Short answer. Yes. Article 99 of the Family Code explicitly includes, as a cause of termination: In case of judicial separation of property during the marriage under Articles 134 to 138. A court order can dissolve the community regime while leaving the marriage itself fully intact and valid.
What the law says
The absolute community terminates: (1) Upon the death of either spouse; (2) When there is a decree of legal separation; (3) When the marriage is annulled or declared void; or (4) In case of judicial separation of property during the marriage under Articles 134 to 138.
Family Code, Article 99 — When the Absolute Community Terminates. Read the full provision →
Judicial separation of property: the marriage survives, the regime does not
Many people assume that a married couple cannot have separate property while the marriage stands — at least, not unless there was a prenuptial agreement. Article 99 corrects that assumption. A court can order separation of property during a subsisting marriage, and that order terminates the absolute community. Once the order is granted, the spouses no longer share a community mass. Each manages and answers for their own property. The bond of marriage continues; only the property arrangement changes.
Separation requires a court order
Article 134 of the Family Code states: In the absence of an express declaration in the marriage settlements, the separation of property between spouses during the marriage shall not take place except by judicial order. The spouses cannot simply decide between themselves, outside of court, to end the community and divide the assets. They need a petition, a court proceeding, and an order. The judicial separation may be voluntary — meaning both spouses agree and petition jointly — or it may be granted for sufficient cause even over one spouse's objection.
What happens to community assets after the order
When the court issues the separation order, the existing community assets are liquidated: the community's debts are paid, the net assets are divided between the spouses in the proportions the court determines, and each spouse walks away owning a specific, identified share. From that point forward, whatever each spouse earns or acquires belongs to that spouse alone — not to any shared fund. This can have important practical consequences for creditors, for the couple's children, and for estate planning.
How this differs from legal separation
Legal separation is a separate proceeding with different grounds and consequences. It also terminates the property regime (it is ground No. 2 in Article 99), but it additionally carries effects on the spouses' personal status — though the marriage bond itself is not dissolved. Judicial separation of property under Articles 134 to 138, by contrast, is purely about the property arrangement. It does not affect the validity of the marriage, the spouses' duties to each other, or their status as husband and wife. If your goal is to protect your finances from a spouse's debt, a judicial separation of property may be a more targeted remedy than legal separation.