two. Establishment of marital filiation
Article 235-5. Marital paternity 
1. The husband is presumed to be the father of the children born after marriage and within three hundred days of the legal or de facto separation of the spouses or the annulment or dissolution of marriage.
2. Children born more than three hundred days after the legal or de facto separation of the spouses are marital children if it is proven that they were born as a result of sexual intercourse between the spouses. The same rule applies in case of annulment or dissolution of the marriage if it is proven that intercourse took place before such annulment or dissolution was effective.
3. If the mother remarries within three hundred days of the dissolution or annulment, the children born after such marriage are presumed to be children of her second husband.
Article 235-6. Conception before marriage
1. If the child is born within one hundred eighty days after marriage, the husband may annul the establishment of filiation arising from Article 235-5 by declaring that paternity is unknown. This declaration must be done in an authentic act and it must be recorded in the Civil Registry within six months after birth.
2. The declaration of unknown filiation is null and void in the following cases:
a) If the husband knew of the pregnancy before marriage, unless the declaration referred to in paragraph 1 was done with the consent of the wife.
b) If the husband admitted paternity in any manner.
c) If the mother proves intercourse with her husband during the legal time of conception.
Article 235-7. Birth before marriage
1. Common children born before the marriage of their father and mother have, from the date of marriage, the status of marital children if filiation is established by law.
2. The challenge of the filiation referred to in paragraph 1 is governed by the rules of non-marital filiation.
Article 235-8. Assisted reproduction of married women
1. Children born as a result of the application of assisted reproduction techniques to the wife, carried out with the express consent of her spouse formalised in a document drawn up in an authorised centre or in a public deed, are marital children of the spouse who gave consent.
2. In case of artificial insemination performed after the death of the husband and with his gametes, the newborn is his child if the following conditions are met:
a) The express will of the husband regarding assisted reproduction after his death must have been conclusively recorded.
b) It must be limited to a single case, including multiple births.
c) The assisted reproduction process must begin within 270 days from the death of the husband. The judicial authority may extend this period for just cause and for a maximum of 90 days.
Subsection three. Establishment of non-marital filiation
Article 235-9. Establishment
1. Non-marital filiation can be established by:
a) Recognition in a will or codicil, in a public deed or before the person in charge of the Civil Registry.
b) Order issued in a case conducted in accordance with the laws on the Civil Registry.
c) Final judgment in a civil or criminal proceeding.
d) As to the mother, in the manner established by the laws on the Civil Registry regarding registration.
2. In the recognition made in a will or public deed or before the person in charge of the Civil Registry, the identity of the other parent can not be expressed if it has not already been legally established. This rule does not apply in case of recognition of the unborn conceived child carried out in a will or public deed.
Article 235-10. Presumptions of paternity
1. The father of the non-marital child is presumed to be:
a) The man with whom the mother lived during the legal time of conception.
b) The man with whom the mother had sexual intercourse during the time of conception.
c) The man who has acknowledged paternity, tacitly or in a manner different from that established under Article 235-9.
2. The presumptions referred to in paragraph 1 can be rebutted with evidence of any kind during the relevant proceedings.
Article 235-11. Capacity to recognise paternity or maternity
1. Males over fourteen years of age have the capacity to recognise paternity. The mother has the capacity to recognise maternity when it is established that she has given birth, irrespective of her age. In both cases, they must have natural capacity.
2. For the recognition made by unemancipated or incapable minors to be valid, court approval is required, after hearing the Public Prosecution.
Article 235-12. Requirements for the recognition of paternity or maternity
1. The recognition of a non-marital child who is an adult or an emancipated minor is effective only with his express or implied consent.
2. The father and mother can request the court to declare non-marital paternity or maternity although the child has denied the consent referred to in paragraph 1. The favourable judgment must establish the filiation with no further effect, unless the reason behind the delay in recognition is evidenced.
3. Recognition of a minor or incapable person which is not performed within the time allowed for registration of birth requires court approval to be effective, after hearing the Public Prosecution, the legal representative of the minor and, if known, the other parent. The denial of court approval does not preclude the claim of filiation in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 and to the same extent.
4. Recognition of a deceased child is only effective if he leaves descendants and those of the nearest degree consent thereto. If the descendants are minor or incapable persons, court approval is required, after hearing the Public Prosecution. The denial of consent or court approval does not preclude the claim of filiation in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 and to the same extent.
Article 235-13. Assisted reproduction of women
1. Children born as a result of the application of assisted reproduction techniques to their mother are the children of the man or woman who has given express consent thereto in a document drawn up in an authorised centre or in a public deed.
2. In case of assisted reproduction performed after the death of the man who cohabited with the mother, the newborn is considered to be his child if the conditions laid down by article 235-8.2 are met mutatis mutandis.
Article 235-14. Limited effectiveness
1. The effects of the declaration of filiation are limited to the mere establishment of the filiation, at the request of the adult or emancipated children, or of the legal representative of the minor or incapable children, in the following cases:
a) If the parent has been convicted by final judgment in a criminal proceeding because of the relationships which led to filiation.
b) If the claimed filiation has been declared by court with the opposition of the defendant parent.
c) If recognition was done in bad faith or with abuse of rights.
2. The establishment of filiation in the cases referred to in paragraph 1 produces no civil effect for the parent, who always remains obliged to care for the child and to provide maintenance.
Subsection four. Common rules on actions for filiation
Article 235-15. Evidence
1. To bring an action for filiation, prima facie evidence is not required.
2. In filiation proceedings, evidence of all kinds is admitted, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 235-28.2.
Article 235-16. Persons involved in the proceedings
1. In any filiation proceeding, the defendants must be the persons whose paternity, maternity or filiation is claimed or is established by law.
2. In case of death of the person who should be sued in an action for filiation, the action must be directed against his heirs.
3. In actions for filiation, the judicial authority may appoint a guardian ad litem if the child should take action through a legal representative and this is justified by his interest.
Article 235-17. Interim measures in filiation proceedings
While the action claiming or challenging filiation lasts, the judicial authority may take appropriate protection measures regarding the person and property of the minor or incapable child and, in case of a claim of filiation, it may also order temporary maintenance in favour of the child.
Article 235-18. Sexual intercourse of the mother with other men
1. Evidence of sexual intercourse of the mother with a man other than the defendant during the legal time of conception is not sufficient to rebut the presumption of paternity.
2. If the exception of the sexual intercourse of the mother with men other than the defendant is raised during the proceedings, such men can be called, at the request of the party entitled to claim paternity, to intervene in the proceedings as a defendant.
3. If, pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 2, several men are sued, the man whose paternity is most likely must be declared father.
Article 235-19. Conflicting filiation
1. The establishment of filiation has no effect while there is another conflicting filiation.
2. No filiation can be claimed which conflicts with another filiation established by a final judgment.
Subsection five. Claim of filiation
Article 235-20. Marital filiation
1. The father, the mother and the children, directly or through their legal representatives, where applicable, may bring, throughout life, an action claiming marital filiation. The action brought by the children may be continued by their descendants or heirs.
2. The descendants or heirs of the children can bring an action claiming marital filiation, within the time remaining to reach the limit of two years from the date of discovery of the evidence substantiating the claim.
3. If the child deceases less than four years after attaining majority or after recovering full capacity, the descendants or heirs of the child can bring or continue the action claiming marital filiation, within the time remaining before the end of such period, if it exceeds the term of two years established by paragraph 2.
Article 235-21. Non-marital filiation
1. Children, directly or through their legal representatives, where applicable, may bring, throughout life, an action claiming non-marital filiation. In the cases of Article 235-20.2 and 3, the descendants or heirs of the children may bring or continue the action, within the time remaining before the end of the applicable period.
2. The father and the mother may bring, throughout life, the action claiming non-marital paternity or maternity, in their own name and interest, if they can not recognise the child or if recognition was null and void due to the lack of consent by the children or to the lack of court approval.
Article 235-22. Joinder of claims
The action claiming filiation can be joined to the action challenging the conflicting filiation. In this case, the challenge of filiation is ancillary to the claim of filiation and it can only be upheld if the claim of filiation is upheld, unless the applicant has legal standing to bring the action challenging filiation and this action has not expired.
Subsection six. Challenge of filiation
Article 235-23. Challenge of marital paternity by the husband
1. The husband may bring the action challenging marital paternity within two years from the date of discovery of the child’s birth or of the evidence substantiating the challenge.
2. The action challenging marital paternity is transmitted to the children or descendants and to the heirs of the husband if he dies after bringing the action or before the end of the periods set by paragraph 1. In these cases, any of them can bring such action within the time remaining before the end of said periods.
3. If the husband dies without discovering the birth or the evidence substantiating the action, the period of two years is counted from the date of their discovery by the person entitled to challenge paternity.
Article 235-24. Challenge of marital paternity by the mother
The mother, in her own name or in the interest and on behalf of the child, if minor or incapable, may challenge marital paternity within two years from the date of the child’s birth or the discovery of the evidence substantiating the challenge.
Article 235-25. Challenge of marital paternity by the child
The child may bring the action challenging marital paternity within two years from the attainment of majority, the recovery of full capacity or the discovery of the evidence substantiating the challenge.
