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Registered Partnerships and de facto Partnerships

A registered partnership or a de facto partnership (pareja de hecho) is a stable and affective union of two people, regardless of their sexual orientation, in an affective relationship analogous to that of a married couple.

Although each autonomous community in Spain has its own regulations governing domestic partnerships, In June 2023, Spain enacted the Real Decreto-ley 5/2023, de 28 de junio de 2023, commonly referred to as the Family Law (Ley de familias). This legislation included a significant amendment to Article 37.3.a) of the Workers’ Statute, extending the same 15-day leave benefit to registered partnerships that married couples had long enjoyed after their wedding. Now, employees in registered partnerships are entitled to this leave period following their official registration, mirroring the existing provision for married couples.

In the autonomous communities and cities where there is no specific regulation of domestic partnerships, what is foreseen is the existence of a register and the possible registration in it of those who wish to become such. The lawyer of an unmarried couple can help in this matter.

The European Union regulates registered partnerships through Council Regulation EU 2016/1104 of 24 June 2016 on enhanced cooperation in the area of jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions in matters relating to the property consequences of registered partnerships.

In Madrid registered partnerships are regulated by Law 11/2001, of 19 December 2001,  and Decree 134/2002, of 18 July 2002, approving the Regulations of the Registry of Registered Partnerships in the Community of Madrid

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Registered Partnerships and de facto Partnerships

What is a registered partnership?

A registered partnership is the union of two people in a free, public and notorious manner, with full

legal capacity to act, of a stable and public nature, who, without having married each other, develop a life pattern that coincides with that which spouses are accustomed to.

In most of the Autonomous Communities, the couple must have lived together for a certain period of time, be registered in the municipal census and be a resident of the Autonomous Community in which they intend to register the partnership and, in addition, not be subject to the prohibitions established by law (be a minor, not emancipated, be married, be a relative in a straight or collateral line up to the third degree, etc.).

First of all, we have to make an appointment by means of a form to be submitted with the required documentation.

A contradictory file is then initiated before the Civil Registry, which requires the presence of two witnesses of legal age. A contradictory file (expediente contradictorio) refers to an administrative or legal proceeding where opposing parties can present evidence and arguments to resolve a dispute.

On the day of the appointment, the couple will come with their witnesses, their ID card or passport, and the process will end with the registration and certification issued by the person in charge of the Registry of Registered Partnerships.

The certificate certifies that you have all the rights and obligations that the law grants to registered partners.

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Registered Partnerships and de facto Partnerships

Lawyers for registered partnerships

When a couple chooses this form of cohabitation, they should bear in mind that it has mainly patrimonial effects.

At Winkels Abogados we can help you by drafting a document in which the agreements that regulate your economic relations are set out. Our team is made up of lawyers who are experts in family law and lawyers who are experts in registered partnerships.

The Supreme Court has ruled in several judgments against equating marriages with registered partnerships; therefore, if there is no agreement or pact in this sense, the regimes foreseen for marriage cannot be applied either, since it can be interpreted that if they do not get married it is because they do not want to apply the rules governing patrimony.

This document or pact can establish the rules that will govern the couple during the cohabitation, but also establish the rules that will apply in the event of a break-up.

In the latter case, financial measures may be agreed to regulate the liquidation of the common property of the registered partnerships, agreements on the children (if there are underage children, the regulatory agreement will have to be judicially approved, with the intervention of the Public Prosecutor’s Office being mandatory) and agreements on what happens to the pets after the break- up of the unmarried couple.

Once the document has been drawn up, it is advisable to convert it into a public deed for it to be fully effective, and to register it in the corresponding Register of Registered Partnerships. At Winkels Abogados, in addition to drafting the agreement, we will accompany you to the civil law notary so that you can have it authenticated.

Registered Partnerships and de facto Partnerships

What are the requirements to become a registered partnership in Madrid?

The requirements that the Community of Madrid demands in order to be able to register in the RUHE (registered Partnership Registry) are as follows:

Be of legal age or an emancipated minor.

Be registered at the same address for an uninterrupted period of twelve months immediately prior to the date of application for registration (applicants must have previously provided a certificate of joint registration certifying this situation) and, in addition, be registered as a resident of the Region of Madrid. This requirement follows the amendment of Law 11/2001, of 19 December 2001, on Uniones de Hecho de la Comunidad de Madrid, by Law 11/2022, of 21 December, on Urgent Measures for the Promotion of Economic Activity and the Modernisation of the Administration of the Community of Madrid, with effect from 23 March 2023.

Marital status: single, widowed, divorced or legally separated.

The partners are not related (within three degrees of kinship).

Not being in a de facto union with another person.

The partnership is not registered in the Register of another Autonomous Community.

Not be affected by a mental deficiency or anomaly that does not allow consent to the union to be validly given.

Registered Partnerships and de facto Partnerships

How to become a registered partnership?

Unmarried partnerships are not comparable to marriage. To make a de facto partnership official, the law of the place of residence of the partners must be taken into account, and their relationship must be real and not one of convenience.

There are two ways of formalising de facto unions:

  • Go to the Register of Registered Partners in your autonomous community, after requesting an appointment to register in person, after providing the required documentation.
  • Or before a civil law notary.

