What effects does a deed of gift have on samboproperty during separation?
Hello. Me and my now former sambo purchased a villa together, however she put up the most of the monet for the purchased , and the money came from selling of her own apartament. Now during separation , she mentions a gåvobrev between her and the father for the apartament which I am convinced it is a fake one. With the gåvobrev, means the house will not be split 50-50 like I expected to, but instead she will get back her original amount from the apartament. We were just sambo, and we have no sambo agreement.
Lawline svarar
Hello,
Thank you for turning to us at Lawline with your question.
The situation, question, and applicable law.
As I understand, you and your sambo bought a villa together, and now intend to separate. During separation your sambo shows you a gåvobrev and implies that the apartment and its value will not be split between the two of you. You two have no sambo agreement, and you now wonder what will happen and what rights you have. To figure this out, we will use sambolagen (SamboL).
When, and how, should property be shared between sambor during separation?
According to sambolagen, a property division should take place when a sambo relationship ends, which among other things is when the two separate. This means that everything within the category of samboegendom should be split between the two (SamboL 8 § paragraph one). For this to happen though, one party must demand for it to happen within a year (SamboL 8 § paragraph 2).
The concept of samboegendom includes their property and it’s furnishing, given that it was bought with the intent to be used together as sambor (SamboL 3 §). From what you’ve said, the property was bought by the two of you to be used together, and neither of you seemed to own the property before you moved in together. This strongly suggests that you two bought it with the intent to use it together and that it should be classified as samboegendom, which would result in it being split 50/50.
With who’s money the property was bought doesn’t really mater in this context. One of the parties could’ve paid for the property in full, but if it was bought with intent to be used together it will still be classified as samboegendom.
This is the main rule.
Exceptions to the main rule: gåvobrev.
There are a few exceptions to what has been stated above. One such exception is that the property was given to one of the sambor through a gåvobrev which, and this is very important, states that the property shall not be part of a property division (SamboL 4 § p. 1). The property will then simply not be part of the division and your sambo will keep it and its value in full.
Your situation and my recommendations.
With the little information I have been given I can’t say precisely what will happen. It all depends on the gåvobrev you mentioned. If it’s a valid gåvobrev and it includes an exception like the one I mentioned above, the property will not be split 50/50. However, if it’s not valid, and the property was purchased with the intent to be used together, you will follow the main rule and the property will be split 50/50.
I recommend that you investigate the gåvobrev and have a dialogue with each other. Most problems can be solved by simply talking to each other. If that doesn’t work, you could always contact a lawyer who can look into it more in depth and give you more advice on how to proceed.
I hope this answered your question and that your options became a bit clearer. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us again, either by asking another question or by booking a time with one of our lawyers here.
Regards,