Article 235-26. Challenge of non-marital paternity
1. The father, the mother and the children, directly or through their legal representative, may bring an action challenging non-marital paternity within two years from the establishment of such paternity or, as the case may be, from the moment when this establishment is discovered or new evidence arises which contradicts paternity.
2. As to the child, the action expires two years after attaining majority, recovering full capacity or after new evidence arises which contradicts filiation. During the minority or incapacity of the child, the mother may bring this action, in accordance with the provisions of Article 235-24.
Article 235-27. Challenge of the recognition of paternity
1. The action challenging the recognition of paternity made without capacity or by error, violence, intimidation or deceit, must be brought by the person who performed this recognition and by his legal representatives.
2. The action for nullity due to the lack of capacity expires two years after attaining majority or recovering full capacity. In case of a defect of consent, the action expires two years after the recognition of paternity, in case of error, and, in the other cases, after the end of the defect. The children, descendants and heirs of the person who recognised paternity can continue the action for nullity, or bring it, if the person who recognised paternity dies within the term of two years, during the time remaining before the end of this period.
3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 also apply to the consent to the application of assisted reproduction techniques to the woman.
4. The recognition of paternity made by fraudulent evasion of the law is null and void. The action for nullity is not time-barred, and may be brought by the Public Prosecution or by any other person with a direct and legitimate interest.
Article 235-28. Evidence in the challenge of paternity
1. For any action challenging marital and non-marital paternity to be successful, it must be conclusively evidenced that the alleged father is not the parent of the person whose filiation is challenged.
2. When filiation arises from the application of assisted reproduction techniques to the mother, the action challenging filiation can not be upheld if the person whose paternity or maternity is challenged consented to assisted reproduction in accordance with Articles 235-8 and 235-13, or, in any case, if such person is the biological parent of the child.
Article 235-29. Challenge of maternity
1. Children, directly or through their legal representatives, may bring, throughout life, an action challenging maternity if they prove that the declaration of birth is false or that the identity of the child is incorrect. The mother may also bring such action within two years from the discovery of the evidence substantiating the challenge.
2. The action challenging filiation is transmitted to the children or descendants and to the heirs of the mother if she dies after bringing the action or before the end of the periods set by paragraph 1. In these cases, any of them can bring such action within the time remaining before the end of said periods.
3. If the mother dies without discovering the evidence which could substantiate an action, the term of two years is counted from the date when the person entitled to challenge the maternity discovers such evidence.
Section three. Filiation by adoption
Subsection one. Conditions for adoption
Article 235-30. Personal requirements to adopt
1. To adopt, the following requirements must be met:
a) Having full legal capacity.
b) Being over twenty-five years of age, except in case of adoption of the child of the spouse or stable partner or of orphaned relatives, and being at least fourteen years older than the adoptee.
2. The adoption by more than one person is only allowed in the case of spouses or stable partners. In these cases, it suffices that one of the adoptive parents be over twenty-five years of age.
Article 235-31. Prohibitions to adopt
1. Persons who have been suspended from or deprived of parental authority or who have been removed from a guardianship function, while in this situation, can not adopt.
2. The following persons can not be adopted:
a) The descendants of the adopter.
b) The siblings of the adopter.
c) The collateral relatives up to the second degree of affinity for the duration of the marriage which causes this relationship.
Article 235-32. Adoption of minors
1. Minors deprived of parental care in pre-adoptive foster care can be adopted. The following minors can also be adopted:
a) The children of the spouse or stable partner of the adopter. In these cases, adoption is possible if filiation is not established by law regarding the other parent, or if the other parent is deceased, deprived or liable to be deprived of parental authority, or has given his assent.
b) The orphans who are relatives of the adopter up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity.
c) Persons under the guardianship of the prospective adopter, after approval of the final accounts of guardianship.
2. Minors deprived of parental care placed in foster care can be adopted by their foster parents, if circumstances have changed and it is no longer possible to return the minors to their family, due to the occurrence of some of the circumstances of pre-adoptive foster care or of some other circumstances which make return impossible.
3. Adoption can be granted, irrespective of the death of one or more adopters, if consent to adoption was given before a judicial authority or in a will, a codicil or a public deed.
4. In case of death of the individual adopter or, regarding joint adoptions, of both adopters, a new procedure can be initiated for the adoption of the person who was in the process of being adopted.
Article 235-33. Adoption of adults
Emancipated or adult persons may only be adopted if they have lived continuously with the adopter before attaining the age of fourteen years or if they have been in pre-adoptive foster care, at least six months immediately before attaining majority or emancipation, and they must have lived continuously with the foster parent.
Subsection two. Pre-adoptive foster care
Article 235-34. Procedure of pre-adoptive foster care
1. The competent public entity must decide pre-adoptive foster care, as a first stage prior to adoption, in the following cases:
a) If the minor can not be returned to his family of origin and it is in his best interest to fully integrate into another family through adoption.
b) If the parents or guardians so request to the competent public entity and renounce the rights and duties inherent to their condition.
2. For the purposes of the provisions of paragraph 1, the return of the minor to his biological family is understood to be impossible if it requires going through a period which may cause a greater psychosocial impairment to the evolutionary development of the minor.
3. Once pre-adoptive foster care has been granted, the visits and relations of the minor with his biological family must be suspended, to facilitate integration into the foster family, if this is in the child’s interest.
4. The foster persons have the duty to care for the minor, keep him in their company, provide for his maintenance, educate him and provide him comprehensive training. To this end, they fully assume parental responsibilities and the powers resulting therefrom. These functions should be exercised under the supervision of the competent entity, which must provide the necessary assistance.
Article 235-35. Foster care decision
Pre-adoptive foster care must be granted by a decision of the responsible public entity within the time limit and in accordance with the requirements and procedures established by the legislation on children and adolescents.
Article 235-36. Termination of pre-adoptive foster care
1. Pre-adoptive foster care terminates on the following grounds:
a) Adoption of the person placed in foster care.
b) Death, incapacity or unwillingness of the foster persons.
c) Request of the person placed in foster care, if twelve years of age or over.
d) Decision of the competent public entity based on an unfavourable monitoring report.
2. Termination of foster care on the grounds referred to in paragraph 1.b, c and d entails the adoption of the protection measures which best suit the child’s interest.
Article 235-37. Data confidentiality
The persons involved in the establishment of pre-adoptive foster care or adoption, whether or not in service in the responsible public entity or in collaborating institutions, are bound to secrecy regarding the information obtained and the filiation details of the foster or adoptive persons, and must especially avoid that the family of origin knows the foster or adoptive family.
Article 235-38. Proposal for adoption
1. To initiate the adoption process, prior proposal from the responsible public entity is required, except in the cases referred to in Article 235-32.1. a, b and c and Article 235-33.
2. The proposal for adoption must include the following information, properly supported:
a) The rationale supporting the adequacy of the person or persons who want to adopt taking account of their personal, social, family and financial situation and of their educational skills.
b) The last address, if known, of the parents, guardians or custodians of the adoptee.
Subsection three. Establishment of the adoption
Article 235-39. Establishment by court order
Adoption must be established by reasoned court order in accordance with the provisions of this section, taking account of the interests of the adoptee.
Article 235-40. Consent to adoption
The adopters and the adoptee, if twelve years of age or over, must consent to the adoption before a judicial authority.
Article 235-41. Assent to adoption
1. The following persons must assent to adoption, if not unable to do so:
a) The spouse of the adopter, except in case of legal or de facto separation, or the stable partner of the adopter.
b) The parents of the adoptee, unless legally deprived or liable to be deprived of parental authority, or, in case of pre-adoptive foster care, unless the court order granting foster care has become final.
2. The assent must be given before the judicial authority. The mother can not give it until six weeks have elapsed following the birth.
3. The assent of the parents can not refer to a specific person, except in exceptional cases justified by a reasonable cause.
Article 235-42. Existence of a ground for deprivation of parental authority
1. The existence of a ground for deprivation of parental authority, regarding one parent or both, referred to in Article 235-41.1.b, must be assessed in the adoption process itself, in a reasoned decision.
2. The judicial authority, after suspending the procedure, must inform the persons liable to be deprived of parental authority of the effects of the court decision and it must give them the period deemed necessary, not inferior to twenty days, to appear before the court and to claim what they consider most appropriate in defence of their right, under the verbal proceedings rules.
Article 235-43. Persons who must be heard
The following persons must be heard by the judicial authority in the adoption proceeding:
a) The parents of adult or emancipated minors and the persons whose assent is not required, except those who are deprived of parental authority.
b) The guardians, curators or de facto custodians of the adoptee.
c) The adopted child younger than twelve years of age, if he has enough discernment.
d) The children of the adopters, if these children and the adopters live together, and where appropriate the children of the adoptee, if it is possible and if they have enough discernment.
Subsection four. International adoption and foster care
Article 235-44. International adoption of minors
1. The international adoption and foster care must respect the principles of the conventions on the fundamental rights of children, the treaty rules and the rules of private international law which are applicable.
