FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Elodie Mulon, Emmanuelle Bonboire-Barthélémy and Louise Astruc Baciotti, Chauveau Mulon & Associés
2.6 Cohabitation In France, unmarried couples have the option of cohabiting or formalising their relationship through civil partnerships. Cohabitation Financial responsibilities of cohabitants During cohabitation, cohabitants can enter into a cohabitation agreement, whose content is freely determined with the main purpose of organising their shared life and establishing financial rules (contributions to common expenses). However, this agreement does not create personal obli - gations between the partners, leading to the absence of financial compensation or support upon separation. Joint ownership among cohabitants Cohabitants are subject to joint ownership rules. Consequently, assets acquired during cohabita - tion are either personal to the purchaser or jointly owned by both cohabitants in the case of shared acquisition, in proportion to their financial con - tributions. Upon separation, exiting this joint ownership requires initiating a sharing procedure, primar - ily through amicable means and, if necessary, through legal proceedings as part of a liquida - tion and division process (see 2.2 Service and Process – Post-divorce liquidation and division proceedings). Civil Partnerships Financial responsibilities between PACS partners Partners in a civil partnership ( pacte civil de solidarité PACS) must provide each other with “material assistance and reciprocal support” during their shared life (Article 515-4 of the Civil Code). However, upon dissolution of the PACS,
partners cannot seek compensatory mainte - nance. Property regimes Partners in a PACS are generally subject to the legal regime of separate estates (Article 515-5 of the Civil Code). However, partners can opt for the joint ownership regime. In this case, the assets are shared equally, even if one partner finances them beyond their ownership share. Upon separation, partners must come to an agreement on the division of their assets. In the absence of an agreement, the family affairs judge will have the authority to resolve their dis - putes (Article 515-7 of the Civil Code) through a liquidation and division procedure (see 2.2 Ser- vice and Process , “Post-divorce liquidation and division proceedings”). 2.7 Enforcement Enforcing Financial Order in France Non-payment of alimony When alimony remains unpaid, the creditor spouse can resort to a direct payment proce - dure to obtain the owed amount from a third party (employer, bank, etc) holding funds initially intended for the debtor. This procedure can be initiated as soon as the first instalment of unpaid alimony is due and is executed by a bailiff. The creditor spouse can also file a complaint: the non-payment of alimony constitutes a criminal offence of family abandonment pun - ishable by two years’ imprisonment and a fine of EUR15,000. If the debtor spouse’s bad faith results in harm to the former creditor spouse, the latter can also request the determination of compensatory damages.
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