Vermögen: Wann sich ein Ehevertrag lohnt – und was er kostet

Many people mistakenly believe that an individual marriage contract is unnecessary and expensive. However, failing to create a contract can lead to unfavorable outcomes in the event of a divorce. In Germany, couples automatically enter into a so-called "common property" marriage upon getting married, without having the chance to specify individual rules. This standard arrangement may not always align with the couple’s personal circumstances. In such cases, a marriage contract can prove beneficial.

The costs associated with a marriage contract vary greatly depending on the unique situation. The Handelsblatt outlines the legal rules in place when no marriage contract exists, as well as how the associated fees are composed and where potential savings can be made. Without a marriage contract, couples are subject to a common property system after the wedding.

Upon divorce, they must divide the assets they acquired during the marriage through a property settlement. Gifts and inheritances are excluded from this division. If one partner owns a successful business, the eventual wealth share in the marriage can be substantial. Even the value increase of a property purchased before the wedding, acquired during the marriage, becomes part of the property settlement.

Additionally, pension rights are divided between the partners upon reaching retirement age, referred to as the "pension sharing" benefit. This encompasses the retirement benefit in question. Furthermore, there may be a claim for post-marital maintenance, known as "nachehelicher Unterhalt."

To calculate the property settlement, assume the husband contributed nothing to the marriage and did not earn any income throughout. In contrast, the wife's wealth grew from €100,000 to €300,000. In this example, she would then be required to pay half of the amount she gained during the marriage – €100,000 – to her husband upon divorce.

To determine such calculations, partners should document their financial status on the wedding day. "If the initial wealth is not documented, the court will assume a zero balance for the property settlement," explains Eva Becker, a family law specialist in Berlin. Consequently, a higher initial wealth would have to be shared with the future ex-partner.

What does the marriage contract cover? Typically, a marriage contract is known as a "modified common property" agreement. "In principle, anything can be regulated in such an agreement – provided one party is not completely disadvantaged," says Becker. Otherwise, a court could deem the contract morally reprehensible. This could occur, for example, if one partner were completely exempt from the division of pension rights without receiving financial compensation in return.

Common provisions in a marriage contract include the exclusion of society shares or properties acquired individually from the property settlement. Moreover, post-marital support payments often exceed the legal standards and are frequently negotiated. "Such arrangements are particularly common among couples planning to have children," notes Becker.

Family lawyer Becker observes an increasing number of well-educated, high-earning women who seek to sign a marriage contract. "They can calculate how their career and income might be affected by reducing their professional work hours to focus on raising children," she explains. "Therefore, they want to pre-arrange how such reductions will be compensated." This compensation could be achieved through maintenance payments.