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?

According to the Marriage Act of Finland, both the property which a spouse has acquired before entering marriage and which he/she acquires during it belongs exclusively to him/her (§34 Marriage Act). If the spouses have not agreed otherwise, the spouses have a marital right to each other's property irrespective of whether the property is real property or movable property. The property which is covered by the marital right (marital property) is divided in case of dissolution of the marriage. However, a donor of a gift, a testator, or a policyholder can determine that the spouse of a donee, of an inheritor, or of an insurance beneficiary has no marital right to such property which his/her spouse has received as a gift, due to a will, or based on a beneficiary clause of an insurance (§ 35 Marriage Act).

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

All the spouses' property is presumed to be covered by the marital right if nothing else is stipulated.

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

A spouse is entitled to claim from the other spouse to participate in establishing an inventory of the movable property of both. When a disagreement as to the attribution of property occurs, the court will decide what weight of evidence the inventory is to be given (§ 60 Marriage Act). In practice, establishing an inventory is unavoidable after the institution of divorce proceedings and before the division of the marital property, because it is not possible to calculate the assets covered by the marital right otherwise.

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?

The owning spouse administers his/her property independently during the marriage (§ 36 Marriage Act). However, even if the marital home is solely owned by one spouse, he/she requires consent from the other spouse if he/she wants to dispose of it. If the owning spouse disposes of the marital home without the consent of the other spouse, the latter can contest the legal transaction. The lawsuit is bound to a time limit, which ends three months after the legal transaction has been concluded (§ 38 Marriage Act). If the spouses own property jointly, they also have to conduct the activities concerning such property together. If a spouse alienates or pledges movable property which belongs to the other spouse or is owned jointly by the spouses without the consent of the other spouse, the latter has the right to redeem it. If the third party was not in good faith, or if the legal transaction was not for consideration, the spouse is entitled to regain the property without redemption (§ 58 Marriage Act).

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

Both spouses are jointly and severally liable for a debt which either of the spouses has incurred for the maintenance of the family (see under 2.6.).

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

Both spouses are solely responsible for debts which they have incurred before or during the marriage. By contrast, both spouses are jointly and severally liable for a debt which either of them has incurred for the maintenance of the family. However, there is no joint liability for a loan of money which a spouse has taken for maintenance, or any other debt incurred for maintenance, if the creditor was aware of the fact that the spouses lived separately due to a breakdown of their relationship (§ 52 Marriage Act). The spouses are jointly and severally liable for debts which they have incurred together during the marriage, unless otherwise agreed (§ 53 Marriage Act).

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