What is divided in a divorce in Italy

Ukrainian couples who have lived in Italy for years almost always approach property division with the wrong assumption: that everything bought during the marriage is automatically split in half. Under Italian law that is not how it works. What is subject to division, and what never enters the shared pool, is determined by the property regime chosen or applied by default. Without answering that question first, any conversation about an apartment, a car, or a bank account is premature.

Property division is not a separate procedure detached from the divorce. It happens either by agreement, within a separazione consensuale, or through a distinct court proceeding — giudizio di divisione — when the spouses cannot agree themselves.

This article follows that order: first the property regime, because it defines the shared pool's boundaries; then asset valuation; then the family home on its own, where most confusion arises; then debts; and finally business, pension, and property left in Ukraine.

The marital property regime: why everything starts here

In Italy, spouses fall under one of two main property regimes: comunione legale (statutory community of property) — the default if the couple did not choose otherwise when marrying — or separazione dei beni (separation of property) — chosen deliberately, usually before a notaio or directly when registering the marriage.

Under separazione dei beni, each spouse remains the sole owner of whatever they acquired in their own name, before or during the marriage. There is, in essence, nothing to divide except property deliberately registered to both — a joint account, an apartment held in shares, a car owned by both. Ukrainians who chose this regime at their Italian wedding often forget about it, and at divorce are genuinely surprised there is no legal basis for claiming property registered exclusively to the other spouse.

Under comunione legale, everything the spouses acquired together during the marriage (with a set of clearly defined exceptions) forms a shared pool, dissolved and divided, as a rule, equally at divorce. The exceptions include property received as inheritance or a gift, personal belongings, property owned before the marriage, and anything bought with proceeds from selling personal property — provided this was recorded in writing at the moment of purchase.

Standing apart is comunione de residuo — a residual community. It concerns assets that remain the personal property of the spouse who earned them during the marriage (for example, business income not yet spent by the time of divorce), but whatever remains unspent when the regime is dissolved becomes subject to division. This is one of the least understood mechanisms, and it is exactly where it is easiest either to lose a share one is entitled to, or to mistakenly treat as shared something that was never shared.

Lawyer's tip. Before discussing specific items — an apartment, a car, savings — establish in writing which regime the marriage is under, and when it was chosen or changed. That single fact determines what is even open for discussion.

Valuing property before division

Once it is clear what belongs to the shared pool, the next step is valuation. For real estate this is, as a rule, a market valuation on a date as close as possible to the actual division, not the purchase date: an apartment or house may have changed significantly in price over the years, and current value is the basis for calculating shares or compensation. For movable property — cars, equipment, furniture of significant value — valuation is usually simpler and relies on reference catalogues or an independent expert appraisal if the parties cannot agree on a figure.

When the parties cannot agree on value on their own, the court appoints a CTU — an expert consultant — who prepares an independent valuation. This lengthens the process, but is often the only way to avoid an endless dispute over figures.

The family home: ownership and assegnazione are not the same thing

This is the point where confusion arises most often. Assegnazione della casa familiare is not a transfer of ownership. It is a right to live in the home, granted by the court to the spouse with whom the couple's minor or dependent adult children remain living, regardless of which spouse owns the apartment or house.

In other words: if the apartment is registered solely in the husband's name, but the court grants assegnazione to the wife, with whom the children remain, the husband stays the owner. The wife receives the right to live there with the children for as long as the reason for that assignment continues — as a rule, until the children reach adulthood or finish their studies and become financially independent. This right ends if the spouse it was granted to remarries or begins living stably with a new partner in that same home — circumstances the court evaluates case by case.

The confusion arises because assegnazione does have a genuine property effect: it limits the owner's right to dispose of the real estate and is factored into alimony or other compensation. But on its own it makes no one an owner. Clients often arrive convinced that "the court gave the apartment" to one parent, and this becomes a source of conflict when the other spouse, remaining the owner, decides to sell the property or refuses to cover part of the expenses, pointing precisely to their ownership right.

If the home is jointly owned, the situation becomes more complex: assegnazione can be granted to one spouse even when the other co-owns half the property, and the actual division of ownership is postponed until the reason for the assignment no longer applies.

Lawyer's tip. If there are minor children, before discussing who "gets" the home, separate two questions: who is the owner according to the documents, and whether assegnazione will be granted. Mixing these is a source of future disputes.

Mortgage and debts: who remains liable after divorce

Dividing assets is rarely complete without a conversation about debts. If a mortgage on the apartment was taken out jointly, the divorce itself does not change the terms of the agreement with the bank: both remain jointly and severally liable to the lender, regardless of who actually lives in the home. The bank is not a party to the family's agreement and keeps demanding payments from either debtor.

An agreement between the spouses about who "takes on" the mortgage binds them to each other, but does not release the one who formally remains a co-borrower from liability to the bank if the other stops paying. Actually removing one spouse from the mortgage requires a separate procedure with the bank — a reassignment, a refinancing, or a sale that pays off the debt.

