Civil Partnership before a Notary

Regardless of the age or gender of the members, when a couple wishes to formalise their relationship they can opt for marriage or other forms of legal institution such as a de facto couple (also known as a stable couple or common-law union). For the Law, both marriages and de facto couples are considered families, although the requirements for the establishment of one or the other family model are different, with marriage being more complex and slower to establish.

However, in Spain there is no state regulation for de facto couples, with the majority of the Autonomous Communities having enacted legal provisions today. Thus, the regulation to be taken into account is that of the Autonomous Community in which the de facto couple lives. It should therefore be noted that there are certain differences in the regulation and treatment that de facto couples receive in the different Autonomous Communities.

This causes certain differences and particularities to exist in each territory that need to be known. Nevertheless, as a starting point it is common that one of the ways to establish a de facto couple is before a Notary and such formalisation is valid throughout Spain.

In the case of Catalonia, the de facto partnership is regulated in the Second Book of the Catalan Civil Code, Title III, in chapter IV called “stable cohabitation as a couple”. Furthermore, its regulation is completed with other decrees and orders that organise the situation.

The advantage of forming a de facto partnership in Catalonia is that this autonomous community does not require a minimum cohabitation period of the couple for registration, and presumes that the couple exists if they have lived together continuously for two years or if they have a common child. The problem in this case is that for it to have effects against third parties, especially against the administration, it must be registered in the Register of stable couples of Catalonia.

If you want to become a civil partnership before a Notary, you will need to make an appointment at the notary's office and both members of the couple must attend the notary's office to sign the deed of constitution of the civil partnership before the Notary. The signing of the deed of civil union must be done in person at the notary's office.

The notary's office will ask you to prove the reality of your civil partnership with documents, such as the municipal register showing that the parties to the civil union are registered at the same address, or through witnesses.

Furthermore, depending on the cases and territories, there may be additional requirements, such as the register having a certain length of time or witnesses attending the signing who can attest to the reality of your partnership. It is also most likely that the notary's staff and the notary will ask security questions to guarantee the reality of your civil union.

Additionally, if the Notary and the parties constituting the union do not speak the same language, a translator must attend the signing of the civil partnership. The translator does not have to be official and is chosen by the members of the civil partnership.

If you have a formal relationship, you may wonder what rights you would obtain by being a civil partner. Focusing on the rights that civil partners have in Catalonia, it should be noted that the general idea is that civil partners are treated almost the same as married couples. The rights of civil partners in Catalonia are as follows:

• The same tax treatment as a married couple in most cases, with exemptions on transfers between spouses.
• Right to intestate succession of their civil partner, after the children, and only in the absence of a will designating another heir.
• Reconciliation of work and family life.
• Possible subrogation in the rental contract of the partner.
• Access to adoption of minors.
• Compensation for the death of the other partner caused by third parties.
• Paid leave in case of accident, illness or death of their partner.
• Possibility of receiving widow’s or widower’s pensions, where applicable.
• Other tax benefits in fiscal matters.
• Obtaining 15 calendar days off upon registering as a Civil Partnership (due to decree-law 5/2023).
• Right to the household goods of the home.
• The need for authorisation from the other partner for the sale of the family home.

If you want to establish a notarial deed of a civil partnership and can sign in person in Barcelona, you will be able to process a public deed of civil partnership with us. We will resolve any doubts you may have after the information provided in this article.

The notarial route is the fastest way to formalise a civil partnership.

Make an appointment, and on the agreed day only you and your partner will need to attend. However, you must first provide the documentation to become a civil partnership and sign the deed in person. One of the most common questions from our clients is regarding “when are you considered a civil partnership?”. The signing of the deed is considered the moment of its constitution.

After signing the civil partnership deed, the notary will send a copy of your civil partnership to the Register of Stable Unions of Catalonia. This Register, after registering your partnership, will send you a certificate by email confirming the registration of your partnership in the Civil Registry. Although the civil partnership is constituted from the signing of the deed at the notary, this certificate confirming the registration in the Register can be an important document, as it must be presented in most immigration processes as an attached document.

The Notary is responsible for drafting the public deed of the de facto union in which both parties acknowledge living together and agree to establish a stable union.

Furthermore, the notary's staff and the notary will explain the options available to regulate your finances (such as the choice of a common economic regime) and will advise you on matters related to succession or offspring.

Likewise, you should know that it is advisable to agree on the consequences of the end of cohabitation. If separation of the couple becomes necessary in the future, the Notary can also process the public deed of dissolution of the de facto couple.

Among the advantages offered by this de facto couple procedure before a notary are advice, legality, and the public trust granted by the notarial figure along with the speed of the notarial process.

Please note that you can only establish this de facto couple act by attending and signing in person at the notary office of your choice. If you are looking for a notary in Barcelona for a de facto union, do not hesitate to contact us.

The documents you must provide to the notary for the signing of the civil partnership deed are, at a minimum, the following:

• Valid identification document: DNI of the members of the couple, passport or residence card if they are foreign
• Certificate of registration (except if the couple has a child in common, in which case the Family Book or the children's birth certificate would suffice)

In Catalonia, the effects that would occur after the end of a life as a couple can be agreed upon in the public deed of a domestic partnership. It is recommended to process it together with the domestic partnership deed, to establish the legal consequences of the breakup and to avoid conflicts in personal and property matters. Common matters in the breakup agreements include both minor children and the use of the home.

Among the agreements, the most common is to agree on a regime of separation of assets, which guarantees that each family member has separate assets and financial autonomy. It is also very common to waive compensations and pensions between the members of a couple after the breakup of the stable partnership.