Assets &
accrued gains
Assets & accrued gains:what is divided on divorce
Dietrich Karcher, attorney at law · as of July 2026
When a marriage ends, sooner or later the question arises of what happens to the money: to the savings, the home, the pension. Usually it turns into one big question: how are “the finances” divided?
As a whole they are not divided. What arose in assets during the marriage runs through the Zugewinnausgleich (equalization of accrued gains); what was built up in pension provision runs through the Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment). Those are two separate calculations with rules of their own, and that there are two surprises most people. The practically most important difference lies not in the arithmetic but in the question of who has to act: the equalization of accrued gains you must claim yourself, the pension rights adjustment the court carries out of its own motion (§ 1378 BGB, § 1 VersAusglG).
Two
calculations
Why they are calculated separately
The dividing line runs between assets and pension provision, not between forms of investment. On one side stand accounts, property and savings; they belong to the assets and thus to the equalization of accrued gains under §§ 1363 ff. BGB. On the other side stands what was built up for old age: the state pension, a company pension, a civil servant's pension, Riester or Rürup. Those entitlements are divided in the pension rights adjustment (§ 1 VersAusglG), and without anyone having to apply for it. The court carries it out in the divorce proceedings of its own motion.
With the accrued gains it is different. They are equalized only where they are claimed; without an application the court does not decide on them. That is the difference on which most hangs in everyday life, and it is why we raise the equalization of accrued gains ourselves in the first conversation.
That the form of investment is not decisive shows well in life insurance: a private endowment policy without a pension character falls into the assets and thus into the accrued gains, whereas a pension entitlement from the same insurer falls into the pension rights adjustment.
The same euro is not divided twice. What is covered by the pension rights adjustment stays out of the accrued gains, and the other way round. The two calculations complement each other, but neither includes the other.
The accrued
gains
What is divided is not your wealth but your growth
Under the statutory regime of the Zugewinngemeinschaft, both spouses' assets stay separate throughout the marriage (§ 1363 BGB); only at the end is it compared who gained more during that time. The same calculation applies to each side: final assets minus initial assets give the accrued gains (§ 1373 BGB). Whoever achieved the higher figure pays the other half the difference (§ 1378 BGB). The reference date for the final assets is service of the divorce petition (§ 1384 BGB). What happens after that no longer counts for this calculation.
Inheritances and gifts take a special position. They count towards the initial assets and therefore stay out of the equalization, even where they arrive during the marriage (§ 1374 (2) BGB). What is equalized is only the value they gained up to the reference date. An inherited family home therefore does not enter the calculation with its full value, but only with the growth that arose during the marriage.
The pension
provision
What the pension rights adjustment divides
Every entitlement built up during the marriage is divided in half (§ 1 VersAusglG). That includes the state pension as well as company pensions, civil servants' pensions and certified private provision (§ 2 VersAusglG). Unlike the accrued gains, this adjustment runs of the court's own motion; an application of your own is normally not needed.
How the entitlements are divided in detail, when the adjustment exceptionally does not apply and what that means for your later pension we cover in detail on our page on the pension rights adjustment.
The
limits
Can both be excluded?
Yes. The equalization of accrued gains and the pension rights adjustment can be excluded in whole or in part, as a precaution in a prenuptial agreement or later in a notarized divorce settlement agreement, for instance in favour of a separation of property (§ 1408 BGB).
That freedom is not boundless, though. The family court examines such agreements for their validity and can set them aside where they disadvantage one spouse one-sidedly and unreasonably. That is precisely why it pays to draw up both calculations before you sign: what has once been agreed can be corrected later only with considerable effort.
How we
support you
The work lies before the calculation
Whether an item belongs to the accrued gains or to the pension rights adjustment, whether an inheritance is privileged, at what value a property or a business is entered. None of that is settled by itself; it wants to be reasoned out.
In concrete
terms
First assign, then calculate
We assign the items, establish the initial and final assets and check the valuation before anything is calculated. We claim the accrued gains where they have to be claimed; we keep the pension rights adjustment in view in parallel. If the route leads to a settlement, we draft and review the agreement so that it withstands the court's scrutiny. If it does not, we represent you up to the decision.
