Division of property means that the spouses’ assets shall be distributed equally according to the rule. The spouse’s net fortunes are compared to each other, and the spouse with more matrimonial property, is subject to give compensation to the spouse with less property. Net assets means assets remaining after liabilities are deducted from the assets. Compensation needs to amount to such an amount that both spouses will have an equal amount of matrimonial property after the division of property. This rule can be influenced by a prenuptial agreement, in which it may be ordered what property is under matrimonial property.
Prenuptial agreement affects how the distribution of matrimonial property is carried out. A prenuptial agreement may be valid for both divorce and marriage, until the other spouse’s death or in only one of these cases. If a prenuptial agreement is valid only for example in case of divorce, matrimonial right is to be maintained in full if the marriage ends in the death of the other spouse.
In practice, the most common prenuptial agreement is one in which it is stipulated that neither spouse has a matrimonial right to any property of the other´s. This means that in case the marriage ends, the spouses´ property is not divided equally, but instead each spouse keeps their own property.
The prenuptial agreement can also provide that one spouse has no matrimonial right to specific property belonging to the other spouse, for example, to his or her house, or car. This order means that the matrimonial property is divided equally between the spouses except the specific property that is excluded in the prenuptial agreement.
A prenuptial agreement is not necessarily binding. It may be derogated from, or it can be entirely ignored when mediating the division of property, if the prenuptial agreement would result in an unreasonable result.