2. In international adoption and foster care, the following principles must be ensured:
a) A competent authority must be involved.
b) The principle of subsidiarity of international adoption must be respected.
c) Adoption or foster care must be in the interest of the minor.
d) The adoption of the minor must be possible.
e) The required consents must be given freely, without consideration, with knowledge of the consequences and effects arising therefrom, especially, in the case of adoption, with regard to the final severing of all legal ties with the family of origin.
f) Adoption or foster care may not entail an undue material benefit for the persons in charge of the minor or for anyone else.
g) The minor must be heard, if he has enough discernment.
3. Procedures to adopt minors may not be initiated in countries suffering from a military conflict or a natural disaster.
4. Regarding minors from countries where there exists no adoption or any other equivalent institution, the judicial authority may exceptionally order the establishment of adoption in situations similar to foster care or guardianship, established abroad with a purpose of permanent protection. Essential requirements are that the establishment of the adoption must be necessary in the minor’s interest, that the rules of private international law must allow it and that the competent public entity of the place of residence of the family must issue the certificate of suitability regarding the person or persons to whom the child has been entrusted and who request the adoption.
Article 235-45. Handling of the adoption process by the public entity
1. The competent public entity must only arrange adoptions of children from countries that ensure sufficient respect for the principles and norms of international adoption and the necessary intervention of its administrative and judicial authorities.
2. To ensure full respect for the rights of the minors, in case of international adoptions, the competent public entity:
a) Takes measures to prevent undue profits and practices contrary to the interests of the minor.
b) Collects and keeps information on the adoptees and their origin and ensure access thereto if permitted by law.
c) Facilitates and monitors the adoption procedures.
d) Advises on the adoption and, where necessary and to the extent permitted by law, monitors the adoptions, if required by the country of origin of the prospective adoptee.
e) Selects the prospective adoptive individuals and families by assessing their suitability in accordance with the criteria and processes which best ensure the success of the adoption process.
f) Determines the profile of the minor in accordance with that of the adoptive person or family to facilitate the adaptation of the minor and the success of adoption.
Article 235-46. Functions of intermediation
The functions of intermediation for international adoption can only be exercised by the competent public entity of the Generalitat. However, the Generalitat may accredit partner organisations to exercise these functions under the terms and in compliance with the requirements established by regulation. In any event, these organisations must be legally constituted non-profit organisations, aiming at protecting children and at upholding the best interests of the child above any other, according to the applicable rules of international law. They are subject to the guidelines, inspection and control of the responsible public entity.
Subsection five. Specific effects of filiation by adoption
Article 235-47. Specific effects of adoption
1. Adoption creates family ties between the adopter and his family and the adoptee and his descendants, and produces the same effects as natural filiation.
2. Adoption severs family ties between the adopted child and his family of origin, except in the cases referred to in Article 235-32.1. a and b, where family ties are maintained with the family of the replaced parent or parents.
3. The ties between the adoptee and his family of origin are maintained only in cases provided by law and, especially, regarding impediments to marry and in cases where succession rights are maintained.
4. The judicial authority, on a proposal from the responsible public entity or the Public Prosecution, may exceptionally maintain the personal relations of the adoptee with his family of origin in the situations referred to in Article 235-44.4 or if there are emotional ties which, if broken, would severely harm the interests of the minor.
Article 235-48. Surnames of the adoptee
1. The person who is jointly adopted by two persons takes the surnames of the adopters in the order given to their first common child or, if there is none, in the order they agree or which is provided by law. If the adopters are of the same sex and have no common child and fail to agree the order of the surnames, the judicial authority must decide it during the adoption process.
2. The person who is adopted by one person takes the surnames of the adopter, except in the case referred to in Article 235-32.1. a, where the adoptee retains the name of the parent of origin and the rules of paragraph 1 apply. However, the parent of origin and the adoptive parent may jointly request that the adoptee retain the two surnames of origin as a single surname, joined by a hyphen with the surname of the surviving parent in the first place. In this case, the adoptee must carry this surname along with the surname of the adopter. To carry out this union, the parent of origin replaced by the adoption must be deceased and the adoptee must consent thereto, if he has attained twelve years of age.
3. The order of the surnames of the person adopted by a single person can be reversed at his request at the time of adoption. The order established for the first child applies to the subsequent children.
4. The adult or emancipated adoptee can retain the surnames of origin upon request at the time of adoption.
5. In the cases of choice of surnames or of request to invert or keep surnames referred to in this article, the court order establishing adoption must expressly determine the surnames of the adoptee.
Article 235-49. Right to information about one’s origin
1. The adoptee is entitled to be informed about his origin.
2. The adoptee, after attaining majority or emancipation, may carry out the actions aiming at establishing the identity of his biological parents, which does not affect filiation by adoption.
3. The public administrations must provide to the adoptee, at his request, the data available regarding his biological filiation. To this end, a confidential procedure of mediation must be initiated, prior to disclosure, whereby both the adoptee and his biological father and mother must be informed of their respective family and social situations and of the attitude expressed by the other party regarding a possible meeting.
4. The adoptee, in the interest of his health, or his adoptive parents, if he is a minor, may request biogenetic data from his biological parents.
5. The rights conferred by paragraphs 2 and 3 must be exercised without prejudice to the duty of confidentiality of the procedure.
Article 235-50. Obligation to inform the adopted child about adoption
The adoptive parents must inform the child about his adoption, once he has sufficient maturity or, at the latest, when he attains twelve years of age, unless this information is contrary to the interests of the minor.
Subsection six. Termination
Article 235-51. Irrevocability and challenge
1. Adoption is irrevocable.
2. The judicial authority may decide the termination of adoption in the interests of the adoptee in the following cases:
a) If the parents were not duly involved in the adoption process for a reason not attributable to them and they challenge the adoption within two years after its establishment.
b) If the legal requirements for the review of final judgments are met.
Article 235-52. Effects of termination
1. The termination of the adoption causes the restoration of the natural filiation. The judicial authority may limit the restoration of filiation to the parent who brought the action.
2. Previous property consequences of the adoption remain unaltered.
Chapter VI. Parental authority
Section one. General provisions
Article 236-1. Holders of parental authority
Parents, in order to fulfil parental responsibilities, have parental authority over their unemancipated minor children. Parental authority can also be extended or recovered to be exercised over incapable adult children.
Article 236-2. Exercise of parental authority
Parents can not be excused from exercising parental authority. Bearing in mind the general interest of the family, they exercise it personally in the interests of their children, according to their personality and with a view to promoting their full development.
Article 236-3. Judicial intervention
1. The judicial authority may, in any proceeding, take the measures necessary to prevent any personal or financial damage to children under parental authority. To this end, it may limit the powers of the parents, require the provision of guarantees and even appoint a judicial administrator.
2. The judicial authority may adopt the measures referred to in paragraph 1 on its own motion or at the request of the children themselves, of the parents, even when these do not hold parental authority, of other relatives of the children up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or to the second degree of affinity and of the Public Prosecution.
Article 236-4. Personal relations
1. Children and parents, even when the latter do not exercise parental authority, have the right to have personal relations, unless the first have been adopted, or unless otherwise provided by the law or a court or administrative order, in the case of minors deprived of parental care.
2. Children have the right to have personal relations with their grandparents, siblings and the other persons close to them, and all these persons also have the right to have personal relations with the children. Parents should facilitate these relations and can only prevent them if there is a just cause.
3. The claim of enforcement of the rights referred to in this Article, if not brought in matrimonial proceedings, must be conducted according to the special procedure on the custody of minors. The judicial authority may, in any case, take the measures necessary to ensure the effectiveness of these personal relations.
Article 236-5. Denial, suspension and modification of personal relations
1. The judicial authority may deny or suspend the right of the parents or of the other persons referred to in Article 236-4.2 to have personal relations with the children, and it may also modify the procedure for the exercise thereof, if said persons fail to fulfil their obligations or if the relation may harm the interests of the children or if there is another just cause. There is a just cause if the children suffer sexual abuse or physical or mental ill-treatment, or are directly or indirectly victims of domestic or sexist violence.
2. The competent public entity may determine how personal relations with minors deprived of parental care can be exercised and it may also suspend them if it is in the minor’s interest.
Article 236-6. Deprivation of parental authority
1. Parents can be deprived of parental authority in case of serious or repeated failure to fulfil their obligations. There is a serious failure to fulfil parental obligations if the minor or incapable child suffers sexual abuse or physical or mental ill-treatment, or if he is directly or indirectly a victim of domestic or sexist violence.
2. There is a ground for deprivation of parental authority over a minor deprived of parental care if the parents, without sufficient cause, show no interest in the minor or fail to comply with the regulation of the personal relations for a period of six months.
3. Deprivation of parental authority must be pronounced in a civil or criminal proceeding and it becomes effective when the judgement is final, without prejudice to the possibility of ordering interim measures suspending the exercise thereof.
4. Deprivation of parental authority may be requested by the persons referred to in Article 236-3.2 and, in case of minors deprived of parental care, by the competent public entity.
5. If requested in the application, ordinary guardianship can be established in the proceedings of deprivation of parental authority, after hearing the persons obliged by law to request establishment thereof.
