Settlement of marital property

The Supreme Court (SC) has resolved a fairly common case when a couple separates , but takes a long time to settle (distribute and "close accounts" of) the community property. Here, after a separation judgment, the ex-wife continued living in what had been the family home and, for years, she was the one who paid expenses such as the IBI (the municipal housing tax) and the community fees, both for the housing and the parking space. When the time came to take inventory to settle the marital property, she requested that those amounts be included as a debt in her favor within the "liabilities" of the inventory (that is, as something that the community—and ultimately, both—owed her).

In the first instance and on appeal, they told her no because since those expenses had been incurred after the dissolution of the community property, they should not be included in the inventory, and also, the house and the garage had a "mixed" nature (part private and part community property, with different percentages for each). However, the SC corrects that criterion.

The SC explains, clearly, that both the IBI and the fees Community expenses are not paid for "using" the house, but for being an owner . They are expenses linked to the property (which in practice means that they do not disappear because one of the two has been assigned the use of the property). Therefore, even if they have been accrued after the dissolution and before they are fully settled, they must be treated as debts of the partnership (or of the post-marital community) and, consequently, included in the liabilities of the inventory as a credit in favor of the person who paid them.

Therefore, the Supreme Court estimates the appeal and orders to include in the liabilities of the inventory the amounts of the Property Tax (IBI) and the community expenses paid by the ex-wife after the separation.