PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: João Perry da Câmara, Teresa Silva Tavares, Sofia Vaz Pardal and Joana Salazar Gomes, Rogério Alves & Associados
2.3 Division of Assets On divorce, the assets will be divided according to the matrimonial regime. In Portugal, there are three main matrimonial regimes: • separation of all assets; • communion of all assets; and • communion of assets acquired after the mar - riage. Division will be necessary only in the com - munion regimes of assets. The rule is that the assets should be divided 50%–50% between the spouses. In the communion of all assets, there is a rule that, in divorce, none of the spouses can receive more assets in the division than they would receive if the marital regime was the communion of assets acquired after the marriage. In Portugal, assets can be divided only after the divorce. Division can be made by agreement or by judicial proceeding. In a judicial proceed - ing, the court considers all of the assets (assets and liabilities) and determines the amount each spouse will be entitled to. The parties should inform the court of their assets and liabilities, but there is no disclosure process. However, if one party considers the other to be hiding assets, they can claim that. The party making the claim should provide proof of the existence of the hidden assets. The court has limited powers regarding disclo - sure. In relation to third parties, a rule states that everybody should co-operate with the court when asked to do so. The court can ask for bank secrecy to be lifted.
In a lis pendens situation, the proceedings can be stayed until it is decided which court has jurisdiction. However, if the questions to be decided are dif - ferent and according to international rules, both states are internationally competent to decide on the issue presented to each one, and the pro - cesses can run independently. After a foreign divorce, if the Portuguese court has international jurisdiction at the time of the filing, it can hear financial claims. For instance, following a divorce decreed in Spain, if both or one of the spouses comes to live in Portugal and, at some point, needs alimony, the Portu - guese court can be internationally competent to decide on that. 2.2 Service and Process Service in financial proceedings is always made by the court in which the process is filed. The process and the timeline for financial proceed - ings depend on the complexity of the situation and the need to translate documents, etc. For example, the processes in provisional and final alimony are different, either in terms of pro - cedural rules or the kind of proof required. The provisional process will take less time to decide. Another example is the process when one spouse seeks to end the maintenance obliga - tion. This process will take longer, as it is nec - essary to prove that the situation justifying the maintenance obligation no longer exists: namely, the party obliged to pay alimony can no longer pay that amount or the party that receives ali - mony does not need it anymore.
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