The same applies to other shared debts — credit cards, consumer loans, obligations to suppliers if one spouse runs a business. Debt allocation should be resolved together with asset division: compensation is often calculated with each side's share of debt already factored in.

Business, shares, pension and property left in Ukraine

When one spouse runs a business — has opened a partita IVA, co-owns a company, or holds shares in a partnership — valuing and dividing such an asset needs a separate approach. The company itself is rarely divided physically: what matters is valuing the share, which under comunione legale may fall under comunione de residuo if the profit had not been spent when the community ended. Under separazione dei beni, the share generally remains the personal property of whoever formally holds it.

Pension contributions are also considered separately: part of the pension record accrued during the marriage may be factored into compensation, particularly if one spouse worked less while raising the children and so accumulated fewer pension rights.

A separate and increasingly common situation for Ukrainian families is property left in Ukraine: an apartment, a house, a plot of land, inherited or acquired before or during the marriage. The Italian court hearing the divorce can take such property into account in the overall compensation, even though it is physically and legally located in Ukraine and not directly enforceable there without a separate recognition procedure.

The mirror situation occurs just as often: a couple dividing property in Ukraine runs into assets in Italy — an account, a car, a share in a company. The work here relies on combining forces: a lawyer negotiates and builds the position in one country, while a power of attorney from abroad lets a trusted person act where a party cannot physically be present. Selling real estate in Ukraine to settle accounts between former spouses is usually completed through such a sale of real estate by power of attorney.

The path to an actual division runs one of two ways. First: the parties agree on their own and formalise it within a separazione consensuale, or together with a joint divorce — faster and cheaper, with control over the outcome. Second: when agreement fails, one spouse initiates a separate court proceeding — giudizio di divisione — within which the court establishes the mass of the property, orders a valuation through a CTU if needed, and rules on how it is divided and compensated.

Why property division should be handled with a lawyer

Property division in a divorce is one of those situations where the price of an unguided mistake is measured not in time but in a sum of money lost for good. An agreement signed without review, describing the shared pool unclearly, leaves the other side room to later claim that part of the assets was "personal" and never subject to division. A miscalculated compensation for assegnazione della casa familiare, confused with a transfer of ownership, leads a client to accept terms never actually part of the court's ruling. A spouse's name left on a mortgage means that years later, when the other stops paying, the bank comes after them directly.

These mistakes are not always visible right away. An agreement can look fair on paper and turn into a problem a year or two later — when the former spouse sells property that should have been divided, when the bank sues over an unpaid mortgage, or when property in Ukraine turns out never to have been accounted for at all.

This is exactly the type of case where, at Dorosh & Partners, combining a lawyer and an advocate gives the client a real advantage. The client speaks with a lawyer in their own language and explains the situation as it actually is — every detail about property in Ukraine, the bank, informal arrangements with the former partner. The lawyer translates that into a legal position: determines the property regime, builds the list of assets and debts, and prepares the documents and evidence. The lawyer then briefs the advocate — the specialist representing the case before the tribunale — and makes sure the position built with the client actually reaches the court as it is meant to be heard, not lost or watered down along the way.

In practice this means verifying the property regime before the first conversation about specific assets begins; drawing up a complete list of assets and debts; preparing or reviewing the valuation of real estate and business shares; correctly formalising the assegnazione agreement when children are involved; coordinating the mortgage with the bank; and, where necessary, organising work with property in Ukraine through a power of attorney. If the case goes to court, the lawyer prepares the client for every stage and keeps the advocate focused on what matters.

A consultation is worth starting not once the agreement is signed or the case is already in court, but at the stage where it is only just becoming clear which property regime governs the marriage and what is even open for discussion. A consultation can be booked right after the first conversation about divorce — that is when good advice costs the least, and a wrong step costs the most. The same logic applies to related questions — from property division between spouses under Ukrainian law, when assets and documents are tied to Ukraine, to the broader family and migration matters Ukrainians in Italy face, covered on the migration support page.

Frequently asked questions

Is all property bought during the marriage split evenly?

Only under comunione legale, and only if the property does not fall under the exceptions — inheritance, a gift, property owned before the marriage. Under separazione dei beni, only property registered to both is divided.

Does assegnazione della casa familiare mean the home becomes the property of the parent who stays with the children?

No. It is a right to live in the home for as long as the children live there with that parent, not a transfer of ownership. Ownership stays with whoever the property is registered to.

What happens to a joint mortgage after divorce?

The bank is not a party to the family agreement: both spouses stay jointly liable for the loan until it is reassigned, refinanced, or paid off in full, regardless of any arrangement between them.

What happens if the former spouse does not agree to a voluntary division?

In that case, one spouse initiates a separate court proceeding — giudizio di divisione — within which the court establishes the mass of the property, orders an independent valuation if needed, and rules on how it is divided and compensated.

Property division after a divorce in Italy is a process in which every misunderstood term or missing document carries a specific financial cost. Understanding which property regime to start from, what assigning the family home actually means, and who remains liable for shared debts turns division into an orderly process rather than a series of unpleasant surprises a year or two after the agreement is signed.

Матеріал має інформаційний характер і не замінює юридичну консультацію.