Division of the common property of spouses

Division of the common property of spouses in Ukraine

The spouses have the right to share joint property. Any of the spouses has the right to initiate the process, or creditors are interested. The personal property of the spouses listed in the Family Code of Ukraine, as well as the property subject to the regime of dividing (personal) ownership, is not subject to division.

When distributing matrimonial property, one of the couple who, by agreement or for valid reasons, did not work, did housework and children, was disabled, received a very small salary, and has the right to property on an equal basis with another man. More often than not, the distribution of property is tricky, even if the couple doesn’t have a lot of things. For example, it is difficult to split up a one-room apartment bought by spouses together and used for living together.

The financial situation of a person is determined with the help of judicial and lawyer inquiries when considering a case in court. However, it is recommended to clarify these issues before starting the division of property process.

Property regimes of spouses in Ukraine

With two regimes – legal and contractual – in the division of matrimonial property, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, a contract is very convenient if it establishes the proportions of partial ownership, since according to them, the court will be divided.

But if the marriage contract stipulates the divisible ownership of all property, this creates a lot of problems. After all, judges will have to consider the origin of absolutely every thing as part of the property, so as not to give it to another man by mistake.

Legal regime in Ukraine

Occurs by default after legal marriage. The most common form of family property relations.

• Provides for the joint ownership and disposal of the spouses of all the property that they acquired after the registration in the registry office, without allocating shares.
• When dividing matrimonial property, the court starts the process from scratch. He cannot push off from some specific object, which one of the spouses should definitely receive, and begin to pick up a similar replacement for the other from the couple.

Treaty regime in Ukraine

Provides for the drafting of a marriage agreement (contract), which defines the property obligations and rights of citizens in marriage and in the event of divorce. The document is drawn up in writing, registered with a notary and regulates exclusively the property relations of the couple.

1. A marriage contract concluded in the course of married life provides property guarantees for each of the spouses. It allows you to move away from joint ownership of property and establish partial or divisible disposal of things. This is very convenient in case of divorce and division of acquired property.
2. The spouses are free to determine the shares in the property under the marriage contract, however, the interests of one of the partners should not be significantly violated. When the property is divided, the court will reward each of them with things and funds in proportion to the shares specified in the contract.

A marriage contract is not a document on the division of common property. It only establishes the features of the disposal of property and the share of the spouses, which will be taken into account in the further distribution through the court. When the property is divided, with consent, it is allowed to deviate from the particles established in the marriage contract.

What concerns the common property of the spouses in Ukraine

The legislation clearly defines that all income of spouses, real estate, other things and assets acquired in the process of living together in marriage are considered common property. This sequence excludes property, the possession of which is restricted in the form of a marriage contract, as well as things for the individual use of each of the spouses.

• The total income includes any earnings of each of the couple (salaries, scholarships, pensions, bonuses, income from entrepreneurship, cash receipts from the sale of joint property, the introduction of a scientific invention). This category does not include targeted remuneration for outstanding personal achievements, “maternity capital”, compensation for injuries at work, money from the sale of personal property.
• If, when buying any real estate, one of the spouses signs an agreement and is recorded by the owner during registration, such property is still considered common. When the property is divided, the other spouse has the right to claim this apartment, house or plot.
• The same applies to things in a purchase agreement, in which only the husband or wife signs the signature.
• Common property is equipment, vehicles, shares in a cooperative, shares and securities, other things and rights acquired in marriage.

Common are debts on mortgages and other loans, partial participation in the built (renovated) common living space or in investment contracts.

Recognition of the spouses’ personal property as their joint property in Ukraine

The legal norms of Ukraine provide that the personal property of a husband or wife can be transferred to the category of their joint property. This happens forcibly by a court decision after the interested party files a claim.

• Personal property can be transferred into joint ownership if, during the duration of the marriage, improvements were made from the general marital budget, at the expense of money or other personal contribution of a person who is not the owner.
• The interested party must provide evidence of investment of labor, money and other resources (invoices, receipts, receipts). Witness testimony and photographs that prove the changes have been made will also work.
• To assess changes on the basis of an expert assessment, a comparison of the cost of the object before and after the work performed is carried out.
• Usually, improvements are considered for real estate objects (overhaul, connection to communications, completion, reconstruction), sometimes for less significant and large-scale things (computer upgrade, investments in car or motorcycle repairs).
• For the voluntary transfer of one spouse to another the right to own his property, there are various agreements.

Division of common property in marriage in Ukraine

Contrary to popular belief, matrimonial property can be divided not only after divorce, but also in the process of legal marriage. The same rules and regulations apply to the separation process as in post-divorce distribution. Spousal property is divided by voluntary agreement between the spouses or by court order.

