When newlyweds apply to register their marriage in Mexico, they are asked to indicate the mode of ownership of marital property: community property or separate property. We are talking about property and financial receipts and obligations received after marriage. With separate ownership of property, each spouse after a divorce will remain with the property that he had before marriage and which he individually acquired after, and in addition with his own debts and is not able to claim half of the joint property.
Separate property ownership is useful when the partner's intentions and the prospects for marriage are not entirely clear. We often see marriages registered between Americans and Canadians of advanced age and young girls from other countries, and from the outside one might think that these are marriages of convenience. They are unequal not only in the age of the spouses, but also in their financial status. And for this reason, before registering a marriage, Americans want to enter into a prenuptial agreement in order to protect themselves in case of divorce. This is a completely normal practice. However, signing a marriage contract is NOT considered a mandatory condition for registering a marriage in Mexico.
The agreement opens the way to protect property and assets from unfair division, and also determine the rules for building a family economy. Although the contract may specify, in particular, the household responsibilities of the future spouses, it primarily regulates the financial relations of the partners.
A prenuptial agreement is also needed because the spouses will file for divorce in the jurisdiction (country) where they may have a property dispute. The newlyweds chose Mexico as the state for registering their marriage because of the simplicity of the process, but they most likely will not live in Mexico. And therefore, a marriage contract concluded in Mexico should be valid in the country of their future residence, that is, comply with its legislation. When divorcing a marriage, the court will take into account the provisions of the contract as a priority, and only secondarily — relevant norms of state family legislation.
American law requires that a marriage contract be signed before marriage; there is no such rule in the Russian Family Code. For this reason, many Americans come to Mexico with their own contract drafted with the support of an American lawyer. Some also believe that for future migration procedures — obtaining a wife's visa — a prenuptial agreement will have the opportunity to confirm the seriousness of the spouses’ intentions.
The agreement cannot include provisions on guardianship and financial support of the child. In addition, consider whether it is assessed whether to include clauses in the contract that put one of the parties in a vulnerable position, in particular, the renunciation of all property subject to divorce. On the other hand, renunciation of material claims is quite possible.
We offer services not only for registering a marriage in Mexico, but also for concluding a marriage contract with a Mexican notary. We understand the full responsibility of international legal support, and therefore we attract only certified professionals.
The work begins with agreeing on the text of the contract with the newlyweds. The marriage contract can be in several languages, but one of them must be Spanish, or later you can order a notarized translation of the marriage contract. An official federally licensed translator translates the agreed text into Spanish and other necessary languages. The family law attorney then reads the document, checks for compliance with Mexican law, drafts the agreement in the required languages, and formats it according to notarial standards. If the text of the agreement was prepared by one of the newlyweds, the lawyer has the right to explain to the other newlywed the contents of the provisions of the agreement. In addition, the lawyer can attest to the text of the contract with his signature.
The agreement is sent to the notary's office, where it is signed by the future newlyweds and certified by a notary. Then two copies of the agreement, one for each of the parties, are submitted to the municipal office for apostille — This will make the contract valid outside of Mexico.
The signed marriage contract may be taken to the registry office or judge to register the marriage. Details of the contract will be entered into the Mexican Civil Registry, but outside Mexico, spouses must use paper originals of the document.
It is advisable to begin work on preparing a marriage contract at least a week before arriving in Mexico. We organize all processes and accompany the newlyweds to the notary to sign the marriage contract and to the registry office to register the marriage, and also help with translation.
We will be happy to help with preparing and signing a marriage contract!
Let us add that after signing the marriage contract, the husband and wife can change its provisions by mutual consent as many times as they wish. In addition, spouses can completely refuse the marriage contract.