Joint Ownership Regime

In light of the provisions of the Civil Code of the Dominican Republic, Marriage is a contract between a man and a woman who have agreed to marry and are fully capable of doing so. Civil Marriage is solemnized by a Civil Registry Officer, who is the person legally empowered to register the marriage contract in the country’s Civil Registries.

In principle, every marriage conducted in the Dominican Republic is presumed to have been contracted under the legal regime of joint ownership (community property), so if a couple decides to marry under a system of separation of property or any other matrimonial regime provided by Dominican law, they must, by prior agreement between the parties, prove their choice before the Civil Registry Officer.