• When a lawsuit is filed by a person who wants to protect his interests, the judicial authority determines the shares and establishes the things to be transferred to each of the couple. If after a while a divorce happens, the property already divided will be assigned to a specific partner.
• In the case of distribution by agreement, the shares are set by agreement. Spouses are given the opportunity to deviate from the partial equality proposed by law.
• The interested person has the right to declare a desire to divide the property at any time in the course of a long-term marriage relationship. The court cannot refuse him.

If the division of property was carried out in marriage, then things and real estate acquired after the division will belong to common property.

Also useful information on the website “Divorce Online” of the family lawyer Alexei Nikolayevich Scriabin for you may be: division of property of spouses, family code on division of property, legal regime of property of spouses, common and personal property of spouses, procedure and methods of division of property, division of property during marriage, division of property in a civil marriage, division of various types of property, division of housing in case of divorce.

Division of common property upon divorce in Ukraine

Spouses can divide common property by voluntary consent or a court decision. The presence of a marriage contract is very conducive to this division, it allows you to painlessly divide the things that are listed in it. On the basis of the Civil and Family Codes, each of the spouses must be allocated equal shares of their joint property, unless other proportions are provided for by the marriage contract. In practice, this rarely happens due to the impossibility of separating indivisible things and other difficulties.

1. The division of common property with consent is covered in the provisions of the Civil Code of Ukraine. If desired, the agreement is certified by a notary, but this is not mandatory. If the agreement does not stipulate to whom the items are transferred, the notary, upon request, issues a certificate of ownership of the spouses’ share of the common property.
2. Even after filing a lawsuit, the spouses still have the opportunity to agree. In the process of considering the case, they can conclude an amicable agreement.
3. According to the law, the court is given the opportunity to deviate from the principle of equal shares in order to ensure the interests of children or one of the spouses who earned more, or who cannot fully support themselves through incapacity for work. Each case is considered individually.

There is a three-year limitation period for the division of property after a divorce and filing of claims from the party whose interests in the distribution process were infringed upon. This period is counted not from the moment of divorce, but from the day when one of the former spouses learned about the violation of his rights.

EXAMPLE

In 2021, A. filed a lawsuit against M., her ex-husband, wishing to sue half of the apartment and land she had bought in marriage. In the statement of claim, she asked to restore the term for the division of property, since after the divorce in 2017, her mother fell ill, and A. could not deal with property issues. The court refused to consider the woman’s claims, citing the impossibility of restoring the term. A. filed a supervisory complaint in which she asked to reconsider the decision.

After reviewing the case materials, the complaint was found justified. According to the commission, the judge refused to satisfy the claim and incorrectly calculated the start date of the statute of limitations. It was necessary not to count from the date of the divorce, but to find out exactly when G. realized that her property rights were violated. It should also be noted that in 2021, a woman turned to her husband with a request to divide common property under an agreement, to which the man refused. The judge’s decision was overturned, and the case was sent for a new appeal.

Division of common property in a civil marriage in Ukraine

Ukrainian legislation does not recognize the so-called civil marriage, that is, a union without official registration, as spouses. The provisions of the family code do not apply to it, the division of jointly acquired property of a civilian couple takes place in accordance with the Civil Code of Ukraine as property in partial possession:

• The allocation of the share of the co-owner takes place on his initiative. Each of the common-law spouses can demand the division of property acquired for common income in the process of joint farming.
• There are two ways of dividing property: by voluntary consent and by court decision. The first is better.
• If the co-owners cannot reach an agreement, the interested civilian has the right to go to court.

The separation of particles occurs in nature. If this is not possible, one of the spouses is awarded property of equal value or monetary compensation.

Output in Ukraine

• The division of property can take place in marriage, during the divorce process or after it (the three-year limitation period should be taken into account).
• The joint property of the spouses is subject to division. Personal property is not divided, as well as that which is already recognized as divisible in the marriage contract.
• The conclusion of a marriage contract with an indication of the spouses’ shares in the acquired property greatly simplifies the separation process.
• Separation is possible by agreement (contract) between husband and wife or after filing a claim in court.
• The law defines an equal distribution of shares between spouses. In practice, this principle is often deviated from.

Useful site materials rozluchennya-onlain.com.ua:

1. Marriage contract
2. Statement of Claim on Division of Spouses’ Property
3. Property division agreement
4. Property appraisal
5. Separation of housing in case of divorce
6. Separation of different types of property
7. Division of property in a civil marriage
8. Division of property during marriage
9. Procedure and methods of division of property
10. Common and personal property of spouses
11. Legal regime of spouses’ property
12. Family Code on Division of Property
13. Division of property of spouses