Separation is a separate institution of the establishment of the separation of property by the court (Article 52 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code). Separation may be applied in the event of the breakdown of the marital life of the spouses. On the other hand, the abolition of the community of property is a fragmentary solution in the sphere of legal and property relations
One of the important reasons for demanding the abolition of the community of property is the de facto separation of the spouses, which allows the spouses to cooperate in the management of their joint property (see, among others, the judgment of the Supreme Court of 29 January 1997, I CKU 66/96, „Prokuratura i Prawo” No. 7-8, p. 32 and the judgment of 13 May 1997, III CKN 51/97).
However, one cannot focus on aspects of a family law nature, or even on personal relations between spouses, as this may lead to identifying important reasons with the reasons for divorce or separation, for which a complete breakdown of marital life is sufficient (Article 611 § 1). The above view is supported by the judgment of the Supreme Court of 17 December 1999 (III CKN 506/98)