Bill 675.

Summary.

The bill amends Article 128 of the Family Code (Código de la Familia) to provide that spouses contribute to marital expenses in proportion to their respective financial resources. Each spouse’s contribution would thus be tied to the resources available to them during the marriage.

The proposed Article 223-A provides that, regardless of the ground for divorce, a judge will award a compensatory pension in the divorce judgment upon a party’s request when the stated conditions are met. It is intended for a spouse who, during the marriage, performed household work, cared for children, or cared for older adults or persons with disabilities dependent on the family household, and whose employment or professional development was limited or interrupted as a result. The pension is compensatory rather than a form of maintenance. Its stated purpose is to remedy the economic imbalance arising from dedication to the home during the marriage.

The new Article 223-B allows the pension regardless of the matrimonial property regime that governed the marriage and without making it conditional on the outcome of the division of marital property. In deciding whether to award it and in setting its amount, the judge will consider the length of the marriage and the beneficiary spouse’s degree of dedication to household and care work; both spouses’ ages and health; the beneficiary’s professional qualifications and employment prospects; and each spouse’s financial resources, assets and obligations at the time of divorce. Payment may take the form of adjustable periodic instalments, a single cash payment or the transfer of specified property, as agreed by the parties or decided by the court.

Article 223-C provides that the pension cannot last longer than the marriage did. Either party may seek judicial review if a substantial, subsequent change occurs in the circumstances on which the award was based. Under Article 223-D, entitlement ends if the beneficiary remarries or enters into a stable de facto union, when the period set in the judgment expires, or by mutual agreement approved by a court.

Article 6 identifies the provisions affected in the Family Code: it describes Article 128 as amended and Articles 223-A, 223-B, 223-C and 223-D as added, although Article 2 describes its change to Article 223-A as an amendment. Article 7 provides for the law to take effect upon promulgation. The bill concerns the administration of family justice and could affect or interest spouses in divorce proceedings, people engaged in household and care work, children, older adults, and persons with disabilities who depend on the family household.