The first conversation takes place at Frankenallee in Frankfurt-Gallus or by video, in German, English or Spanish as you prefer. Bring what you have to hand: the land register extract, the state of any loan, account overviews. We reply to written enquiries usually within one working day.
How the process
runs
From the reference date to the equalization claim
With service of the divorce petition the reference date for the final assets is fixed (§ 1384 BGB); from then on the calculation is closed.
After that, both sides draw up their figures: the initial and final assets are established and inheritances and gifts assigned, while in parallel the pension entitlements from the period of the marriage are collected. Once that is done, the calculation is made, with the accrued gains having to be applied for while the pension side runs of the court's own motion. At the end stands either a settlement in the divorce settlement agreement or a decision by the court.
That is the usual course; an individual case may differ (as of 2026).
Work it out
yourself
Working out the accrued gains yourself
Who pays how much to whom on divorce? Our calculator works out the accrued gains and the equalization claim, that is, half the difference, from both spouses' initial and final assets (§ 1378 BGB). The initial assets are adjusted for inflation (§ 1376 BGB), so that mere loss of purchasing power does not appear as growth.
The calculation runs only in your browser: nothing is transmitted.
Spouse A
Spouse B
Equalisation claim
Show the calculation
Enter the items for both spouses: final assets and initial assets, itemised if you wish.
Simplified illustration. A spouse’s accrued gain cannot become negative (§ 1373 BGB); inheritances and gifts count towards the initial assets and remain exempt from equalisation (§ 1374 Abs. 2 BGB). Once marriage and cut-off dates are set, the calculator adjusts the initial and the privileged assets upward for purchasing power (consumer price index, base year 2020 = 100, § 1376 BGB). The equalisation claim is also limited by the debtor’s available final assets (§ 1378 Abs. 2 BGB). Only the actual values and supporting evidence are decisive: have it calculated precisely.
The calculation is free, runs entirely in your browser and gives a first orientation, not a calculation for your individual case.
Frequent
questions
What we are asked most often about this
What if I have no idea what my spouse owns?
Then you are entitled to disclosure (§ 1379 BGB), and for three reference dates: the initial assets, the assets at the time of the separation and the final assets. On request, records must be produced for them. You can demand the disclosure for the date of separation while you are living apart and the property regime still exists (§ 1379 (2) BGB), that is, long before the equalization itself.
Do I have to pay the equalization in one go?
The equalization claim falls due in principle as a sum of money. Where the value sits in a business or a property, that often cannot be raised at once; for such cases the law provides for deferral (§ 1382 BGB), and instalments can be agreed as well.
And if assets are located abroad?
Then a preliminary question comes before the calculation: which matrimonial property law applies at all. Since 2019 that is determined by the European Matrimonial Property Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/1103); without a choice of law it usually turns on the first joint residence after the wedding. The right to disclosure extends to assets abroad as well. What is laborious is above all the records and the valuation on site. With Spanish assets it helps us that Dietrich Karcher worked for years from an office in Granada; advice is possible in German, English and Spanish.
What comes
next
Read on where your question currently stands
The right to disclosure in the equalization of accrued gains
If you have no idea what stands on the other side: what you can demand and from when.
ReadPropertyThe property in the equalization of accrued gains
Usually the largest item in the settlement, and the most persistent misunderstanding, the one about half the house.
ReadDebtsDebts in the divorce
Who answers for the joint loan in the end.
ReadBusinessDivorce for entrepreneurs and the self-employed
Where a business, a practice or a shareholding is involved, the focus shifts from the calculation to the valuation.
ViewValuationHow a business is valued in the equalization of accrued gains
The arithmetic behind the valuation.
ReadLiquidityPaying the accrued gains without breaking up the business
How an equalization claim can be raised without attacking the substance.
ReadAbroadAssets abroad in the equalization of accrued gains
Where assets lie abroad, the question of matrimonial property law comes first.
ReadPrenupExcluding the equalization of accrued gains by prenuptial agreement
If you would rather settle the equalization differently from the outset, here are the limits.
ReadSources
The provisions mentioned in the text in their official wording at “Gesetze im Internet”, the portal of the German Federal Ministry of Justice.
Contact
You do not have to take the first step alone
Tell us about your situation. We reply personally, usually within one working day.