Florida Prenup With an Ecuadorian Spouse or Property in Ecuador: Capitulaciones Matrimoniales, Sociedad Conyugal and Disclosure (2026)

By Nadia Pazos, Family Law Attorney, Pazos Law Group · Updated October 14, 2026

An Ecuadorian fiancé(e), a house in Quito or Guayaquil, a family business in Ecuador, or a couple who married there and now lives in Miami: each raises the question of how Ecuador’s marital-property rules and Florida law fit together. Pazos Law Group, a family law firm in Coral Gables serving Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, drafts and reviews Florida prenups and postnups for couples with Ecuadorian ties, in English or Spanish: (305) 482-1262.

Two Systems, Two Formalities

• Florida: a premarital agreement “must be in writing and signed by both parties,” and “becomes effective upon marriage of the parties.” § 61.079(3), (5)
• Ecuador: “Se conocen con el nombre de capitulaciones matrimoniales las convenciones que celebran los esposos o los cónyuges antes, al momento de la celebración o durante el matrimonio, relativas a los bienes, a las donaciones y a las concesiones que se quieran hacer el uno al otro, de presente o de futuro” (art. 150). “Las capitulaciones matrimoniales se otorgarán por escritura pública, o en el acta matrimonial” (art. 151).
• Registration in Ecuador: if they concern real property, they are recorded in the Registro de la Propiedad and, in every case, noted in the margin of the marriage record (art. 151).
• What they list: the Code expects each spouse’s contributed property “con expresión de su valor”, each one’s debts, and which property stays separate (art. 152), a close match to Florida’s disclosure schedules.

Watch a short answer: Can a Florida prenup cover assets in another country?

Before, At or During the Marriage

Ecuador allows capitulaciones before, at, or during the marriage (art. 150), and they “no se entenderán irrevocablemente otorgadas y podrán modificarse antes o durante el matrimonio, de común acuerdo entre los cónyuges” (art. 155). Changes do not bind third parties unless noted in the margin of the original deed or marriage record (art. 156). Florida also has an after-the-wedding option: a postnuptial agreement. See Florida postnuptial agreements.

The Default: Sociedad Conyugal

“A falta de pacto escrito, se entenderá, por el mero hecho del matrimonio, contraída la sociedad conyugal” (art. 153). Its assets include salaries earned during the marriage, “todos los frutos, réditos, pensiones, intereses y lucro de cualquiera naturaleza, que provengan, sea de los bienes sociales, sea de los bienes propios de cada uno de los cónyuges, y que se devenguen durante el matrimonio”, and property acquired during the marriage “a título oneroso” (art. 157). Inheritances and gifts go to the spouse who receives them (art. 158). The rules in art. 157 “pueden modificarse mediante las capitulaciones matrimoniales”.

A contrast worth noticing: in Ecuador’s default regime, the fruits and income of each spouse’s own property earned during the marriage fall into the sociedad conyugal (art. 157). In a Florida divorce, “all income derived from nonmarital assets during the marriage” is nonmarital “unless the income was treated, used, or relied upon by the parties as a marital asset” (Fla. Stat. § 61.075(6)(b)3.). Rental income from a house in Ecuador is exactly where the two systems point in different directions, so the agreement should say how it is treated.

Couples Who Married Abroad

Ecuador’s Code has its own rule for couples who married in another country and then live in Ecuador: they “se mirarán como separados de bienes siempre que, en conformidad a las leyes bajo cuyo imperio se casaron, no haya habido entre ellos sociedad de bienes” (art. 139). For couples living in Florida, a Florida prenup can include its own choice-of-law clause (§ 61.079(4)(a)7.); whether an Ecuadorian registry or court will give effect to a Florida agreement is a question for a lawyer in Ecuador.

Capitulaciones Signed in Ecuador, in a Florida Divorce

• Florida is not a community-property state. § 61.075(8) states that the section does not “establish community property in this state”; Florida divides marital assets by equitable distribution.
• A written agreement controls classification. Assets “excluded from marital assets and liabilities by valid written agreement of the parties” are nonmarital (§ 61.075(6)(b)4.). Capitulaciones in a public deed are a written agreement; the sociedad conyugal that applies by default under art. 153 is not one.
• Comity and public policy. Florida courts enforce foreign law “only to the extent called for under principles of comity,” and do not recognize it where it “would frustrate an established public policy of this state” (Gustafson v. Jensen, 515 So. 2d 1298, 1300 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)).
• What to bring. A certified copy of the public deed or marriage record with the marginal note, and a certified English translation. More detail: enforcing a prenup or postnup in a Florida divorce.

Disclosing Ecuadorian Assets

Florida’s unconscionability defense turns on whether the challenging party received “a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party,” waived further disclosure in writing, or had adequate knowledge (§ 61.079(7)(a)3.). For Ecuadorian assets, the schedules should give each property’s location and approximate value in dollars, any mortgage, company shareholdings, Ecuadorian bank and pension accounts, and income from them, with translations where a party does not read Spanish.

Pazos Law Group advises on Florida law and does not give opinions on Ecuadorian law. Where property is in Ecuador or the couple married or will marry there, we coordinate with the client’s Ecuadorian lawyer or notary so the Florida agreement and any capitulaciones do not contradict each other.

Consultations in person or by video, in English or Spanish. Meet Nadia at our Coral Gables office or by video from Ecuador.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official Sources & Related Reading

• Código Civil (Ecuador), arts. 139, 150–158, as published on the Presidency of Ecuador’s portal (Lexis consolidation to 27 Jun 2024)
• Fla. Stat. § 61.079, Premarital agreements — Florida Senate
• Fla. Stat. § 61.075, Equitable distribution — Florida Senate
• Enforcing a Prenup or Postnup in a Florida Divorce
• International Prenups in Florida
• Is a Foreign or Out-of-State Prenup Valid in Florida?
• Florida Prenup With Colombian Ties
• Esta página en español

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