scheidung-zugewinnausgleich

/familienrecht:scheidung-zugewinnausgleich

Purpose

In the statutory matrimonial property regime of "community of accrued gains," the equalization of accrued gains is the central economic effect of divorce. Errors regarding cut-off dates, illoyal dispositions, or the treatment of debts amount to three-digit figures per 100 TEUR of assets. This skill structures the calculation and the lines of defense.

Inputs

• Date of marriage (cut-off date for initial assets)
• Service of divorce petition (cut-off date for final assets, § 1384 BGB)
• Initial assets of both spouses (with evidence)
• Final assets of both spouses (with evidence)
• Gifts / inheritances during the marriage (privileged under § 1374 para. 2 BGB)
• Suspicion of illoyal diminution of assets
• Marriage contract with modified equalization of accrued gains?

Procedure

1. Review matrimonial property regime

• Default: community of accrued gains (§ 1363 BGB).
• separation of property (§ 1414 BGB): no equalization of accrued gains.
• modified community of accrued gains (marriage contract): partial exclusion, review of content under the standard of contra bonos mores (BGH 2004).

2. Cut-off dates

Calculation	Cut-off date	Norm
Initial assets	Date of marriage	§ 1374 para. 1 BGB
Final assets	Pendency of the divorce petition	§ 1384 BGB
Equalization of accrued gains claim	Finality of the divorce	§ 1378 para. 3 BGB

3. Initial assets (§ 1374 BGB)

Balancing of assets and liabilities at the time of marriage. Even negative initial assets are taken into account (since the 2009 reform).

Privileged assets (para. 2): gifts and inheritances during the marriage are added to the initial assets — so they are not accrued gains.

4. Final assets (§ 1375 BGB)

Balancing of assets and liabilities as at the cut-off date of pendency.

Addition of illoyal dispositions (§ 1375 para. 2 BGB): diminutions of assets in the last 10 years before the cut-off date through:

1. gratuitous transfer without a moral obligation
2. squandering of assets
3. destruction of assets with the intention of disadvantaging the spouse entitled to equalization

are added to the final assets (fictionally).

5. Calculation of accrued gains

Zugewinn = Endvermögen − Anfangsvermögen (jeweils inflationsbereinigt seit 2009)

Consumer price index adjustment under § 1376 para. 1 BGB.

6. Equalization claim (§ 1378 BGB)

Ausgleichsanspruch = (Zugewinn Ehegatte mit höherem Zuwachs − Zugewinn anderer Ehegatte) / 2

Maximum limit: assets of the obligated party at the cut-off date, less liabilities (§ 1378 para. 2 sentence 1 BGB).

7. Right to information (§ 1379 BGB)

Reciprocal: information + proof for initial and final assets, optionally also the separation cut-off date assets. Staged action § 254 ZPO.

8. Early equalization (§ 1385 BGB)

Early equalization can be claimed at the separation cut-off date and upon lis pendens if:

• separation for at least 3 years
• obligor's disloyal conduct to be expected
• security interest

9. Review of the contents of a prenuptial agreement

BGH case law (since 2004): prenuptial agreements are subject to review for violation of good morals if they endanger a spouse's basis of existence, in particular:

• separation maintenance completely excluded
• pension equalization + accrued gains both excluded
• life plan one-sidedly tailored (e.g., "housewife marriage")

Sources

Statutes

• §§ 1363, 1372 et seq. BGB (community of accrued gains)
• § 1374, § 1375, § 1376, § 1378, § 1379, § 1385 BGB
• § 1564 BGB (divorce)
• § 254 ZPO (staged action)
• VersAusglG (pension equalization, separate)

Commentaries

• Koch, in: MüKoBGB, 9th ed. 2023, § 1378 marginal no. 1 et seq.
• Schwab, Familienrecht, 32nd ed. 2024
• Wever, in: Wever / Wendl, Unterhalt und Vermögensausgleich

Case law

• BGH, judgment of 11.02.2004 – XII ZR 265/02, NJW 2004, 930 (review of the contents of a prenuptial agreement) [unverifiziert – prüfen]
• BGH, judgment of 15.11.2017 – XII ZB 503/16, NJW 2018, 384 (disloyalty § 1375 para. 2) [unverifiziert – prüfen]

Output format

ZUGEWINNAUSGLEICH-BERECHNUNG — <Mandat> — <Datum>

I.    Güterstand                     [Zugewinngemeinschaft / modifiziert / Gütertrennung]
II.   Stichtage
      Eheschließung:                  <Datum>
      Rechtshängigkeit Antrag:        <Datum>
III.  Anfangsvermögen
      Ehefrau:                        <EUR (Aktiva – Passiva, inflationsbereinigt)>
      Ehemann:                        <EUR>
      Privilegierte Hinzurechnungen (Schenkungen / Erbschaften): <…>
IV.   Endvermögen
      Ehefrau:                        <EUR>
      Ehemann:                        <EUR>
      Illoyale Verfügungen § 1375 Abs. 2:  <…>
V.    Zugewinn
      Ehefrau:                        <EUR>
      Ehemann:                        <EUR>
VI.   Ausgleichsanspruch
      Höhe:                           <EUR>
      Höchstgrenze § 1378 Abs. 2:     <EUR>
VII.  Verfahren
      Auskunftsanspruch § 1379:       [erfüllt / Stufenklage erforderlich]
      Vorzeitiger Ausgleich § 1385:   [erwogen / nicht]

Verteidigung / Strategie:             <…>

Risks / typical mistakes

• Wrong cut-off date — lis pendens, not separation, is the cut-off date for final assets.
• Inflation not taken into account — § 1376 para. 1 BGB requires CPI adjustment.
• Gifts during the marriage treated as accrued gains — they are privileged (§ 1374 para. 2 BGB).
• Disloyal dispositions not addressed — burden of proof on the person entitled to information, but essential.
• Prenuptial agreement regarded as "valid in every case" — review for violation of good morals BGH 2004 et seq.
• Maximum limit § 1378 para. 2 forgotten — the claim is limited to the current assets.
• Pension equalization ignored — mandatory part of family law settlement.