In Panama, marital property regimes can be established through marital agreements. These are contracts that spouses can sign either before or after marriage to govern their financial arrangements. The types of prenuptial agreements that can be established include:
- Community Property Regime: In this regime, all assets acquired during the marriage are considered jointly owned by both spouses, regardless of who acquired them.
- Separate Property Regime: Each spouse retains ownership and control of their own property, both those acquired before and during the marriage. There are no jointly owned assets under this regime.
- Participation in Profits Regime: Each spouse has the right to share in the profits or gains obtained by the other spouse during the marriage, but the assets themselves remain individually owned.
For a prenuptial agreement to be valid in Panama, it must be executed in a public instrument. This can be done before a notary public or, in areas where there is no notary, before the secretary of the Municipal Council and two witnesses, provided that the value of the assets involved does not exceed a certain threshold.
Additionally, it is important to note that prenuptial agreements can be modified at any time, as long as both parties agree and follow the legally required procedures.
Civil weddings in Panama can be officiated either by a judge or a notary public. Both the marriage and any prenuptial agreements must be properly registered with the Electoral Tribunal of Panama for them to be legally valid within the country.
If there is a need to register the marriage in a foreign country, an original copy of the marriage certificate can be obtained, which must then be apostilled or legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama for use abroad. It is also advisable to have the document translated from Spanish into the language of the destination country so that foreign authorities can understand the content of the marriage certificate and prenuptial agreement.
At Universal Services, we are here to assist you with legal advice on establishing a prenuptial agreement. Additionally, we can translate the contents of the agreement into your native language.
To receive a quote, please call us at +507 6290-3468 or email us at info@lawyerinpanama.com.