Is property located abroad included in a division of property in the event of a divorce?
Hey,
Me and my x wife started the divorce process.
we been married abroad and moved to Sweden 4 years ago.
She never been working or having an income during the whole marriage time (15 years).
my question : when it comes asset division after divorce , if i have assets in my country (Egypt) like (property , car,bank account with some savings) will those assets be included in the division process.
Lawline svarar
Hello, and thank you for turning to Lawline with your question!
The short answer is yes, assets that you have abroad in Egypts will be included in the division of property, I will explain why below.
Which country's law should be applied?
The first thing that needs to be investigated is whether Swedish law will be applied to the division of property between you and your former wife, or the law of another country. According chapter 5, 5 § of the Act (1990: 272) on international issues concerning spouses 'and cohabitants' property relations (quoted LIMF, in swedish lagen (1990:272) om internationella frågor rörande makars och sambors förmögenhetsförhållanden), the general rule is that you and your spouse can agree in writing/through a contract on which country's law you want to apply to the division of property. If you have not signed such an agreement (which I assume you do not have), the question becomes which country's law is to be applied instead. This depends on your domicile and / or the number of years you have lived in Sweden (ch. 5, 6 § LIMF).
The law of the country in which you were domiciled when you got married shall, as a general rule, be followed. However, if you after the marriage moved to another country, such as Sweden, and lived there together for at least two years, the law of that country should apply instead. This means that if you have lived in Sweden together for at least two years, Swedish law shall be applied to your division of property, regardless of where you have your domicile now or which domicile you had at the time of marriage. Since you state that you moved to Sweden four years ago, Swedish law should be applied to your division of property.
What applies according to Swedish law
According to Swedish law, everything that spouses own in matrimonial property upon entering into marriage becomes, insofar as the property does not constitute "private property" (chapter 7, 1 § of ÄktB). There are different ways of making property individual and these are stated in (Chapter 7, 2 § of ÄktB), either through a regulation in a prenuptial agreement, conditions in a will, conditions for donors by gift, conditions for insurance compensation or property that has replaced the above etc.
All property, which is not individual, shall be included in a division of property between the spouses (Chapter 10, 1 § of ÄktB). It can be anything from household goods to boats, cars, money in different accounts, etc. In the case of division of property, all matrimonial property must be divided equally between the spouses, after deductions for loans (Chapter 9, 1§ of ÄktB). The division of property is made on the basis of the property that the spouses had on the day when the action for divorce was brought, and it does not matter how much of the property each of you has earned or added into the matrimonial property (Chapter 9, 2 § of ÄktB). However, there are special rules about properties/houses. The main rule is that the law of the country where the property is located is applied - ie if you own a house in Egypt, Egyptian law will probably be applied in terms of what to do with the house when dividing the property.
I hope you found this clear and that it provided an answer to your question. If there is still something you are wondering about, you are welcome to submit a new question!
Sincerely,