6. Deprivation of parental authority does not exempt the parents from fulfilling the obligation to do everything necessary to assist the children or to provide them maintenance in the broadest sense.
Article 236-7. Recovery of parental authority
The judicial authority must, if the interests of the children so require, order the recovery of parental authority or, where applicable, of the exercise thereof, if the ground for deprivation has ceased to exist.
Section two. Exercise of parental authority
Article 236-8. Joint exercise of parental authority
1. Parental authority over children is exercised jointly by the parents, unless another form of exercise is agreed between them or unless otherwise provided by the laws or by the judicial authority.
2. The following rules apply to the joint exercise of parental authority:
a) In the acts of ordinary administration and regarding bona fide third parties, each parent is presumed to be acting with the consent of the other.
b) For the acts of extraordinary administration, parents must act together or, when acting individually, they must act with the express consent of the other parent. Acts of extraordinary administration are those requiring court approval.
c) For acts of urgent need or which, according to social practices or family circumstances, are usually performed by one person alone, either parent without distinction can act.
Article 236-9. Exercise of parental authority with distribution of functions or individually with the consent of the other parent
1. Parents may agree that one of them shall exercise parental authority with the consent of the other or that they shall both exercise it with a distribution of functions.
2. For the purposes of the provisions of paragraph 1, parents may grant general or special powers of attorney, which can be revoked at any time. General powers of attorney must be granted in a public deed and must be revoked by notarial notice.
Article 236-10. Exclusive exercise of parental authority
Parental authority is exercised exclusively by one parent in cases of impossibility, absence or incapacity of the other parent, unless otherwise provided by the judgment declaring incapacity, and when the judicial authority so provides in the interest of the children.
Article 236-11. Exercise of parental authority in case of separate life of the parents
1. When parents live separately, they can agree to maintain the joint exercise of parental authority, to delegate its exercise to one of them or to distribute its functions as established by Article 236-9.1.
2. Parents may submit the agreements referred to in paragraph 1, and also the agreed parenting plan, to court approval. The agreements must be approved provided they are not harmful to the children, taking account, to the extent applicable, of the criteria for the award of custody set out in Article 233-11. The agreements are binding upon approval.
3. Delegation or distribution agreements, when not incorporated into a separation agreement approved by court, must be formalised in a public deed and may be revoked at any time by notarial notice.
4. In case of disagreement on the exercise of parental authority, either parent can bring the case before the judicial authority, which must rule after hearing the other parent and the children if they are twelve years of age or over or if, although younger, they have enough discernment.
5. Custody is the responsibility of the parent with whom children are at all times, whether they ordinarily reside with him, de facto or de jure, or whether they are in his company as a result of the regulation of personal relations which has been established.
6. The parent exercising parental authority, unless otherwise provided by the judicial authority, needs the express or implied consent of the other parent to decide on the type of education of the children, to change their address if this sets them apart from their usual environment and to perform acts of extraordinary administration of their assets. It is understood that consent is implied if, within thirty days from the duly attested notification made in order to obtain such consent, the parent not exercising parental authority has not expressed his disagreement as provided for by Article 236-13.
Article 236-12. Duty to inform
1. When the exercise of parental authority has been granted to one parent or distributed between both, the parent exercising it must immediately inform the other of any important event regarding the care of the child and the administration of his property and, ordinarily, at least every three months.
2. The parent who has the child in his company has the same duty to inform referred to in paragraph 1 regarding events occurred during the exercise of personal relations.
Article 236-13. Disagreements
1. In case of occasional disagreement in the exercise of parental authority, the judicial authority, at the request of either parent, must give one of them the power to decide.
2. If disagreements are repeated or if the joint exercise of parental authority is seriously affected by any reason whatsoever, the judicial authority may grant all or part of the exercise of parental authority separately to the parents, or it may temporarily distribute these functions between both parents for a maximum period of two years.
3. In the proceedings arising from disagreements in the exercise of parental authority, parents may submit disagreements to mediation. The judicial authority can also refer them to an information session for the same purpose.
Article 236-14. Powers of the spouse or stable partner of the parent
1. The spouse or stable partner of the parent who has custody of the child at all times has the right to participate in the decision-making process on matters concerning his daily life.
2. In case of disagreement between the parent and the spouse or stable partner of the parent, the will of the parent prevails.
3. In case of an imminent risk to the child, the spouse or stable partner of the parent who has custody of the child can take the measures necessary for the welfare of the child, and he must immediately inform his spouse or stable partner, who must inform the other parent.
Article 236-15. Award of custody of the child in case of death of the spouse or stable partner
1. In case of death of the parent who had been awarded the exclusive custody of the child, the other parent regains custody.
2. The judicial authority, having examined the report of the Public Prosecution, can exceptionally award custody and the other parental responsibilities to the spouse or stable partner of the deceased parent if the child's interests so require and if the following conditions are met:
a) The spouse or cohabiting stable partner of the deceased parent must have lived with the minor.
b) The other parent and the child must be heard in accordance with the provisions of Article 211-6.2.
3. The spouse or cohabiting stable partner of the deceased parent who is not entitled to be awarded custody in accordance with paragraph 2 may, if the child's interests so require, request the judicial authority to establish a regulation of personal relations, if he lived with the child for the last two years.
Article 236-16. Minor parents
1. To exercise parental authority, the minor father and mother need the assistance of their respective parents or of their parent exercising parental authority or, if there is none, of their guardian or curator.
2 The assistance referred to in paragraph 1 is not required in the following cases:
a) When the minor parent is married to an adult and the children are common.
b) When the minor parent is emancipated and is sixteen years of age or over.
3. In case of disagreement between the persons who must give assistance or between them and the minor with parental authority, or in case of impossibility to provide assistance, judicial authorisation is required.
Section three. Content of parental authority
Article 236-17. Relations between parents and children
1. Parents, by virtue of their parental responsibilities, must care for their children, provide them maintenance in the broadest sense, live with them, educate them and provide them comprehensive training. Parents also have the duty to administer the property of their children and to represent them.
2. Parents determine the place or places where their children reside, which may be a place other than the family dwelling if there are sufficient reasons.
3. Parents and children must respect each other. The children, while under parental authority, must obey their parents, unless the latter try to impose shameful or criminal behaviour.
4. Parents can discipline the children under their parental authority in a proportionate, reasonable and moderate manner, with full respect for their dignity.
5. For the purposes of the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4, parents may exceptionally request the assistance and intervention of the public authorities.
Article 236-18. Legal representation
1. The exercise of parental authority over children involves their legal representation.
2. The following acts are excluded from the legal representation of children:
a) Those relating to personality rights, unless otherwise provided by the laws governing such rights.
b) Those concerning goods or services which are proper to the age of the children, according to social practices, and, in case of extended or recovered parental authority, those which may be performed by the child in accordance with his natural capacity.
c) Those where a conflict of interest exists between both parents or between the parent exercising parental authority and the children.
d) Those relating to assets excluded from administration by parents.
Article 236-19. Personal performance
Any act involving any personal performance of the child requires the consent of the latter if he is twelve years of age or over or if, although younger, he has enough discernment.
Article 236-20. Conflict of interest
When in any matter there is a conflict of interest between children and parents, and both parents exercise parental authority, the child is represented by the parent with whom there is no conflict of interest. If such conflict is with both parents or with the parent exercising parental authority, a guardian ad litem must be appointed pursuant to the provisions of Article 224-1.
Article 236-21. Administration of property
1. The parents who exercise parental authority must administer the property of the children with due diligence and as a good administrator, according to the nature and characteristics of the property.
2. The fruits and revenues generated by the assets and rights of the children, and also the profits derived from their own work and the assets or rights generated thereby, belong to the children.
Article 236-22. Contribution of children to family expenses
1. Children have a duty to make a proportional contribution to family expenses while living with the family, with the incomes derived from their work, with the revenues generated by their assets and rights and through their work in the interest of the family, provided that this duty is not contrary to equity.
2. Parents can spend the fruits of the assets and rights under their administration to meet family expenses in an appropriate proportion.
3. If some assets and rights of the children are not administered by the parents, the administrator thereof must turn over to the parents, or to the parent exercising parental authority, in an appropriate proportion, the fruits and revenues from said assets and rights. Fruits from assets and rights assigned specifically to the education or training of the child are excepted therefrom, and only the share of these fruits exceeding the education or training needs of the child must be turned over or, if parents have no other means of living, the share determined in equity by the judicial authority.
Article 236-23. Exercise of administration
1. In the administration of the assets and rights of their children, parents are exempted from making an inventory and are responsible for the damages caused by fraud or negligence to the interests they administer.
2. Parents are not entitled to remuneration by reason of administration, but they are entitled to compensation, to be borne by the administered property if compensation can not be obtained otherwise, for any costs and damages caused by administration, if not attributable to fraud or negligence.
Article 236-24. Submission of accounts
1. At the end of administration, parents must return the administered property. Restitution costs are borne by the administered property.
2. Parents must submit the accounts of their administration upon termination thereof at the request of the child and, as the case may be, of his legal representative. In this case, the accounts must be submitted within six months from the date of the request. The judicial authority may extend such period, for just cause, for a further period of three months.
