Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/308275 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Citation: 
[Journal:] European Journal of Population [ISSN:] 1572-9885 [Volume:] 38 [Issue:] 3 [Publisher:] Springer Netherlands [Place:] Dordrecht [Year:] 2022 [Pages:] 353-375
Publisher: 
Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht
Abstract: 
This study examines the prevalence of marital contracts across marriage cohorts (1990–2019) in Germany. We further investigate the characteristics of spouses who signed a marital contract. Using cross-sectional data from the German Family Panel (pairfam, 2018/19), we employ complementary log–log and multinomial logistic regression models to predict the prevalence and the type of marital contracts. The results show that 5% of all married couples opt out of the default matrimonial property regime by signing a contract in Germany. Differentiating between contract types, most couples either specify a separation of property (40%) or modify the default community of accrued gains (31%). We find an increase in the prevalence of marital contracts across marriage cohorts. The decision to opt out of the default is strongly positively associated with self-employment that often requires the customisation of asset ownership structures within marriage. Married individuals with prior divorce experiences are more likely to opt for the separation of property, indicating that the awareness of the economic consequences of divorce promotes the individualisation of marriage. Our results are in line with the cross-national trend towards customised marriages, although the trend in Germany is less pronounced than in other countries.
Subjects: 
Matrimonial property regimes
Marriage cohorts
Marital contracts
Economics of marriage
Intra-couple gender inequality
Prenuptial agreements
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.