Registering rights derived from acts between a married person and a third party

1. When a married person becomes the owner of a registered property, which special requirements derived from his/her civil status must be taken into consideration in order to get the new title registered in the Land Registry?

2. How the registration in favor of a married person would be done? Would any interested party be able to know by checking the land registry information any restriction in the powers of the owner derived from the matrimonial property regime?

3. What will the Land Registry demand from a married proprietor to register the transmission or any modification of his/her registered title?

This depends on the form of ownership right specified in the document verifying the ownership right.

The form of ownership right depends on the matrimonial property regime:

a) established by law (Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania) – property acquired before marriage shall be deemed to be an individual property of each spouse; property acquired after marriage (except for property devolved to a spouse by succession or gift, or acquired using individual funds) shall be considered to be joint community property;
b) established by the matrimonial agreement – the spouses can change the statutory property regime by entering into the matrimonial agreement and agree on other forms of ownership rights.

When registering individual property in the Real Property Register, one owner is recorded in the Register. When registering common partial ownership, all owners and parts of their ownership right are recorded in the Register. When registering common joint ownership, both spouses are recorded, but parts of ownership right are not specified.

Data about the matrimonial property regime is not mentioned in the Real Property Register.

Data that matrimonial property regime is governed by a foreign law is not mentioned in the Real property Register.

The spouses are not obligated to provide any proof of his/her matrimonial property regime if information is recorded in the registers of the Republic of Lithuania.

If there is no information about the matrimonial property regime in the registers of the Republic of Lithuania, proof must be provided by the interested persons themselves. Proof shall be provided to the institution, which approves or issues the document verifying ownership rights.

The interested institution shall verify data on the matrimonial property regime in the special Register of Marriage Settlements.

This depends on the form of ownership right recorded in the Real Property Register. In case this is a common property, such real property shall be possessed, used and disposed of upon agreement between all co-owners.

There is no partnership in the Republic of Lithuania, only the marriage.

Practical case 1

Janos, who is married to Elena under a matrimonial economic regime of community of joint assets, buys an immovable property. He signs the deed of transfer before a local notary, acting solely and on his own, without any intervention of his wife Maria. The deed of transfer is sent to the Registry for registration.

Will Janos be registered as sole proprietor? Will the entry make any reference to the name of his spouse? Or his matrimonial property regime?

The registration will be done as stated in the deed of transfer attested by the notary.

In case the deed says nothing about it, does the registry demand information about the civil status (married/ single (widow) of Janos? The identification of the spouse? Their matrimonial property regime?

No, the registry does not demand such information.

Would any proof of the concrete matrimonial property regime would be required? What if Janos and Elena’s matrimonial economic regime is under a foreign law?

The Keeper of the Real Property Register will consider the documents submitted by the interested persons that prove a certain matrimonial property regime of the spouses. However, the Keeper will not require these documents to be provided. The same rules apply in case of the application of foreign law.

Would that information appear somehow in Janos’ right registration?

Yes, the common joint ownership right of Janos and his wife Elena will be registered in the Real Property Register.

If the answer is affirmative, will that information be taken into account if Janos performs a disposition act of the registered property to a third party in the future?

Yes, that information will be taken into account.

If the answer is negative, a future disposition performed solely by Janos to a third party in good faith would be valid? Would it be registered?

The right of ownership under the contract attested by notary shall be registered in the Real Property Register unless the Keeper of the Real Property Register receives the information that this contract has been declared invalid under the court procedure.

Would any of your answers to these questions be different if dealing with a registered partnership, rather than a matrimonial property regime?

The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (Parliament) has not yet passed the relevant Law on Partnership; therefore, the institute of partnership actually does not function in Lithuania.

Practical case 2

Pierre is married to Michelle and although the matrimonial property regime established by the applicable law is a joint community one, the same law allows the spouses to modify that legal regime adopting a different one which is the property separation of assets regime, for which purpose they both sign a matrimonial property agreement modifying their matrimonial community property regime into a separation of assets one.

When Michelle buys the right of usufruct on an immovable asset, she appears on her own in the contract of sale and the transfer deed and she wants that the registration to be made in such a manner that no restriction or limitation derived from her marriage appear in the registry.

Will the registry make the registration according to her wishes without any proof of the matrimonial property agreement?

Usufruct shall be registered on the basis of the contract attested by the notary. Registration will done as stated in the contract. The registrar will not challenge acts of the notary.

Would it be sufficient to present the document containing that agreement?

This agreement will be examined by the notary who attests the usufruct purchase contract.

Should that agreement be registered first as a prerequisite for the registration in the Land Registry?

In all cases, the marriage settlement must be registered in the Register of Marriage Settlements because in other cases it shall not be valid against the third parties.

In case of an affirmative answer, where should it be registered?

In the Register of Marriage Settlements.

Would any of your answers to these questions be different if dealing with a registered partnership, rather than a matrimonial property regime?

The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (Parliament) has not yet passed the relevant Law on Partnership; therefore, the institute of partnership actually does not function in Lithuania. For this reason, we cannot answer this question.