3. The action to enforce the obligation provided for in paragraph 2 lapses after three years.
Article 236-25. Assets excluded from administration
In addition to the case of the judicial administration provided for in Article 236-3.1, the following assets and rights are excluded from administration by parents:
a) Those acquired by the child by way of gift or inheritance if the donor or the deceased explicitly specified it, in which case it must be strictly adhered to such specifications regarding the administration of these assets and the allocation of their fruits.
b) Those acquired by way of inheritance, if one parent or both have been justly disinherited or have been declared unworthy of inheriting.
c) Those acquired by the child, if sixteen years of age or over, through a profit-generating work.
Article 236-26. Special administration
1. The assets and rights referred to in Article 236-25 must be subject to special administration by a person designated by the donor or deceased. In the absence of designation, they must be administered by the parent who was not excluded, where applicable, or, ultimately, by a person appointed by the judicial authority for that purpose.
2. Children who acquire assets through their work have, if sixteen years of age or over, the power to administer them with the assistance of their parents in the cases referred to in Article 236-27.
Article 236-27. Acts requiring court approval
1. The parents or, where applicable, the special administrator require court approval, concerning assets or rights of the children, to perform the following acts:
a) To alienate immovable property, commercial establishments, intellectual or industrial property rights or other assets of extraordinary value as well as to encumber them or subrogate pre-existing encumbrances unless the encumbrance or subrogation is made to finance the acquisition of such assets.
b) To alienate real rights over the assets referred to in point a or to waive them, with the exception of redemptions of emphyteusis.
c) To alienate or encumber securities or shares. No authorisation is required, however, to alienate publicly traded shares for at least their quoted market price, or to alienate pre-emption rights.
d) To waive claims on credits.
e) To renounce gifts, inheritances and bequests; to accept bequests and conditional or onerous gifts.
f) To lend and borrow money, unless this is to finance the acquisition of an asset.
g) To grant leases on immovable property for a period exceeding fifteen years.
h) To act as a guarantor and to provide sureties regarding third party obligations.
i) To become a partner in companies which do not limit the liability of their partners, and to create, wind up, merge or divide these companies.
j) To renounce, assent to or abandon claims, or to reach a settlement on issues related to the assets or rights referred to in this paragraph.
2. No court approval is required concerning assets acquired by way of gift or inheritance if the donor or the deceased expressly excluded such approval.
Article 236-28. Court approval
1. Court approval is granted in the interest of the children in case of duly justified benefit or need, after hearing the Public Prosecution.
2. Court approval may not be granted in general. However, general approval may be granted for various acts of the same nature or relating to the same economic activity, be they current or future. In all cases, the circumstances and basic features of said acts must be specified.
Article 236-29. Denial of the renunciation of gratuitous acquisitions
The denial of court approval for the renunciations referred to in Article 236-27.1.e constitutes acceptance of the transfer.
Article 236-30. Alternative authorisations
Court approval may be replaced by the consent to the act, granted in a public deed:
a) By the child, if sixteen years of age or over.
b) By the two closest relatives of the child, in the manner prescribed by Article 424-6.1.a.
Article 236-31. Lack of authorisation
1. The acts specified by Article 236-27 are voidable if they have been performed without court approval or without the requirements of Article 236-30.
2. The action to challenge the acts specified by Article 236-27 lapses four years after the time when the children have attained majority, have been emancipated, or have recovered capacity by court order.
Section four. Termination of parental authority
Article 236-32. Grounds for termination
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 236-6, parental authority terminates on the following grounds:
a) Death or declaration of death of both parents or of the children.
b) Adoption of the children, unless adopted by the spouse or stable partner of the parent.
c) Emancipation or majority of the children.
d) Declaration of absence of the parents or children.
Section five. Extension and recovery of parental authority
Article 236-33. Extension
The judicial declaration of incapacity of the unemancipated minor children causes the extension of parental authority when they attain majority, under the terms of said declaration.
Article 236-34. Recovery
1. The judicial declaration of incapacity of adult or emancipated children causes the recovery of parental authority under the terms of said declaration.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, parental authority shall not be recovered if the incapable himself designated a guardian or curator, in accordance with the provisions of this Code, or if guardianship or curatorship must be exercised by the spouse, the stable partner or the adult descendants of the incapable person.
Article 236-35. Establishment of guardianship or curatorship
The judicial authority, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 236-33 and 236-34, taking account of the age and personal and social circumstances of the parents, the degree of impairment of the incapable child and his personal relations, can deny the extension or recovery of parental authority and order the establishment of guardianship or curatorship.
Article 236-36. Termination
1. The extended or recovered parental authority terminates on the following grounds:
a) Those established by Article 236-32, subject to the provisions of Article 236-6.
b) Judicial declaration of cessation of incapacity of the child.
c) Subsequent establishment of guardianship exercised by the spouse, the stable partner or the descendants.
d) Marriage of the incapable with an adult capable person.
e) Application of the persons exercising the extended parental authority, granted by court order, if their personal and social circumstances and the degree of impairment of the incapable child prevent them from properly exercising their duties.
2. If incapacity still exists when the extended or recovered parental authority terminates, guardianship or curatorship must be established.
Chapter VII. Family maintenance
Article 237-1. Content
Maintenance means all that is indispensable for the maintenance, housing, clothing and medical care of the person maintained, as well as the costs of education if such person is a minor, and the costs to continue education after attaining majority, if education was not interrupted before for a cause not attributable to the person maintained, and provided he maintains proper academic performance. Maintenance also includes funeral expenses, if not otherwise covered.
Article 237-2. Obligors
1. Spouses, descendants, ascendants and siblings are liable to provide maintenance.
2. The duties of care between spouses and between parents and children are covered by the specific regulation governing them and, subsidiarily, by the provisions of this chapter.
3. Adult non-disabled siblings are only entitled to the maintenance needed for a living.
Article 237-3. Exemption from liability to provide maintenance
Persons recognised as disabled are exempt from providing maintenance to their relatives, unless their possibilities exceed their expected future needs, taking account of their degree of disability.
Article 237-4. Right to claim maintenance
Maintenance may only be claimed by the person needing it or, where applicable, by his legal representative and by the public or private institution housing him, provided the needs arise from a cause not attributable to such person and while the cause exists.
Article 237-5. Entitlement to maintenance
1. Entitlement to maintenance arises from the moment it is needed, but it can not be claimed for the period prior to the date of the judicial or extrajudicial claim.
2. Maintenance for minor children may be requested for the period prior to the judicial or extrajudicial claim, up to a maximum of one year, if the claim was not brought for a reason attributable to the person liable to provide maintenance.
Article 237-6. Hierarchy of claims
1. The claim for maintenance, where necessary and when several persons are liable, must be made in the following order:
First. To the spouse.
Second. To the descendants, according to the order of proximity in the degree of kinship.
Third. To the ascendants, according to the order of proximity in the degree of kinship.
Fourth. To the siblings.
2. If the resources and possibilities of the persons primarily liable to provide maintenance are not sufficient, maintenance can be claimed, to the extent necessary, from the persons liable to a lesser degree.
Article 237-7. Plurality of obligors
1. Liability to provide maintenance, where there is more than one obligor, must be distributed among the obligors according to their financial resources and possibilities. However, exceptionally, taking account of the circumstances, the judicial authority may impose to one obligor the obligation to provide all maintenance for the time needed. Such obligor may claim to any other obligor the share for which the latter is liable, with legal interest.
2. When the obligation ends or the amount of maintenance due by any obligor is lowered, the amount due by the other obligors is increased to the extent provided for in paragraph 1.
Article 237-8. Plurality of claims
If two or more persons claim maintenance to the same obligor and the latter lacks sufficient means to meet all the claims, the hierarchy established by Article 237-6 must be followed, unless the claimants are the spouse and a child under parental authority of the obligor. In this case, the children must be given preference.
Article 237-9. Amount
1. The amount of maintenance is determined in proportion to the needs of the person maintained and the financial resources and possibilities of the obligor or obligors. The parties, by mutual agreement, or the judicial authority may lay the basis for the annual update of the amount of maintenance in accordance to the changes in the consumer price index or a similar index, without prejudice to the possibility of determining other additional bases for the update.
2. The person maintained must notify the obligor the changes in circumstances which result in the reduction or elimination of maintenance as soon as these occur.
Article 237-10. Compliance with the obligation
1. Maintenance obligations must be met in money, in monthly advanced instalments. If the maintenance obligee dies, his heirs need not repay the allowance for the month in which death occurred.
2. The maintenance obligor may choose to meet maintenance by hosting and maintaining at his home the person entitled to receive maintenance, unless the latter opposes for a reasonable cause or if cohabitation is impossible. If there are several obligors and more than one is willing to host the obligee, the judge must decide which obligor shall host the obligee after hearing the person maintained and the various obligors. If the obligee has full legal capacity and more than one person is willing to host him, the wishes of the obligee are given preference.
3. The judicial authority, taking account of the circumstances, can take the measures necessary to ensure compliance with the obligation to provide maintenance, if the obligor repeatedly failed to perform a payment.
