Direct payments are a type of payments granted directly to farmers from the European Union under the Common Agricultural Policy, which are intended to support the level of income of agricultural producers. They are granted primarily to professionally active farmers if they conduct agricultural activity and the total area of land covered by the area approved for basic income support owned by a given farmer is at least 1 ha.
The problem of mutual settlements between former spouses after divorce and termination of marital property is definitely a live issue. It turns out that, among other things, the issue of dividing direct subsidies from the European Union was not fully obvious until recently. The Supreme Court took its position on the case, clarifying the above-mentioned issue in its decision of June 23, 2023, issued in the case with reference number I CSK 6967/22.
It sometimes happens that the division of property takes place only a few years after the divorce, and during this time the joint property may generate income that should be divided between the former spouses. This was also the case in this case. The proceedings were initiated by the owners of a farm who, after a divorce, were dividing common property before the court, and the dispute between them concerned the settlement of EU subsidies. The fact that the subsidies were sometimes received by one of the spouses, and sometimes by both, meant that the District Court and then the District Court, as a result of dividing the farm and including all subsidies in the assets, awarded the ex-wife a high subsidy from her ex-husband, the amount of which was to be largely influenced by the surplus. subsidies for the ex-husband above those for the wife. The man filed a cassation appeal pointing out the need to interpret legal provisions (Article 46 of the Family and Guardianship Code) in the context of assessing whether EU subsidies for agricultural land granted as part of direct payments collected by one of the spouses or former spouses for the period after the termination of the statutory marital partnership until the division of property should be taken into account when determining the amount of income from a joint farm subject to division and whether EU subsidies collected after the termination of statutory partnership constitute benefited property within the meaning of Art. 52 § 2 of the Civil Code
In its decision, the Supreme Court indicated that EU subsidies should be included in the division of property, because they are income from the farm, which is usually joint property. This is regardless of whether one or both spouses received it. According to the Court, this is also regardless of whether they are classified as income from joint property or from separate property, because such income, regardless of its source, increases the joint property. Therefore, such receivables constitute income that is included in the assets of the parties and is subject to division.