Division of marital property in Bosnia and Herzegovina – engagement of the Law Office

The division of marital property in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a separate procedure from the divorce procedure. The procedure of division of marital property can be done before a court or a notary by agreement, which is also the fastest solution for spouses. Marital property in Bosnia and Herzegovina is regulated by the provisions of Articles 250 and 251 of the FBiH Family Law. According to this law, there is marital property and separate property that was not acquired during the marriage. Marital property in Bosnia and Herzegovina is property acquired by the spouses during the marriage, and special property is the property that the spouses brought into the marriage or received during the marriage as a special gift.

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Legal text:
Marital property and separate property in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Article 250
Spouses may have marital property and separate property.
Article 251

1. The matrimonial property consists of the property acquired by the spouses through work for the duration of the marital union, as well as the income from that property.
2. Gifts of third persons made during the marriage (in money, things, assistance with work, etc.) enter the matrimonial property, regardless of which spouse received them, unless otherwise arising from the purpose of the gift or from the circumstances at the time of giving the gift it can be concluded that the giver wanted to make the gift only to one of the spouses.
3. Gains from games of chance are marital property.
4. Income from intellectual property generated during the duration of the marital union is marital property.

Article 252

1. Spouses are co-owners in equal parts in the matrimonial property unless otherwise agreed.
2. Future spouses, that is, spouses may regulate their relations related to the matrimonial property by a marriage contract in a different way.
3. If one spouse is registered in the land register as the owner of the property, the other spouse may request a correction of the entry, in accordance with the Law on Land Registry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Management of marital property
Article 253
The provisions of substantial and obligatory law shall apply to the matrimonial property, unless otherwise provided by this Law.
Separate property
Article 254

1. The property that the spouse has at the moment of entering the marriage remains his/her separate property.
2. The property that a spouse acquires during the marital union on a legal basis other than that specified in Article 251 of this Law shall also be separate.

Division of marital property
Article 255

1. The division of marital property is done by the contract of the marital partners.
2. If the spouses do not conclude the contract referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article, the division of the matrimonial property shall be made by the court at the request of the spouses or the spouse’s attorney, both during and after the termination of the marriage.

Article 256

1. The spouse who is entrusted with the custody and upbringing of the child shall receive, in the distribution of the marital property in addition to his/her share, also items intended for the direct use of the child.
2. If the decision on entrusting the custody and upbringing of a child is changed, the spouse referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall hand over the items referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article to the other parent, that is, the person entrusted with custody and upbringing.

Article 257
If the court decides that the division is made by selling the item because the physical division of the item is impossible or possible with a significant reduction in the value of the item, the spouse has the right to pre-emptively buy the thing.

Marriage contract
Article 258

1. The marriage contract may regulate the property relations of the spouses when entering the marriage, as well as during the marital union.
2. For the contract to be valid, it is necessary for the document to be notarized.

Article 259
The marriage contract may be concluded on behalf of the spouse whose legal capacity has been revoked by his guardian with the approval of the guardianship authority.

Article 260
Spouses may not agree on the application of the law of another state to property-legal relations.
3. Liability of spouses for obligations to third parties
a) Individual responsibility of the spouse

Article 261

1. The spouse shall not be liable for the obligations that the other spouse had before entering the marriage.
2. The spouse shall be liable for the obligations referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article with his/her separate property and his/her share in the matrimonial property.