Most often, between spouses in Poland at the moment of marriage, there exists a statutory joint property regime. This property regime arises by operation of law, and for it not to arise, the parties would have to enter into a special agreement (prenuptial agreement) before a notary.

According to Article 31 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code of February 25, 1964 (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2023, item 2809, as amended- Kodeks rodzinny i opiekuńczy):

At the moment of marriage, a joint property (statutory joint property) arises between spouses by operation of law, covering property acquired during its duration by both spouses or by one of them (joint property). Property not covered by the statutory joint property belongs to the personal estate of each spouse.

• § 2 The joint property particularly includes:

earned income from work and income from other gainful activities of each spouse;

income from joint property, as well as from the personal property of each spouse;

funds accumulated in the open or employee pension fund accounts of each spouse;

amounts of contributions recorded in the sub-account referred to in Article 40a of the Act of October 13, 1998, on the social insurance system (Journal of Laws of 2023, items 1230, 1429, 1672, and 1941);

funds accumulated in the OIPE account within the meaning of Article 2 point 5 of the Regulation of the European Parliament and Council (EU) 2019/1238 of June 20, 2019, on the pan-European personal pension product (OEPP) (Official Journal of the EU L 198 of July 25, 2019, p. 1) and in the OIPE sub-account within the meaning of Article 2 point 9 of the Act of July 7, 2023, on the pan-European personal pension product (Journal of Laws, item 1843) of each spouse.

The marital joint property generally ceases in the following cases:

at the moment of divorce,

as a result of the death of one of the spouses,

in the event of bankruptcy of one of the spouses,

due to the conclusion of a property agreement (e.g., prenuptial agreement) by the spouses that establishes separation of property.

In the event of the establishment of property separation, there arises a need to divide the joint property, which means separating the property components that the spouses have accumulated together during the duration of the statutory joint property.

Division can occur by mutual agreement (contractually) or through court proceedings if an agreement cannot be reached.

Example 1:

Purchase of a car solely by the husband.

Spouses Anna and Marek married in 2015 and have not signed any prenuptial agreements since then – they are subject to statutory joint property. In 2021, Marek purchased a car – the sales contract was concluded solely in his name, and he was listed as the sole owner in the vehicle registration document. The car was paid for with money from Marek's salary.In 2024, after the divorce, Marek claimed that the car belonged solely to him, as he was the only one listed as the owner in the contract and registration document. However, Anna demanded that the car be included in the division of joint property.Legal Analysis:

According to Article 31 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code, the joint property of spouses includes, among other things, items acquired during the duration of the joint property by both spouses or by one of them – regardless of who formally appears as the acquirer.In this case:

the purchase of the car occurred during the duration of the statutory joint property (thus it belongs to the joint property),

it was financed from Marek's salary (i.e., from the joint property),

there was no prenuptial agreement or gift to one of the spouses.

Therefore, even though the car was formally acquired solely by Marek and is listed as his property in the documents, under family law it constitutes joint property.Marek could attempt to prove in court that the car was purchased from his personal property (e.g., from a gift, inheritance, or money accumulated before marriage), but the burden of proof would be on him – he would have to demonstrate the so-called substitution of personal property. Otherwise, the court will assume that the vehicle belongs to both spouses. In this case, Marek purchased the car with earnings from work (thus from the joint property).

Example 2:

Case: Purchase of property solely by the wife

Factual situation: During the marriage (without a prenuptial agreement), Katarzyna purchased a property – a single-family house in a row. The sales contract was concluded solely in her name, and she is the only one listed as the owner in the land and mortgage register. However, the purchase was made with joint funds from the spouses, mostly from their salaries.After the divorce, the ex-husband – Piotr – demands that the property be considered part of the joint property and included in the division.Katarzyna argues that since she is the only one listed in the land and mortgage register, the property cannot be subject to division and belongs solely to her.The court considering the case of the division of joint property has full authority to independently assess whether the property was part of the joint property, regardless of what is stated in the land and mortgage register.In such a situation:

if the purchase was financed from joint funds, the court may consider that the property belongs to the joint property,

the court in the justification of its ruling may address this discrepancy, but it is not bound by the content of the land and mortgage register – it resolves the ownership of the property on the basis of family law, not property law.

If the wife purchased the property in her name, but it was financed from joint funds, then:

the property may belong to the joint property, regardless of the content of the land and mortgage register.

Thus, formal ownership (e.g., entry in the vehicle registration document or land and mortgage register) does not necessarily have to determine the belonging of an asset to the joint property. What is crucial is whether the item was acquired during the duration of the joint property and from what funds it was financed.

Ewa Kosowska-Czapla

Legal advisor

This text addresses issues that arise in our daily practice. However, it is of a general nature and does not constitute legal advice in a specific case. To obtain a binding legal opinion, an analysis of individual circumstances is necessary.