Community property that is subject to a statutory regime includes everything the spouses (individually or jointly) acquire during their marriage, although the law does provide for exceptions to this rule. For example, community property encompasses profits made from anything that belongs exclusively to one of the spouses (e.g. rent from a rented flat). Community property also includes a spouse’s shareholding in a company or cooperative if they become a member of that company or cooperative during the marriage. In this case, the acquisition of the shareholding does not establish the other spouse’s participation in the company or cooperative, unless it is a housing cooperative.
Community property does not include anything serving for a spouse’s personal use (e.g. items routinely purchased for the needs of one of the spouses), anything acquired by one of the spouses as a gift, by succession, or by bequest (unless otherwise expressly intended by the deceased), anything received by one of the spouses as compensation for non-material infringement of their natural rights, and anything received by one of the spouses in compensation for the damage, destruction or loss of their exclusive property.
Debts assumed during the marriage are also part of community property, unless they relate to an asset belonging exclusively to one of the spouses (to the extent exceeding any profit from that asset) or are assumed by only one of the spouses without the other’s consent (and such debts are not incurred in seeing to the day-to-day or normal needs of the family).
Both spouses (or, by agreement, one of them) enjoy, take the fruits and benefits of, maintain, dispose of, manage and administer their community property. Spouses jointly and severally have the obligations and rights attached to their community property or parts thereof. Spouses jointly and severally have obligations and rights stemming from the legal acts that are taken in relation to their community property.
In matters concerning community property or parts thereof that are not considered to be day-to-day matters, legal acts are carried out either by the spouses together or by one of them with the other's consent. If a spouse refuses to give consent without good reason and contrary to the interests of the spouses, the family, or the family household, or is unable to express their wishes, the other spouse may apply to a court to give consent instead. If one spouse engages in a legal act without the other’s consent, despite requiring such consent, the other spouse may apply to have the act declared invalid.