Common law status

beeza said:

My Dominican girlfriend and I have been together for some time and now we're talking about taking our relationship to the next level. She is considering moving in with me.

Although we do trust each other, I think it would be wise on my part to confirm how the law works in the DR with regards to common law status. Also, it might not necessarily be my girlfriend who has designs on my assets, but her family.

I own my own property which is in a corporation. My only other major asset here is my car, with the metricula in my name. My money and pensions are in England.

So the questions are:
After what period of time does she legally become my common-law-wife?
What is she (or her family) entitled to?
What insurances can I put in place to protect me?

Thanks in advance.

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Your best insurance is to stay as you are right now

Do a search here on DR1... I vaguely remember it has been discussed here before...

sorry that's the best advice I can give you now

Found it... here
http://www.dr1.com/forums/legal/75111-common-law-marriage.html

"I understand that this is the LEGAL section of DR1 for LEGAL queries.
If I want advice on my relationship I will write to an agony aunt."

This is a logical section to post a question regarding common law marriage, because, in certain cases, a common law wife can demand half of the property owned by the man before the relationship began. I can think of no better reason for caution and introspection.

There is a very legitimate reason to seek solid legal advice regarding this issue.

i believe that after two years of living together a couple may gain similar right to those of a married couple.
good option is to write last will (regardless of your age) distributing your assets in the events of death. should you have family abroad you may consider signing some things in their name. i would not bother with the car unless you have a ferrari.
it is best to visit a lawyer before you take such step, he/she will give you best advice.
good luck.

I suspect Fabio has some good ideas as to legal asset protection, but it occurs to me that you should have nothing in your name. Put it all in corporations, even the car.

An update of the situation:

There is no such thing as a "common law marriage" in the Dominican Republic. Living together, our Supreme Court has said, is never equivalent to a normal marriage.

However, certain provisions in the Labor Code, the Minors Code and the Criminal Code acknowledge that living together has legal consequences. For example, a worker has the right to a few days off work if his or her companion gives birth to his child; domestic violence to a companion treated the same as domestic violence to a wife. On October 17, 2001, a Supreme Court decision gave a surviving concubine the right to sue for the wrongful death of her companion in an automobile accident under very restrictive conditions: a) the couple must have lived as if they were husband and wife, in a public relationship, not hidden or secret; b) the relationship must be stable and long-lasting; c) the relationship must be monogamous and non-adulterous since its origins ; and d) the couple should be of different sexes. The ruling goes on to say expressly that "marriage and extra matrimonial companionship are not . . equivalent realities?.

During the present decade, lower courts have expanded these rights to other areas, giving the "common-law wife" ("concubina" in Doiminican legal terminology) rights in the estate of her "common-law husband" or rights to "community property" in case of separation. Recently, however, the Supreme Court rejected the claim made by a surviving companion to 50% of her deceased companion's estate. The claimant had argued that her lifelong relationship should be equivalent to marriage under community-property rules.

Conclusion: the law is in flux. If what is desired is certainty of outcome, my recommendation is to get married with a prenuptial agreement.

Regarding prenuptial agreement, does such a thing exist in The DR...In other words can it be enforced.

Also regarding last will and survivorship this is somewhat fuzzy to me. I have always heard that in case of death assets are divided up 50/50 between the surviving spouse and the dead person's children...regardless of what the dead person wished to do. Could a person for instance make a will and decide to leave certain specific things to each child, a friend, their dog, whatever or is the law restrictive in that respect?

suarezn said:

Regarding prenuptial agreement, does such a thing exist in The DR...In other words can it be enforced.

Also regarding last will and survivorship this is somewhat fuzzy to me. I have always heard that in case of death assets are divided up 50/50 between the surviving spouse and the dead person's children...regardless of what the dead person wished to do. Could a person for instance make a will and decide to leave certain specific things to each child, a friend, their dog, whatever or is the law restrictive in that respect?

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Prenuptial agreements do exist in the DR, and they are fully enforced. There are no loopholes as in some other countries.

suarezn said:

Regarding prenuptial agreement, does such a thing exist in The DR...In other words can it be enforced.
Also regarding last will and survivorship this is somewhat fuzzy to me. I have always heard that in case of death assets are divided up 50/50 between the surviving spouse and the dead person's children...regardless of what the dead person wished to do. Could a person for instance make a will and decide to leave certain specific things to each child, a friend, their dog, whatever or is the law restrictive in that respect?

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yes, prenups exist in DR but it is my understanding they cost quite a lot to register.
normally after the death of one part of a couple 50% goes to husband/wife and 50% to children.
it is possible to make a will but it is very hard to disinherit the children, one needs a legitimate reason for that.

There is a lot of misinformation on this subject.

First, the wife is NOT an heir to her spouse's estate. If she's married under a community-property arrangement, when her husband dies, the community has to be divided up and she, of course, will separate out the 50% that belonged to her from before his death. This not an inheritance, just a distribution of community property, and as such there are no inheritance taxes to be paid.

If there is a complete separaration-of-assets arrangement, the wife get nothing unless her spouse has made a will in her favor.

As for inheritance per se, a person may will all of his or assets to anybody of his or her choosing IF he or she has no children or live parents.

If a person has children, he can only give to a third party by will what is called the ?disposable portion? (?porci?n disponible?) as follows: with one child, 50%; with two children , 33.3%; with three or more 25%.

If there are no children, the parents come into play. If two parents are alive, the disposable portion is 50%; if only one, 75%.

but the is a way to disinherit children or parents, yes?

Fabio J. Guzman said:

There is a lot of misinformation on this subject.

First, the wife is NOT an heir to her spouse's estate. If she's married under a community-property arrangement, when her husband dies, the community has to be divided up and she, of course, will separate out the 50% that belonged to her from before his death. This not an inheritance, just a distribution of community property, and as such there are no inheritance taxes to be paid.

If there is a complete separaration-of-assets arrangement, the wife get nothing unless her spouse has made a will in her favor.

As for inheritance per se, a person may will all of his or assets to anybody of his or her choosing IF he or she has no children or live parents.

If a person has children, he can only give to a third party by will what is called the ?disposable portion? (?porci?n disponible?) as follows: with one child, 50%; with two children , 33.3%; with three or more 25%.

If there are no children, the parents come into play. If two parents are alive, the disposable portion is 50%; if only one, 75%.

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What parents mean? father and mother only ?? or brother, sisters too