Communion of property between spouses in Tunisia

What is it and how does it work?

What is the concept of community of property between spouses?
What is the purpose of the community of property system?
Is the community of property system between spouses mandatory or optional?
When can spouses choose the community of property system?
Do all residential, agricultural, or commercial properties fall under the community of property regime between spouses?
Do all acquired properties fall under the community of property regime?
What happens in case of failure to indicate the community of property regime between spouses?
How does the community of property regime between spouses end?

What is the concept of communal property between spouses?
The Tunisian legislator established the law on shared property between spouses within Law No. 98-94 of November 9, 1998, on the regime of communal property between spouses in Tunisia. The concept of communal property is a system chosen by spouses at the time of or after marriage.

What is the purpose of the communal property system?
The purpose of the communal property system between spouses is to make a property or set of properties commonly owned between spouses, if it is part of the family assets.

Is the communal property system between spouses mandatory or optional?
The communal property system between spouses is an optional system; therefore, spouses have the freedom to choose between the communal property system and the separate property system.

When can spouses choose the communal property system?
Spouses can choose the communal property regime between them both at the time of marriage and at a later time.

Do all residential, agricultural, or commercial properties fall under the community property regime between spouses?
No, shared properties between spouses only include residential properties acquired after marriage or after the conclusion of a shared property contract, provided they are intended for the use and benefit of the family.

Do all acquired properties fall under the community property regime?
No, the Tunisian legislator excludes what is acquired through inheritance, will, or donation; therefore, these properties remain the exclusive property of the spouse.

What happens if the regime of community property between spouses is not indicated?
The Tunisian legislator has established that marriage contracted without indicating the regime of community property between spouses is equivalent to choosing the regime of separation of property.

How does the regime of community property between spouses end?
The Tunisian legislator has established in Article 18 that the regime of community property between spouses ends in three ways:
- by agreement
- based on the law
- based on a judicial decision.