The requirements and the necessary documentation are very similar to those required to formalise a marriage.

Registered Partnerships and de facto Partnerships

How to register in the Registered Partnerships Registry of the Community of Madrid?

To register with the RUHE of the Community of Madrid, you will have to request an appointment and provide the following documentation to be submitted together with the appointment request form (if a copy of the documentation is submitted at the Registry Assistance Offices or by electronic means, on the day of the appointment to register you will have to bring the originals to be checked):

Proof of payment of the fee (form 030). To be presented on the day of registration in the Register of Registered Partnerships, which must have been paid 2 to 7 days before the appointment. As of June 2024, the basic registration fee is 82.12 €.

NIF or NIE, full passport or residence card (documents that are in force) of the applicants.

Certification of the municipal census (issued by the Town Hall of the municipality where they reside). Provisional registration certificates will not be accepted (volantes). It will not be necessary to provide them if their consultation is authorised in the application form. For the accreditation of the twelve months of joint census registration of the members of the union, valid certificates issued by the Registry of Registered Partnerships of any Autonomous Community or country belonging to the European Union will be valid, as well as certificates of census registration in any Spanish municipality.

Signed authorisation for consultation of personal data and submission of the application. The authorisation shall be completed only when the application is submitted by a representative.

Proof of emancipation (in the case of minors).

Certificate of marital status.

We answer your questions

Frequently asked questions about unmarried couples

The effects of its constitution are:
Effects on personal relations: The parties may freely establish agreements on the personal relations that are to govern between them during the cohabitation, provided that they respect the principles of freedom and equality and are not contrary to the law, morality or public order.
Economic effects: The agreements between the parties will have to be taken into account because the case law of the Supreme Court has been against applying the matrimonial property regime to registered partnerships.
Sometimes it is considered that we are dealing with the Spanish co-ownership regime (Comunidad de bienes) and, at other times, with a registered partnership, provided that the will (express or tacit) of the cohabitants to form a common estate is evident.

In the case of the Community of Madrid, registered partnerships enjoy a series of rights recognised by the autonomous regulations, although they are not the same as the rights recognised to married persons. For example:

  • Work leaves: paternity and maternity; accident, death or illness of the spouse.
  • Widow’s/widower’s pension in the event of the death of one of the partners, with certain differences with respect to that granted to the widow/widower.
  • Children in common and adoption. In the Community of Madrid they enjoy the same rights and obligations as married couples.

In the rights and obligations of registered partnerships is where we find the most differences with married couples. By way of example, we find:

  • The right to inherit. Unlike the spouses in a marriage, the partners are not heirs by operation of law. Therefore, it is very important that a will is made, otherwise they will not have the right to inherit. At Winkels Abogados we have expert inheritance lawyers who can help you to draw up a will that reflects your wishes and plan the distribution of your inheritance.
  • The right to declare jointly in the IRPF. Although a registered partnership produces the same tax rights as marriage, you are not allowed to file a joint income tax return.
  • The right to paid leave. Registered partnerships cannot take many of the paid work permits that are granted in the case of marriage (in the event of serious illness, hospitalisation, death, etc.) because it is considered that they do not generate kinship by affinity.

Another benefit of becoming a registered partnership is that, in the event of the death of one of the partners, the other partner can obtain a widow’s or widower’s pension if the requirements of Article 221 of the General Social Security Act are met.

The duration of a registered partnership and the end of the union ends when the cohabitation ends. The autonomous communities contemplate, together with the procedure for the constitution of registered partnerships, the termination of the partnership.
Without prejudice to the specific regulation in each Autonomous Community we can point out, in general terms, the following causes of termination:

  • Unilaterally, by the will of one of the partners, notified to the other in a reliable manner.
  • By mutual agreement between the partners.
  • By death or declaration of death.
  • By de facto separation for a specific period of time.
  • By marriage of the partners to each other or to a third person.

Once the cause for dissolution has been accredited, at the request of the parties, the registration in the corresponding register shall be cancelled.

The partnership formalised in the corresponding register or before a civil law notary is valid but, unlike marriage, it does not entail any change in the civil status, which will remain single.

Some of the most important differences with marriage are:

  • They have no right to inherit.
  • They do not have any economic regime.
  • They cannot file a joint income tax return.
  • They do not have certain paid work permits, although they can take maternity or paternity leave.
  • They are not entitled to a compensatory pension or to the compensation recognised in article 1,438 of the Civil Code in the event of separation, annulment or divorce.

It is important to note that children born in wedlock and children born in a domestic relationship have the same rights.

The consequences of legalising a de facto relationship are to regulate a de facto situation of two people who decide to formalise their life together, through which a series of rights and obligations are regulated for the partnership members.

Nowadays, many people decide not to get married. These include not only young people, but also older individuals who choose to live together as unmarried partners. Such couples should formalise their relationships so that, in the long term, they can secure their rights to widows’ or widowers’ pensions.
Registration as a registered partnership has mainly patrimonial effects, acquiring the assets in a spanish co-ownership regime (comunidad de bienes), as there is no economic regime that regulates registered partnerships.

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