This regime applies automatically to married couples who have not expressly arranged another type of regime. During the marriage the spouses have separate estates. They each retain ownership of their own estate, i.e. the property which they contribute on marriage or which they personally inherit or receive as a gift during marriage, and manage their own estates separately. The savings made during the marriage ("acquêts", e.g. salaries, interest) can be used and managed independently by each spouse. However, on dissolution of the matrimonial property regime, the jointly acquired property is divided between them in equal shares.

During marriage, there are three categories of property: the wife's property, the husband's property and property belonging to both parties. The last named, which is called the joint estate, is agreed by the couple in the marriage contract and divided between the spouses in the event that the regime is dissolved. In order to be subject to the joint estate regime, the spouses must sign a prenuptial agreement.

In this case there is no property in common. Each spouse remains the owner of his or her own property and manages it independently. This means that there is no partition on termination of the marriage. The separate estate regime may be agreed by the spouses in a prenuptial agreement or be ordered by the judge as part of various measures to protect the conjugal relationship.

The prenuptial agreement (marriage contract) sets out the matrimonial property regime. This must be signed before a notary public or a person approved by the canton to draw up deeds, who will advise the couple on the advantages and disadvantages of each regime. Further information on the subject can be found in a booklet published by the Federal Office of Justice.