PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT IN FINLAND

Are you getting married in Finland with your Finnish spouse? Are you familiar with the Finnish Marriage Act? This article is for you if you need help deciding whether you should conclude the prenuptial agreement in Finland.  

Löydät saman tekstin myös suomeksi/ in Finnish 

Prenuptial agreement according to Finnish law

According to the Finnish Marriage Act each spouse have the marital right to the other spouse’s property. If a marriage ends either because of death or divorce, both spouses have the right for half of their combined property.

By concluding the prenuptial agreement, the spouses can decide the extent of their marital rights. With the prenuptial agreement, the spouses can agree that their combined property is not split in half as written in the Marriage Act. They can decide not to have the marital right at all, or they can decide to have certain property excluded from the marital right. This property could be for example an inherited summer cottage (which is a typical scenario in Finland).

The spouses can also decide to have the marital right in case the marriage ends in death but exclude it in case of divorce. If the marital right is excluded also in case of death, it is important to remember that in certain cases the widow has the right to inherit. This is especially important for childless couples.

Registration

The prenuptial agreement can be done before the marriage or anytime during the marriage. In Finland, the prenuptial agreement must be sent for registration to Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Without registration it is not valid.

For international couples, it is also recommended to register the national law which shall be applied to their matrimonial rights. If the couple wishes to register Finnish law as the legislation applied to their matrimonial rights, it is possible to do both, the registration of the applied law and the registration of the prenuptial agreement at the same time.

The language of the document

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency accepts agreements written in two languages (one national language FIN/SWE + foreign language). This means for example, if the couple’s native languages are Finnish and Spanish, the agreement can be made in both of those languages. However, if the English skills of the foreign language speaker are good, both in communicating and understanding, the agreement can be concluded also in English, instead of the native language.

It is important that the spouses are realistic about their language skills. Both spouses must fully understand the meaning of the document. Therefore, when we meet clients who have decided to conclude a prenuptial agreement, we always go carefully through the meaning of the prenuptial agreement and the rulings of the Finnish Marriage Act.

We can help you to conclude a bilingual prenuptial agreement in Finnish and English. When concluding the agreement in our office in Kokkola, we also take care of the registration process and the registration of the applicable law.

In case you wish to conclude your prenuptial agreement in some other language than English (and Finnish), it is possible to hire a translator for the meeting or to order an official translated copy in the chosen language. In case you contact us about a prenuptial agreement, we can go through the different possibilities and find the one which suits your situation the best.

Book an appointment with us

You can book the appointment from our website (in Finnish).