Divorce in Ukraine

Divorce in Ukraine

Divorce is the formal termination of a valid marriage between spouses. With a statement on the dissolution of the family union, you must apply to the registry office or the court, depending on the specifics of the decision made (joint or unilateral), the presence of common minor children and disputes over them, as well as acquired property.

If both parties to the marriage relationship have come to this decision with common consent, and also not disputes over joint children and property, psychologically and legally, the procedure for divorce is significantly accelerated and facilitated. When one of the spouses disagrees with the divorce and the couple has disputes over children and property, the divorce process can be quite difficult.

The actual termination of family relations can be carried out in the civil registration authorities (hereinafter the Civil Registry Office) or in court. Also, the marriage union may be subject to restoration, or, conversely, its invalidation in the manner approved by family law.

Pre-agreed points related to the obligations of the material and moral nature of the former spouses, the parties can submit in agreements (on children, on property), which will significantly speed up the process of divorce.

Although the legislation provides for special terms (from 1 to 3 months), released for reconciliation of the parties, the main decision in this matter remains with the spouses and, before filing a divorce application, especially in the presence of common children, all possible pros should be weighed in detail and “against” this action.

When is a marriage dissolved through the registry office in Ukraine?

The fastest way to dissolve a marriage is through the registry office. Here you do not ask unnecessary questions, find out the reason for making this decision, but simply take the appropriate application and issue a certificate of divorce (dissolution) of marriage.

Divorce in the registry office is regulated by the Family Code of Ukraine and is possible if:

• The spouses made a joint decision to divorce and do not have common minor children.
• In case of a unilateral decision to divorce, if the other spouse:

1. declared missing by the court;
2. declared incompetent by the court;
3. sentenced to a term of imprisonment over 3 years.

If the marriage is annulled at the registry office at the request of one party, and a dispute arises with an incapacitated or deprived of liberty person regarding the property or share of a common child (several children), then according to the Family Code of Ukraine, this issue is resolved separately in court, regardless of divorce at the registry office …

Divorce procedure in the registry office in Ukraine

In order to apply for a divorce at the registry office, you must:

To visit the registry office on the day of the spouses (if the application is not submitted unilaterally under the appropriate circumstances).

You need to know that the department can be visited not only at the place of direct registration of the marriage union, but also at the place of actual residence, which is provided for the convenience of citizens.

For example, spouses can get married in the city of Zaporozhye and move to a permanent place of residence in the city of Kiev. So, they will dissolve the marriage in the registry office in the city of Kiev.

• Pay a state duty (state duty) 0.5 of the non-taxable minimum income of citizens from each man.
• Write a joint application for divorce in the approved form, issued by the registry office specialists.
• Submit the required documents:

1. passports of the parties;
2. original marriage certificate;
3. a receipt for payment of the state duty.

According to the Family Code of Ukraine, a divorce certificate is issued after a month from the date of submission of the relevant application.

Divorce in court in Ukraine

The marriage will have to be dissolved in court, if there are grounds for this, as reflected in the Family Code of Ukraine:

• The couple have common minor children.
• Lack of consent to divorce of one of the parties to the family relationship.
• A spouse’s evasion of divorce at the registry office in the absence of objections to divorce.
• The presence of a dispute over jointly acquired property.

1. If one of the spouses is against the dissolution of the marriage:

• the court provides a 3-month period for reconciliation of a married couple;
• divorce occurs after 3 months, if reconciliation was impossible and the parties (one of them) insist on dissolving the union;

If the protest against the divorce is expressed by a pregnant wife or one who has a common child under 1 year old, then, according to the Family Code of Ukraine, the court cannot accept this statement from the husband for proceedings.

• If both spouses agree with the divorce, but there is a common minor child, then:

1. the court dissolves the marriage without clarifying the reasons for the divorce;
2. spouses have the right to submit an agreement on children or division of property;
3. divorce is made no earlier than 1 month from the date of submission of the application.

Also useful information on the website “Divorce Online” of the family lawyer Alexei Nikolayevich Scriabin may be for you: grounds and procedure for divorce, application for divorce, statement of claim for divorce, documents for divorce, documents for divorce from DRACS, divorce through court, dissolution marriage in the registry office, unilateral divorce ,, can you part without the consent of your husband or wife?

Which court to file a divorce claim in Ukraine?

An application for divorce can only be submitted to a district (city) court if:

1. if there is a dispute about residence, material meaning or the procedure for communicating with a common minor child (children);
2. there is a division between the spouses of jointly acquired property;
3. one of the parties disagrees with the dissolution of the marriage.

The procedure for filing a statement of claim for divorce in Ukraine

A claim for divorce is filed in court mainly at the place of residence of the defendant, however, it can be sent to the place of residence of the plaintiff if:

• a minor child lives with the plaintiff;
• for health reasons, it is difficult for the plaintiff to leave the place of residence of the defendant (for example, when living in different cities).

You can find a sample of the statement of claim for divorce by the link.

Required documents in Ukraine

• A receipt for payment of the state duty, the amount of which is UAH 908 (as of May 2021).
• Copies of the passports of the parties.
• Marriage certificate.
• Documents for children (copy of birth certificate).
• Other documents related to the claims made in court:

1. if it comes to the appointment of alimony – certificates of income of the parties, about the place of work;
2. if the determination of the child’s place of residence is established – documents from the place of residence of both parties, characteristics of the parents and the child, etc .;
3. when a dispute about property comes in – a marriage contract, or other documents related to this issue.

The documents provided in the divorce process are not specifically regulated by family, civil and procedural legislation, and their set will directly depend on the ones considered in the divorce, as well as the requirements of a particular judge.

A marriage that is terminated in court is considered terminated from the date on which the court decision enters into legal force. However, after that, you will still need to obtain a divorce certificate from the registry office.

Invalidation of marriage and restoration of marriage in Ukraine

According to the Family Code of Ukraine, in some cases, a divorced marriage can be restored, and a prisoner, on the contrary, can be declared invalid.

Registration of relations may be invalidated in court if:

• There was no voluntary consent of one of the spouses to register the relationship (that is, there was coercion or intimidation for the purpose of marriage);
• The spouses (one of them) have not reached marriageable age, while not having common children.
• The parties (one of them) were already in another marriage;
• The persons who have entered into marriage are close relatives or adoptive parents and adopted children.
• Husband / wife declared legally incompetent;
• At the time of marriage, one of the parties concealed the fact of a venereal (HIV, etc.) or fatal disease;
• The registration of the relationship took place in a fictitious way without the intention of creating a family.
• In case of a positive decision of the court, the marriage is invalidated from the date of its actual conclusion.

It is possible to restore the previous broken family ties if a person appears, is recognized by the court as dead or missing, which is why it is necessary:

• to cancel the earlier decision of the court on the unknown absence of the husband;
• on the basis of the canceled court decision on the unknown absence of the husband, submit a joint application for the restoration of marriage.

However, the official restoration of the family is not possible if the other spouse remarried.