Article 237-11. Provision of maintenance by third parties
1. The public or private institution or any other person providing maintenance, when the obligor fails to do so, may claim from the latter or his heirs the allowances for the current year and the previous year, with legal interest, and it is automatically subrogated, up to the amount indicated, to the rights that the person maintained has against the obligor, unless it is established that maintenance was provided benevolently and with no intention to claim it back.
2. At the request of the public or private institution or of the persons that provide maintenance when the obligor fails to do so, or at the request of the Public Prosecution, the judicial authority can take appropriate measures to ensure reimbursement of advances. It can also take appropriate measures to ensure future maintenance payments, after hearing the person maintained and the obligors.
Article 237-12. Characteristics of the right to maintenance
1. The right to maintenance can not be waived, transferred and seized, and it can not be offset by the credit which the obligor, where appropriate, may have against the person maintained.
2. The person maintained may offset, waive, and compound allowance arrears subsequent to the date of his judicial or extrajudicial claim, and he may also transfer, in any manner, the right to claim them, all without prejudice to the right of recourse recognised by Article 237-11.1.
Article 237-13. Termination
1. The maintenance obligation terminates on the following grounds:
a) Death of the person maintained or of the obligor or obligors.
b) Divorce and annulment of marriage.
c) Reduction in the income and property of the obligors, whereby the obligation can not be fulfilled without neglecting their own needs and the rights of the persons with preferential right to maintenance.
d) Improvement of the living conditions of the person maintained, whereby maintenance ceases to be necessary.
e) The fact for the person maintained, even if not a forced heir, to be liable to be disinherited under Article 451-17.
f) Deprivation of parental authority over the obligor, if the person maintained is one of the parents.
2. The grounds referred to in paragraph 1.e have no effect in case of pardon by the obligor or reconciliation between the parties.
Article 237-14. Subsidiarity
The provisions of this chapter apply subsidiarily to the maintenance obligations provided for in a will or codicil, to those entered into by agreement and to legal maintenance obligations subject to specific regulations, concerning any matter not established by the wills, codicils and agreements or the relevant regulation.
Title IV. Relations of cohabitation for mutual assistance
Article 240-1. Legal status
Two or more persons with the same main residence who share the common expenses or the housework, or both, without consideration and with a commitment to persistence and mutual assistance, are considered as having a relation of cohabitation for mutual assistance, governed by the agreements they have entered into or, in the absence thereof, as established by this title.
Article 240-2. Personal requirements
1. Relations of cohabitation for mutual assistance can be formed by adult persons with ties of kinship in the collateral line of any degree and by those who simply have ties of friendship or companionship, provided they are not married or they do not cohabit with a stable partner.
2. The maximum number of cohabiting persons, if not relatives, is four.
Article 240-3. Establishment
Relations of cohabitation for mutual assistance can be established by a public deed, which confers them full effectiveness, or after two years of cohabitation.
Article 240-4. Agreements
1. Cohabitants can validly regulate, with freedom of form, their personal and property relations, and their respective rights and obligations during cohabitation, provided that such agreements do not harm third parties. In particular, they can stipulate that the contribution to common expenses shall be equal or unequal, and even that the housework and the financial burden shall be borne entirely by one of the cohabitants.
2. In anticipation of a breakdown, the cohabitants may stipulate the effects of the termination of the relation of cohabitation for mutual assistance.
Article 240-5. Termination of relations of cohabitation
1. Relations of cohabitation terminate on the following grounds:
a) Agreement of all cohabitants.
b) Unilateral will of one member.
c) Death of one of the cohabitants.
d) The grounds agreed upon by the cohabitants.
2. If the relation of cohabitation was established between more than two persons, such relation is not terminated by the unilateral will, marriage, establishment of stable partnership or death of any of the cohabitants if the other members continue to cohabit, without prejudice to the possibility of amending, to the extent considered appropriate, the agreements regulating cohabitation.
3. The termination of the relation of cohabitation annuls the powers of attorney granted by any cohabitant to the others. Similarly, the powers of attorney granted by one member to any other member or granted to him are null once he ceases cohabitation.
Article 240-6. Effects of the termination of the relation of cohabitation on the dwelling
1. If the termination of the relation of cohabitation occurs during the lifetime of all cohabitants, those who do not own the dwelling must leave it within three months.
2. If the termination of the relation of cohabitation is caused by the death of the owner of the dwelling, cohabitants may remain there for six months, unless otherwise agreed.
3. If the deceased was a tenant of the dwelling, cohabitants are entitled to subrogation to the rights of the tenant for a period of one year, or for the time remaining to the expiry of the contract, if shorter. To this end, cohabitants must notify it to the landlord, within three months from the death of the tenant.
Article 240-7. Periodic allowance in case of death
1. Upon termination of cohabitation by the death of one of the cohabitants, the surviving cohabitant or cohabitants which were wholly or partly maintained by the predeceased during the year prior to the death and have no sufficient financial resources to support themselves, are entitled to maintenance, to be borne by the heirs of the predeceased, for a maximum period of three years.
2. To determine the amount and duration of the periodic allowance upon the death of one of the cohabitants, account must be taken of the following:
a) The cost of maintenance.
b) The period during which the surviving cohabitant or cohabitants were maintained.
c) The estate of the deceased.
3. Capitalisation of the periodic allowance in case of death at the legal interest rate may not exceed half the value of the estate if the heirs are descendants, ascendants or collateral relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity of the deceased. If the heirs are minor or disabled, the limit is one fifth of the value of the estate.
4. No right to periodic allowance in case of death arises if so agreed by the parties at the time of the establishment of the relation of cohabitation, and such right terminates if during the prescribed period the beneficiary marries or starts living maritally with another person or obtains maintenance from persons liable to provide it.
5. The right to periodic allowance in case of death must be claimed within one year from the termination of the relation of cohabitation.
Additional provisions
First additional provision. Registry of protected estates 
1. A Registry of protected estates is established, attached to the department responsible for civil law through the management body competent in this matter.
2. The following information must be recorded in the Registry of protected estates:
a) Deeds of settlement of protected estates and amendments thereto.
b) Deeds of transfer of assets to protected estates established and recorded in the Registry.
c) Changes of administrator of protected estates recorded in the Registry.
d) Temporary or permanent measures taken by the judicial authority regarding the administration of protected estates recorded in the Registry.
3. The organisation, functioning and publicity of the Registry of protected estates shall be determined by regulation.
Second additional provision. Measures to reconcile work and family life directed at the staff of the Catalan public administration who cohabit with a stable partner
1. Measures to reconcile work and family life applicable to the Catalan public administration and provided by law for cohabitants refer to stable partnerships, regulated by Article 234-1 of the Civil Code.
2. The existence of a stable partnership can be proven by the public deed referred to in Article 234-1.c of the Civil Code or by an affidavit showing continuous cohabitation for two years or for a shorter period if, after starting to cohabit, the cohabitants had a common child.
Third additional provision. Special procedures regarding claims for liquidation of property regime made in matrimonial proceedings
1. In matrimonial proceedings, the following rules must be applied to determine compensation by reason of work, and also ownership of assets, if this is necessary to determine the entitlement to compensation and the amount thereof:
a) The claim or, where applicable, the counterclaim must be accompanied by a draft inventory including one’s own assets and the assets of the other spouse, with an indication of their value, and the amount of liabilities, and also available documents relating to property. At the request of the counterclaimant, the judicial authority may, stating the reasons therefor, extend by a non-renewable period of ten days the period to file a response to the claim, so that the counterclaimant may prepare the draft inventory.
b) If the parties are unable to access important information to substantiate their claims, they may request the judicial authority, before the hearing, to obtain such information by using the means available.
2. To determine the participation credit or to liquidate the matrimonial property regime of community, the procedure established by Articles 806 to 811 of State Act 1/2000, of 7 January, of civil procedure, must be followed. This procedure must also be applied to divide assets in ordinary undivided co-ownership in the case referred to in Article 232-12.2.
Fourth additional provision. Special procedures regarding financial and matrimonial claims made in proceedings of liquidation and division of inheritance
1. In case of dissolution of marriage by death, the surviving spouse may bring an action of division of common property for the assets owned in ordinary undivided co-ownership and request to determine the financial compensation by reason of work, in accordance with the procedure laid down by Articles 782 to 789 of State Act 1/2000, except regarding compensation, which is regulated by Article 232-11.2 of the Civil Code.
2. The agreement reached or the judgement delivered in the proceedings of division of inheritance must include the determination, liquidation and division of the assets owned by the spouses in undivided co-ownership during marriage, and, where appropriate, the financial compensation by reason of work, established as a debt to the surviving spouse to be borne by the heirs.
Fifth additional provision. Procedure for the breakdown of stable partnerships
1. Legal proceedings relating to the breakdown of stable partnerships are conducted, concerning all aspects not expressly regulated by the Civil Code, in accordance with the provisions of State Act 1/2000 regarding matrimonial proceedings. In these proceedings, the parties may submit disagreements to mediation and the judicial authority can refer them to an information session on mediation, in accordance with the provisions of Article 233-6 of the Civil Code.
