With the adoption of the Family Code (hereinafter FC) and the acquisition of contracts regulating property relations between partners, we have gained the opportunity to freely regulate relationships between partners in the Slovenian legal system and thus the possibility of deviating from the statutory property regime. Since April 2019, the statutory property regime is no longer mandatory. Proposals to introduce elements of autonomy into family law had surfaced some time ago, but it took Slovenia two decades to adopt the proposal on contracts regulating property relations.
Through such contracts, partners can freely regulate their mutual relationships, especially concerning the content of their property regime. They are not bound by any of the established regimes known in Slovenia and worldwide; instead, they can completely freely regulate their mutual relationships, limited only by mandatory legal norms. When entering into such a contract, partners must mutually disclose all their property. The contract must be concluded before a notary in the form of a notarial deed. After the contract is concluded, the notary ensures that the contract is registered in the register of contracts regulating property relations. Notaries play an important advisory and explanatory role in the conclusion of the contract. Notaries cannot conclude a null and void contract; therefore, they must ensure that the contract does not contradict the constitution, mandatory regulations, and moral principles. Married couples, future spouses, and even partners who do not intend to marry but wish to regulate their property relations can enter into contracts regulating property relations. Such contracts are mainly concluded by couples with significant assets. Despite numerous advantages, these contracts are rarer than expected, partly due to the public nature of the register of contracts regulating property relations. In addition, partners at the beginning of a relationship may not want to discuss a potential breakup and thereby cast doubt on the existence of the relationship. Nevertheless, contracts regulating property relations can be very beneficial and facilitate divorce proceedings, especially the division of common property, if they are concluded thoughtfully and early enough.
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