2.1. Please describe the general principles: Which goods are part of community property? Which goods are part of the separate estates of the spouses?

The legal matrimonial property regime is that of separation of property. Each spouse retains what he/she brought into the marriage and becomes sole owner of the assets that he/she acquires during the marriage (§ 1237 Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, ABGB). With regard to disposition over their assets, in principle the spouses are not subject to any limitations and they are not liable for the debts of the other.

2.2. Are there legal assumptions concerning the attribution of property?

There are no such legal assumptions.

2.3. Should the spouses establish an inventory of assets? If so, when and how?

There is no provision that makes it obligatory to establish an inventory of assets.

2.4. Who is in charge of the administration of the property? Who is entitled to dispose of the property? May one spouse dispose of/administer the property alone or is the consent of the other spouse necessary (e.g. in cases of disposal of the spouses’ home)? What effect does the missing consent have on the validity of a legal transaction and on opposability towards a third party?

In principle, the spouses can dispose freely of their own property during the marriage. They could limit their freedom of disposition over certain assets by agreeing on a prohibition on alienation and/or encumbrance in favour of the other spouse (§ 364c ABGB). The recording of such a prohibition in the land register is also opposable to third parties, so that henceforth the respective real property can only be disposed of with the consent of the other spouse.  
When the spouses acquire ownership of a ‘condominium’ within the meaning of the WEG (Wohnungseigentumsgesetz) together, they may only dispose of the property right and the right of use of the object together as well (§ 13 para. 4 WEG). The condominium property shares may also only be jointly limited, encumbered or subjected to execution. An alienation of an ownership share by one spouse must be approved by the other spouse (§ 13 para. 3 WEG). If the residence serves to satisfy the urgent housing need of at least one of the spouses, the other is prohibited during marriage from filing a claim for termination of the condominium property community under § 830 ABGB (§ 13 para. 6 WEG).
If only one spouse has the right to dispose of a residence that serves to satisfy the urgent housing need of the other spouse, the former is generally prohibited from disposing of the residence to the disadvantage of the other spouse (§ 97 ABGB).

2.5. Are any legal transactions made by one spouse also binding on the other?

Within the framework of the so-called ‘agency implied in fact’ (Schlüsselgewalt), the spouse who runs the household and does not have an income or only a low income can conclude legal transactions of day-to-day life for the other spouse that are dedicated to the household and do not exceed a certain level corresponding to the standard of living of the spouses (§ 96 ABGB). In that case, only the represented spouse becomes the contracting partner.

2.6. Who is liable for debts incurred during the marriage? Which property may be used by creditors to satisfy their claims?

In principle, each spouse is liable only for the debts incurred by himself/herself individually. The agency implied in fact described under 2.5. constitutes an exception to this rule.

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