86 CultureShock! Chile
Those who do not have a formal celebration, will at least
receive well wishes on this day.Weddings
In Chile, the civil marriage, or legal aspect of the union, is
completely separate from the religious ceremony. For those
couples who wish to get married in a religious ceremony,
they must also either get married in a civil ceremony or
visit the Civil Registry both before and after the religious
ceremony in order to have their marriage ratified. Couples
who have two ceremonies celebrate the date of the religious
ceremony as their wedding anniversary.Civil Ceremony
Almost all couples are married by an official from the Civil
Registry in a legal ceremony, regardless of whether or not
they have a religious ceremony. This is a short ceremony.Types of Marriages
The official will ask how the couple wishes to be married.
In Chile, there are three different legal forms of marriage:
Sociedad Conyugal (this is the most common type of marriage)
According to this type of marriage all property is considered
jointly owned;
Separación Total de Bienes (Divided Property) Under this type
of marriage what each person owns and earns remains separate
property. This is the form most often chosen;
Assets acquired prior to marriage remain separate, while those
acquired during the marriage become common property.After the couple gives their consent to be married,
they sign the civil registry records and are given a Libreta
de Familia (Family Book). The marriage of the couple is
legally recorded in this book, which also has pages to
record the birth and death of any children and the deaths
of the husband and wife. This libreta is independent of any
certificate, but summarises the history of the family. In