2. Claims substantiated on the provisions of Articles 234-7 to 234-14 of the Civil Code must be joined in a single proceeding. In this proceeding, any partner may bring the action for the division of common property regarding the assets in ordinary undivided co-ownership. If several assets are in ordinary undivided co-ownership and a partner so requests, the judicial authority may consider such assets together for the purpose of forming batches of assets and awarding them.
Sixth Additional Provision. Expert opinions regarding the regulation of the exercise of parental responsibility 
1. Expert opinions regarding the regulation of the exercise of parental responsibility primarily aim at identifying or assessing the existence in the child, or in any parent or family member living with him, of a mental illness or an abnormal behaviour affecting, impairing or interfering in family relations, for the purpose of determining the regulation of custody and personal relations. They can also aim at adequately understanding the existing system of personal relations in the family or the new family units where the child must integrate, and the monitoring measures to be taken to ensure the right of the children to maintain normal relations with their parents.
2. Opinions regarding the regulation of the exercise of parental responsibility presented in the proceedings by the parties are equivalent to those made by the technical team of judicial support or by professionals appointed in its place by the judge, provided the expert was appointed by a professional association or an organisation recognised by the Administration based on a census of specialists so as to ensure objectivity, impartiality and technical expertise.
3. If the means of evidence adduced by the parties regarding the regulation of custody, including shared custody, and personal relations are not sufficiently conclusive, the court may provide that a court expert shall prepare a report. The expert must be appointed from among specialists of the technical teams of judicial support, the forensic medicine clinic or the appropriate professional association if the public advisory services do not exist or can not perform this function.
4. The specialists who are members of the technical teams providing support to the courts or those who are designated in their place are ancillary court staff. The authorities and the public and private institutions, and the professionals who intervened previously with the family, have a duty to cooperate with them. If the cooperation requested relates to matters protected by professional secrecy, by the right to privacy or by the rules on personal data, an explicit ruling of the court is required.
Seventh additional provision. Supervision of personal relations by the network of social services or the Family Meeting Point 
1. According to Act 12/2007, of 11 October, on social services, the judicial authority may entrust the supervision of the regulation of personal relations to the social services network, if there is a danger or a social risk, for the purpose of monitoring the family situation.
2. The judicial authority, when deciding the intervention of a Family Meeting Point as established by Article 233-13 of the Civil Code, must specify the type of intervention. Supervision may include control of the deliveries and collections of the child, monitoring of the relation within the centre, assistance to facilitate the relation or any other form of intervention which may be appropriate.
3. The managers of the Family Meeting Point must submit to the judicial authority a monitoring report every three months or, irrespective of this time limit, whenever necessary. They must propose to modify the type of intervention if they consider that the circumstances so require and they must also propose to the court to lift the measure if they understand that the relation which is ensured may be detrimental to the child.
4. Where there is no risk of violence, abuse or ill-treatment, the managers of the Family Meeting Point may propose to the judicial authority, when the parental relation is strengthened, to refer the case to an information session on family mediation.
5. The court may delegate to the technical service of judicial support the monitoring of the measures taken regarding the compliance with the regulation of personal relations and its supervision.
Eighth additional provision. Intervention of specialists as ancillary court staff in the control of the protection regimes
For the purposes of the provisions of Article 221-5 of the Civil Code, the judicial authority may request the intervention of specialists in psychology, psychiatry, paediatrics, geriatrics, family medicine, work or social education. The judicial authority may also request the intervention of real estate agents, economists, auditors or accountants to conduct the monitoring and control of the economic management entrusted to the holders of guardianship functions and, specifically, to examine the appropriateness of any act of disposal and encumbrance of the assets and rights of the protected persons.
Ninth additional provision. Information about the parenting plan 
The Department of Justice, in collaboration with the professional associations, must disseminate information on the parenting plan and facilitate the development of model parenting plans suited to the different stages of the life of children.
Transitory provisions
First transitory provision. Guardianship regimes 
1. The protection regimes established prior to the entry into force of this law are subject to the provisions of the Civil Code, regarding their effects and the exercise of guardianship functions. The persons exercising guardianship functions stay in charge if not subject to inability under the provisions of the Civil Code. Supervisory guardians appointed under Act 39/1991, of 30 December, on guardianship and guardianship regimes, which continued in office under the fifth transitory provision of Act 9/1998, of 15 July, on the Family Code, cease to exercise their functions, without prejudice to the possibility for the judicial authority to take the measures necessary to protect the ward or his property.
2. The powers in anticipation of a situation of incapacity granted under supplementary State act, prior to the entry into force of this Act, are subject, regarding their effectiveness and exercise, to the provisions of the Civil Code.
3. The procedures to appoint the holders of guardianship functions and those seeking to obtain court approval to perform certain acts must be conducted in accordance with the regulations previously in force if they started prior to the entry into force of this Act, but, in case of a grant of guardianship made by oneself, the judicial authority may ignore the designation if the conditions referred to in Article 222-9 of the Civil Code are met.
4. Guardianship councils established prior to the entry into force of this Act remain governed by Act 9/1998.
Second transitory provision. Effects of marriage 
1. The provisions of Chapters I and II of Title III of the second book of the Civil Code apply to marriages contracted and subsisting at the time of entry into force of this Act, without prejudice to the provisions of the third transitory provision regarding matrimonial proceedings commenced earlier and with effects already pronounced by court order.
2. Matrimonial property regimes and other acts agreed upon in marriage contracts which have been entered into in accordance with the legislation predating the entry into force of this Act have effects in accordance with said legislation. Agreements in anticipation of a marriage breakdown executed prior to the entry into force of this Act remain valid, provided they meet the requirements established by the legislation applicable at the time of execution. If the content of an agreement was contrary to said legislation, such content is nevertheless effective if valid under the provisions of the Civil Code.
3. The dowries, tenutes, aixovars and cabalatges, esponsalicis or escreixos, the tantundem, the agreements of equal property and profits and other similar rights established prior to the entry into force of this Act remain governed by the recast text of the Compilation of the Civil Law of Catalonia, adopted by Legislative Decree 1/1984, of 19 July.
Third transitory provision. Effects of annulment of marriage, divorce and legal separation
1. In matrimonial proceedings commenced prior to the entry into force of this Act, the regulation in force at the time of commencement applies. However, if both parties agree and express such agreement at the proper stage in the proceedings, interim and final measures may be taken and, where appropriate, the common property may be liquidated under the provisions of the Civil Code.
2. The effects of the annulment of marriage, divorce or legal separation pronounced under the legislation predating the entry into force of this Act are maintained, without prejudice to the possibility of modifying the measures if changes of circumstances have arisen in accordance with the rules in force at the time of their adoption. These effects continue without prejudice to the implementation of the Civil Code in the matrimonial proceedings which may be commenced between the same spouses after the entry into force of this Act.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, at the request of a party, it may be decided to review the measures taken in relation to the care and custody of common children or the regulation of personal relations, the replacement of the compensatory allowance previously granted by the transfer of a lump sum in assets or in money, and the replacement of the judicial award of the use of the family dwelling by a monetary payment in accordance with the provisions of Articles 233-10, 233-17 and 233-21 of Civil Code. The review must be conducted according to the procedure established for the amendment of final measures.
Fourth transitory provision. Stable cohabitation partnership 
1. The period of cohabitation between persons of the same or different sex elapsed before the entry into force of this Act must be taken into account for the purposes of calculating the period of two years set out in Article 234-1.a of the Civil Code.
2. The provisions of Chapter IV of Title III of the second book of the Civil Code apply to stable partnerships which, prior to the entry into force of this book, were governed by Act 10/1998, of 15 July, on stable partners unions.
3. Agreements between cohabitants adopted under the legislation predating the entry into force of this Act produce effects in accordance with said legislation. Agreements executed in anticipation of a breakdown prior to the entry into force of this Act remain valid, provided they meet the requirements established by the legislation in force at the time of their adoption. If the content of an agreement was contrary to said legislation, such content is nevertheless effective if valid under the provisions of the Civil Code.
4. In the proceedings for the recognition of the effects of the termination of a stable partnership commenced before the entry into force of this Act, the regulation in force at the time of commencement is applicable. However, if both parties agree and express such agreement at the proper stage in the proceedings, interim and final measures may be taken and, if appropriate, their common property may be liquidated under the provisions of the Civil Code.
5. The effects of the termination of the stable partnership determined under the legislation predating the entry into force of this Act are maintained, without prejudice to the possibility of modifying the measures adopted in case of changes of circumstances. However, at the request of a party, it may be decided to review the measures taken in relation to the care and custody of common children or the regulation of personal relations, the replacement of the judicial award of the use of the family dwelling by a monetary payment, and the replacement of the compensatory allowance previously granted by the transfer of a lump sum in assets or in money in accordance with the provisions of Articles 234-7, 234-8 and 234-11 of Civil Code. The review must be conducted according to the procedure established for the amendment of final measures.
Fifth transitory provision. Filiation
1. The provisions of Chapter IV of Title III of the second book of the Civil Code have retroactive effects, regardless of the date of establishment of filiation.
