In short
The Civil Code of 2020 devotes two consecutive articles to saying what is privative — that is, of one spouse alone and not of both. Article 509 lists seven classes. Privative are the goods that belonged to the spouse before contracting the marriage, or before the society took effect if established later; those acquired gratuitously during the society, whether by donation, legacy or inheritance; those acquired at the cost of or in substitution for other privative goods; the goods and patrimonial rights inherent to their person and those not transmissible or disposable in life to a third party; the compensation for damages done to their person or to their privative goods; the sums or credits acquired before the society and payable over a number of years, even if the matured amounts are received during it; and those acquired by the right of retracto over goods that belonged to them beforehand. Article 510 adds four more, and each comes with its exception. Clothes and objects of personal use, unless they are of extraordinary value and acquired at the cost of common funds or of the other spouse’s funds — and in that latter case those received from the other as a donation are excluded. The title, licence or academic or professional degree, but the society keeps a credit for the costs incurred in the preparation, convalidation and continuing education, and the practice or business that degree generates is governed by the ganancial article. The instruments needed to practise the profession or trade, save when they form an integral part of a firm, establishment or commercial business. And the new shares or participations subscribed by reason of holding other privative funds or goods, with reimbursement of the value paid if common funds pay the subscription or the shares are issued against profits.
What is it?
They are Articles 509 and 510 of the Civil Code of 2020, the two lists of privative goods opening the Classes of Goods section of the community-property chapter.
Who can do it?
Married people under the sociedad de gananciales who need to know whether a good is one spouse’s or both’s.
Requirements
- Privative are the goods belonging to the spouse before contracting marriage, or before the society took effect if established later.Verified against the official source
- Privative are those acquired gratuitously during the society, whether by donation, legacy or inheritance.Verified against the official source
- Privative are those acquired at the cost of or in substitution for other privative goods, and those acquired by retracto over goods already theirs.Verified against the official source
- Privative is the compensation for damages done to their person or to their privative goods.Verified against the official source
- Privative are sums or credits acquired before the society and payable over a number of years, even if matured amounts are received during it.Verified against the official source
- Privative are clothes and objects of personal use, unless of extraordinary value and acquired at the cost of common funds or the other spouse’s.Verified against the official source
- Privative is the title, licence or academic or professional degree, but the society keeps a credit for preparation, convalidation and continuing-education costs.Verified against the official source
- Privative are the instruments needed to practise the profession or trade, save when they form an integral part of a firm, establishment or commercial business.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Look at the acquisition date
What predates the marriage, or the society if agreed later, is privative.
Step 2: Check whether it was free
What is acquired gratuitously during the society — donation, legacy or inheritance — is privative.
Step 3: Follow the money trail
What is bought at the cost of or in substitution for another privative good keeps that character.
Step 4: Personal compensation is yours
Compensation for damage to your person or your privative goods is privative.
Step 5: Watch for extraordinary-value clothing
It stops being privative if of extraordinary value and bought with common or the other spouse’s funds.
Step 6: The degree is yours, the business not necessarily
The degree is privative, but the practice it generates is governed by the ganancial article.
Where to do it
These two articles do not define what extraordinary value is in clothing or objects of personal use, and that word decides whether the good is privative: the Code fixes no amount, percentage or criterion. Nor do they say who values those goods or as of what date. They do not explain how the credit the society keeps for the accredited spouse’s preparation, convalidation and continuing-education costs is calculated. They name no forum, form or procedure to declare a good’s character, and publish no tariff or term. What happens when privative goods are paid with common funds lives in other articles of the same chapter and this site covers it separately. None of those gaps is filled here.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
The commonest doubt is about inheritance, and the Code answers it plainly: privative is what is acquired gratuitously during the society, whether by donation, legacy or inheritance. Receiving a house from your mother while married does not make it ganancial. The second doubt concerns money arriving later for something that began earlier. Article 509 settles it in item (f): sums or credits acquired before the society took effect and payable over a number of years are privative even if the matured amounts are received during it. What decides is not when you collect but when the credit arose. The third is the accident: compensation for damages done to your person or your privative goods is privative, and that includes harm to your own body. That said, there are two traps in Article 510 worth seeing before taking anything for granted. One is clothing and objects of personal use: they are privative, but stop being so if of extraordinary value and acquired at the cost of common funds or the other spouse’s. The Code does not say how much is extraordinary, so that adjective stays open. The other is the professional degree, which many read only halfway. Yes, the title, licence or degree is privative. But the same line adds that the society keeps a credit for the costs incurred in the accredited spouse’s preparation, convalidation and continuing education, and that the practice, business or economic activity that accreditation generates is governed by the article on ganancial goods. That is: the diploma is yours; what it produces, not necessarily. MiPRFácil gives no legal or financial advice.
Common mistakes
- Believing everything received while married is ganancial: what is acquired gratuitously is privative.
- Looking at when a credit is collected rather than when it was acquired: the Code looks at acquisition.
- Thinking compensation for a personal accident enters the common estate.
- Treating an expensive piece of jewellery bought with common funds as privative: Article 510 excludes it.
- Looking in the Code for how much extraordinary value is: it fixes no amount.
- Reading only the first half of the professional-degree item and forgetting the society’s credit.
- Assuming the business born of the degree is privative because the degree is.
- Treating trade instruments as privative when they form an integral part of a firm.
Frequently asked questions
I inherited a house while married. Is it both ours?
No. Article 509 makes privative what is acquired gratuitously during the society, whether by donation, legacy or inheritance.
Is my accident compensation ganancial?
Article 509 makes privative the compensation for damages done to your person or to your privative goods.
Does my professional degree enter the common estate?
The degree is privative, but the society keeps a credit for preparation, convalidation and continuing-education costs.
I collect in instalments something from before marrying. What is it?
Privative. The Code says so even if the matured amounts are received during the society.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 13, 2026
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Article 511 of the Civil Code of 2020 keeps the privative character even if paid with common funds, and gives the society a credit for the value paid.
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Article 519 of the Civil Code of 2020 presumes the marriage’s goods ganancial while it is not proved they belong privatively to either spouse.
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