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What is divided by half is the remainder, not the gross of the common goods

Last reviewed: September 13, 2026 — VerifiedPoder Judicial

In short

The phrase everyone knows — community property is divided in half — is true, but it sits at the end of a chain, not at the start. Article 539 says it precisely: once the deductions ordered in the preceding articles are made in the inventoried estate, the remainder constitutes the haber of the sociedad de gananciales, to be divided by half between both spouses or their respective heirs, according to the cause of the society’s dissolution. What is split in two is the remainder, that is, what is left after the inventory, the payment of debts, the recompenses and the compensations. Article 540 settles a frequent situation where one spouse owes the other personally: if at liquidation one spouse is personal creditor of the other, they may demand that their credit be satisfied by the adjudication of determined common goods, unless the debtor pays voluntarily. That is, one may collect in goods, and the debtor’s way out is to pay. Article 544 deals with a less common but very tangled case: when two or more sociedades de gananciales of marriages contracted by the same person must be liquidated at once. There the Code opens the evidence — all admissible evidence is accepted to determine each society’s capital — and gives an allocation criterion for when it cannot be known: in case of doubt, the ganancial goods are attributed to the different societies proportionally, having regard to the time of their duration and the goods and income contributed by the respective spouses. And Article 545 closes the chapter with a remittal: in everything not provided on the formation of the inventory, appraisal and liquidation of goods, division and adjudication of the estate, what is established for the partition of the inheritance governs.

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What is it?

They are Articles 539, 540, 544 and 545 of the Civil Code of 2020: dividing the haber by half, collecting between spouses, liquidating several societies at once, and the suppletory rules.

Who can do it?

Married people under the sociedad de gananciales in liquidation, their heirs, and anyone liquidating two or more societies of the same person at once.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

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Step by step

  1. Step 1: Make all the deductions first

    Article 539 divides what remains after what the preceding articles order.

  2. Step 2: What remains is the haber

    The remainder constitutes the haber of the sociedad de gananciales.

  3. Step 3: That haber is split in half

    Between both spouses or their respective heirs, per the cause of dissolution.

  4. Step 4: If one owes the other, they may collect in goods

    Article 540 allows demanding the adjudication of determined common goods, save voluntary payment.

  5. Step 5: If there are several societies, open the evidence

    Article 544 accepts all admissible evidence to determine each one’s capital.

  6. Step 6: And in doubt, allocate proportionally

    Per each society’s duration and the goods and income contributed.

  7. Step 7: What is missing follows the inheritance rules

    Article 545 refers to what is established for the partition of the inheritance.

Where to do it

Article 539 says the haber is divided between the spouses or their respective heirs per the cause of dissolution, but does not explain how that cause determines who receives. Article 540 does not say who selects the common goods adjudicated, how they are valued, or what makes payment voluntary. Article 544 does not say who weighs the proportion between duration and the goods and income contributed, or before which forum it is argued. And Article 545 refers to the partition of the inheritance without reproducing any of those rules: that remittal is named here and not filled in, because completing it would be inventing. None of the four names a form, term or tariff. None of those gaps is filled here.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

The costliest confusion in the whole liquidation fits in one word: remainder. Many people calculate their half on the gross of the common goods and get a surprise at the end. Article 539 says otherwise: once the deductions ordered in the preceding articles are made in the inventoried estate, the remainder constitutes the society’s haber, and it is that haber which is divided by half. Before the half come the inventory, the payment of debts — with preference for support debts — the recompenses and reimbursements, and the compensations for what each spouse owes the society. What is left over from all that is what gets split. If the result is less than expected, usually nothing is missing: the chain was simply longer. The second useful rule is Article 540’s, which serves when besides the gananciales there is a personal debt between the two. If at liquidation one spouse is personal creditor of the other, they may demand their credit be satisfied by the adjudication of determined common goods, unless the debtor pays voluntarily. It is a way to collect without opening another suit, and the debtor’s way out is written in the same line: pay. Article 544 appears rarely but unblocks second- and third-marriage cases. When two or more sociedades de gananciales of marriages of the same person must be liquidated at once, the Code opens the evidence wide and, if doubt remains, allocates proportionally, having regard to each society’s duration and the goods and income contributed by the respective spouses. And for everything the chapter does not settle, Article 545 sends you to the rules on the partition of the inheritance. MiPRFácil gives no legal or financial advice.

Common mistakes

  • Calculating the half on the gross of the common goods: the remainder is divided.
  • Forgetting that debts, recompenses, reimbursements and compensations come before the half.
  • Believing the haber always goes to the spouses: it may go to their heirs per the cause of dissolution.
  • Opening a separate suit for a personal debt between the two: Article 540 allows collecting with common goods.
  • Ignoring that the debtor may avoid that adjudication by paying voluntarily.
  • Giving up in second-marriage cases believing each society’s capital cannot be proved.
  • Looking in this chapter for the missing inventory and partition rules: it refers to the inheritance partition.
  • Expecting Article 544 to say who weighs the proportion: it does not.

Frequently asked questions

Is everything common divided in half?

No. Article 539 divides the remainder left after making the preceding articles’ deductions in the inventoried estate.

My former spouse owes me separately. How do I collect?

Article 540 allows demanding the credit be satisfied by adjudicating determined common goods, unless they pay voluntarily.

There are two marriages to liquidate at once. What governs?

Article 544 accepts all admissible evidence and, in case of doubt, allocates proportionally by duration and by what was contributed.

And what the chapter does not regulate?

Article 545 refers to what is established for the partition of the inheritance on inventory, appraisal, liquidation, division and adjudication.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

September 13, 2026

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