2. Actions for filiation arising under the legislation predating the entry into force of this Act must comply with the time limits set by said legislation, unless the time limit set by the Civil Code is longer. The legal regulation and the transferability must be governed by the legislation most favourable to the child or to the persons with legal standing to bring such action.
3. Final decisions regarding filiation issued under the legislation predating the entry into force of this Act shall not preclude any new action substantiated on a provision of the Civil Code or on a fact or evidence only admissible thereunder.
Sixth transitory provision. Adoption
1. Adoptions under Act 37/1991, of 30 December, on measures for the protection of minors deprived of parental care and on adoption, and full adoptions established before said Act have the effects given to adoption by the second book of the Civil Code.
2. Simple or less than full adoptions remain in existence with the effects recognised by the legislation predating Act 37/1991. The adoption of those persons previously subject to simple adoption may be promoted, if the requirements of the second book of the Civil Code are met, and in accordance with its terms, irrespective of the fact that there has been no pre-adoptive foster care.
3. Adoption proceedings pending before the courts at the time of entry into force of this Act must be conducted in accordance with the previous legislation.
Seventh transitory provision. Parental authority
The time limit set by Article 236-6.2 of the Civil Code, when claimed as a ground for deprivation of parental authority, must be counted from the entry into force of this Act, without prejudice to the possibility of demonstrating the existence of a ground for deprivation of parental authority through any other means.
Eighth transitory provision. Relations of cohabitation for mutual assistance
Relations of cohabitation for mutual assistance established in accordance with Act 19/1998, of 28 December, on situations of cohabitation for mutual assistance, have the effects provided by Title IV of the second book of the Civil Code, without prejudice to the validity of the agreements regulating cohabitation entered into under said Act 19/1998.
Repealing provision
The following acts are repealed:
a) Act 9/1998, of 15 July, on the Family Code.
b) Act 10/1998, of 15 July, on stable partners unions.
c) Act 19/1998, of 28 December, on situations of cohabitation for mutual assistance.
Final provisions
First final provision. Amendments to the first book of the Civil Code of Catalonia
1. Article 121-16.a of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«a) In the claims made by minor or incapable persons, until they have legal representation or until they have appointed an attorney-in-fact, in accordance with the provisions of Article 222-2.1, within the scope of his functions.»
2. Article 121-16.c of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«c) In the claims between stable partners, while cohabitation lasts.»
3. A letter f is added to Article 121-16 of the Civil Code, which reads as follows:
«In the claims between the protected person and the attorney-in-fact, in accordance with the provisions of Article 222-2.1, within the scope of his functions.»
Second final provision. Amendments to the fourth book of the Civil Code of Catalonia
1. Articles 412-3 and 412-5 of the Civil Code are amended, whereby the term "stable union" is replaced by the term "stable partnership".
2. Articles 421-11, 422-13, 423-9, 424-1, 424-5, 424-10, 425-12, 431-2, 431-17, 441-2, 442-1, 442-2, 442-3, 442-4, 442-5, 442-6, 442-7, 451-16, 451-17, 451-26, 452-1, 452-2, 452-3, 452-4, 452-5, 452-6 and 463-2 of the Civil Code and the heading of section two of Chapter II of Title IV of fourth book of the Civil Code are amended, whereby the term "stable partners union" is replaced by the term "stable partnership".
3. Article 422-13 of the Civil Code is amended, whereby the term "union" is replaced by "stable partnership".
4. Article 461-9.1 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«1. Inheritance can be accepted and renounced by persons with capacity to act. To renounce, emancipated minors and the persons placed in curatorship must be assisted by the persons supplementing their capacity.»
Third final provision. Amendments to the fifth book of the Civil Code of Catalonia 
1. Article 531-9.4 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«4. Gifts by reason of marriage and between spouses, and gifts by reason of death are governed, respectively, by the provisions of the second and the fourth books.»
2. Article 531-15.1.d of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«d) The ingratitude of the donees. The grounds for ingratitude are acts punishable under criminal law committed by the donee against the person or the property of the donor, his children, his spouse or the other member of the stable partnership, and also, in general, any behaviour with relation to said persons which is not socially accepted.»
3. Article 531-15.2 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«2. Onerous gifts are revocable only in case of failure to comply with charges.»
4. Article 531-19.1 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«1. The donor may establish, at a term or conditionally, that the assets revert to the donor, his spouse, stable partner or heirs. The reversion that depends on the mere will of the donors is understood to be conditional.»
5. Article 531-19.6 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«6. Reversions established in favour of the donor, his spouse, stable partner or heirs are governed, in all matters not covered by in this article, by Article 431-27, and reversions in favour of third parties, by the provisions relating to trusts.»
6. Article 531-20.3 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«3. Exercise of the power to dispose, if conditional upon the state of need of the donor, his family or stable partner, or upon the authorisation or consent of certain persons, must comply with what is established in relation to these cases regarding the usufruct with power to dispose.»
7. Article 531-21.2 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«2. Gifts made with encumbrances, charges or conditions to persons under parental authority or placed in guardianship or in another protection regime must be accepted with the intervention or assistance of the persons determined by the second book.»
8. Article 531-26.1.b and c of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«b) Against the spouse or stable partner, while cohabitation lasts.
»c) Between the persons bound by parental authority or a guardianship regime, or between the assisted person and the attorney-in-fact, in accordance with the provisions of Article 222-2.1, within the scope of his functions.»
9. Article 552-11.6 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«6. In the proceedings of separation, divorce or annulment of marriage, the ordinary communities existing between the spouses can be divided by considering as one single division the whole or part of the assets subject to this regime, in accordance with Article 232-12. The same principle applies in case of de facto separation or breakdown of stable partnership.»
10. Article 561-14.1 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«1. A life usufruct granted jointly and simultaneously to spouses, cohabiting stable partners or children or siblings of the grantor does not terminate, unless otherwise provided by the deed of grant, until the death of all beneficiaries, so that the share or the right of the predeceased beneficiaries proportionally increases that of the surviving beneficiaries.»
11. Article 562-4.2 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«2. Foreclosure of the asset causes the termination of the rights of use and habitation if the beneficiaries thereof consented to the establishment of the mortgage, without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 233-19 to 233-24 and 234-8 concerning the family dwelling.»
12. Article 565-16.c of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«c) In the awards of the estate upon dissolution of matrimonial communities of property, of ordinary undivided communities between spouses or cohabiting stable partners or by substitutive assignment of annuity, in cases of divorce, separation or annulment of marriage and termination of stable partnership.»
13. Article 569-29.2 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«2. Minor and incapable persons can only establish a mortgage if they comply with the requirements set by this Code and the other acts regarding the disposal and encumbrance of their assets.»
14. Article 569-30 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«Article 569-30
» Mortgage established by spouses
»Mortgages established on assets acquired with tontine clause or on common assets in matrimonial property regimes of community require the consent of both spouses, unless there is an agreement or provision expressly allowing one spouse to unilaterally dispose of the common immovable property.»
15. Article 569-31 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«Article 569-31
» Mortgage on the family or common dwelling
»1. In mortgages established by one spouse or cohabiting stable partner on rights or interests in the family dwelling, the other spouse or cohabiting partner who is not the owner thereof must consent thereto. In the absence of such consent, the owner spouse or cohabiting partner may seek court approval, pursuant to Article 231-8.
»2. The spouse or the cohabiting stable partner who mortgages a dwelling, if this is not a family or common dwelling, must expressly state so in the deed of establishment of the mortgage. Challenge by the other spouse or cohabiting partner, in case of a false or misleading statement by the mortgagor, can not harm bona fide mortgagees.»
16. The heading and paragraph 1 of Article 569-32 of the Civil Code are amended to read as follows:
«Article 569-32
»Mortgage of universal usufruct
»1. The universal usufruct referred to in Article 442-4 is mortgageable.»
17. The heading and paragraphs 1 and 7 of Article 569-36 of the Civil Code are amended to read as follows:
«Article 569-36
»Mortgage in guarantee of compensatory benefits in the form of an allowance
»1. Spouses entitled to receive maintenance or a compensatory benefit in the form of an allowance in case of annulment of marriage, divorce or legal separation, may request to guarantee payment thereof by means of a mortgage on the assets of the debtor spouses.»
«7. In case of death of the person liable to pay the allowance, the provisions of Article 233-18.2 apply.»
18. Article 569-37 of the Civil Code is amended to read as follows:
«Article 569-37
»Mortgage in guarantee of maintenance
»Among the measures necessary to ensure the obligation to provide maintenance to relatives entitled thereto in accordance with the provisions of this Code and at their request, the judicial authority can require the obligor to establish a mortgage in guarantee of the obligation, which remains subject to the provisions of Article 569-36 in all matters not contrary to the specific nature of the right to maintenance.»
Fourth final provision. References in Act 21/2000
From the entry into force of this Act, references to the Family Code by Article 7 of Act 21/2000, of 29 December, on the rights to information concerning the health and autonomy of the patient, and clinical documentation, must be understood to refer to the provisions of article 212-22 of the Civil Code regarding informed consent.
Fifth final provision. Entry into force
This Act comes into force on 1 January 2011.