Pareja de hecho (domestic partner)

WHAT IS ‘PAREJA DE HECHO’?:

The domestic partner is the contractual relationship that publicly regulates the stable union between two people with vital interests and common coexistence.

Although they may resemble each other in certain points and many tend to confuse them, at a legal level a domestic partner is not comparable to marriage.

Well, the civil union does not imply any type of personal or patrimonial consequence as wide or extensive as those that marriage does imply.

In addition, as we will see later, the domestic partner is one of the most common ways to obtain residence in Spain (keep reading if you want to know how).

REQUIREMENTS:

In Spain, anyone can become a domestic partner, as long as they meet the following requirements:

• Being of legal age (in Spain the age of majority is 18 years old); or be an emancipated minor (age 16 and older if you are living self-sufficiently).

• Being single. That is, not being married, as this would invalidate the registration. The same happens if you are registered as domestic partner and want to get married: you must dissolve the civil union before you can get married.

• At least one of the two members of the couple must be registered in the autonomous community in which the union will be registered.

Process for the registration of the domestic partner:

Domestic partners must be registered in the registry of the autonomous or regional government; that is, in the Register of Stable Unmarried Couples.

To do so, there are two different options:

The first is to go to the notary to accredit the couple through a notarial act or deed, collecting the will of both members of the relationship to be a domestic partner. It is undoubtedly the fastest and easiest option, especially since a minimum cohabitation period is not required here.

The second option is to request registration in the domestic partner partnership register of the relevant autonomous community, where a minimum joint coexistence will be required.

Documents to make the request:

– Passport of both members of the couple or document that identifies them both (or NIE, DNI, etc.)

– Birth certificate.

– Proof of marital status (single certificate), showing that neither of you is currently married or registered in another de facto union. In the event that one of the two has been previously married, it will also be necessary to provide a final judgment of divorce or marriage annulment.

– Family book if they have children in common.

– Certificate of joint registration (empadronamiento conjunto), which can be obtained from the town hall of the municipality in which they reside.

– Registration form of the couple with all the complete data

– On a voluntary basis, they can present a document that explains how they want their economic relations to be regulated.

Also, keep in mind that you may be required to make an affidavit in front of the person enrolling you.

Economic regime of the domestic partner:

By default, the economic regimes of marriage, such as the separation of property or marital property, do not apply to domestic partner.

That is why if you want to regulate your economic relations in a certain way (for example, in a similar way to any of those admitted in marriage), you must then prepare a document explaining the bases of the economic relationship and present it on the day of the inscription.

Otherwise, if you did not present said document, there would be no applicable economic regime.

Is there a widow’s pension with the domestic partner?

Unlike marriage, a contractual relationship through which a widow’s pension is offered to the member who is widowed regardless of the years they have been together, with the de facto couple the situation is different.

Thus, they will only have the right to receive a widow’s pension if both members have lived together for at least 5 years before they die, and the duration of the union has been at least 2 years.

Finally, it is also important that the widower’s income does not exceed a maximum limit established by each autonomous community. If this minimum is exceeded, the widower will not be entitled to the pension.

What are the causes of dissolution of the domestic partner?

– If one of the members of the couple dies

– By mutual agreement, with the simple notification to the register of domestic partner.

– By decision of only one of the two members (unilateral decision) if he notifies the Civil Partnership Registry

– If there is a de facto separation of more than 6 months duration.

– Finally, by marriage of one of the two members