The Process
In the last years, the Dominican Republic has become one of the top and most popular destinations for civil marriages celebrations. Each year hundreds of foreigners come to our country to tie the knot, nevertheless in most of the cases, they discover their required documents are not complete or do not have the correct legalizations required by Dominican authorities. As a result of the above their planned civil marriages have to be postponed or even canceled since the couple does not fulfill with all the requirements.

In the same manner, couples generally forget to verify the legal regimen that will regulate their marriage, being forced, after married, to adopt the regimen assigned by Dominican laws which is the common property of assets. The common property of assets establishes that the patrimony of the spouses will include the couple’s current assets and those acquired during marriage.

The Dominican Republic recognizes two different types of marriage: the civil marriage, and the religious marriage. At the moment, the Dominican Republic does not recognize the civil marriage between couples of the same sex.

For a civil marriage be valid in the Dominican Republic, the following formalities are required:
• The couple must be 18 years old, otherwise the consent of their parents will be required (nevertheless Dominican law states that men under 16 and ladies under 15 are not allowed to get married, however the Judge of First Instance can grant an authorization if they can justify their petition);
• The couple must give their free consent;
• The couple cannot be previously married; and,
• The couple cannot be related.

On the other hand, the required documents to be deposited at the corresponding Civil Office are the following:
• Personal Identity Card of each person (in the event one of the parties is foreign, his/her original passport or residence will be required);
• Single Status Declaration;
• Copy of the stamp of their last entry to the country (if foreigners);
• Birth certificate of each individual;
• If one of the parties is divorced, copy of the divorce decree or certificate will be required;
• Personal Identity Card of the two witnesses; and,
• Payment of taxes.

The couple will have the option of celebrate their civil marriage either at the corresponding civil office or at the place of their preference; whether at a home or hotel. Depending on the place where the celebration will be held, the taxes and fees to be paid will vary. Once the couple has married, the Judge will emit a provisional marriage certificate with which the couple will pick up the original.

The Prenuptial Agreement
Once the parties have compiled the required documents for getting married in the Dominican Republic, it is very important for the couple to decide if they wish to get married with a prenup. If so, they must choose the type of agreement that will regulate their marriage, since the administration of their patrimony and an eventual partition of assets, in case of a divorce, will depend on this document.

All prenuptial agreements must be drafted before the marriage and must fulfill all requirements established by Dominican law.

The most common regimen in the Dominican Republic is the common property of assets. Under this regimen all movable property and its earnings, as well as real estate property acquired during the marriage, is considered common property between the spouses. This regimen begins the day of the marriage celebration.

The second most popular regimen, which is being adopted more frequently, is the Separate Property system. This regimen do not provide for common property, but rather for property owned by each spouse and over which each shall administer and manage.

There are other marriage regimens, but are not frequently used. The Reduced to Earnings regimen recognizes all movable property to be common between the spouses excluding the couple’s respective debt (both present and future). The Universal Community system recognizes all properties, both present and future, are common property of the spouses. Under this regimen the spouses agree that only their present or future property will be common property.

Finally and according to the above mentioned it is important to note that at the moment of getting married in the Dominican Republic, Dominican and foreigners must request advise for both gathering the correct documents and getting the corresponding legalizations required by Dominican authorities, as well as to define the regimen or system that will regulate their marriages to avoid mistakes, delays and misunderstandings that could convert the most memorable day of your life into complete chaos.

Bibliography:
Civil Code of the Dominican Republic
Law No. 659 of Civil Acts
www.jce.gov.do
www.usembassy.gov