Spouse authorization is necessary in certain cases of property sales, depending on the marriage property regime and the type of property in question. Here are the situations where spouse consent is required:
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Common Property of the Couple:
If the property is common property of the couple, i.e., acquired during the marriage and belonging to both, consent from both spouses is required for the sale. This is valid regardless of the property regime, except in the case of separation of property, where each spouse manages their own property.
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Family Home:
Regardless of whether it is own or common property, the sale of the family home always requires the consent of the other spouse. This applies even in the separation of property regime, due to the legal protection granted to the family home.
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General Community Regime:
In this regime, all property, acquired before or during the marriage, is common. Therefore, any sale of property requires consent from both spouses to be valid.
If spouse consent is not obtained, the transaction may be considered voidable, and the spouse who did not consent may request the annulment of the contract within six months from the moment they became aware of the sale, not exceeding three years from the contract’s execution.
In case of unjustified refusal by the spouse to give consent, the other spouse may resort to the court to supply this lack of consent.