Division of property of spouses in case of divorce – what is it in Ukraine?
The division of the property acquired by the spouses during their life together can be presented as something purely philistine or as a legally organized process. Unfortunately, no matter how the separation of the spouses takes place, even if they have friendly relations, the lack of legal certainty in the status of a citizen and his property greatly complicates his future life. After marriage, the property relations of citizens are subject to the norms of family law. The way out of this regime is carried out with the help of methods and means strictly defined by the law.
The main legal aspects can be summarized as follows:
- All property acquired by spouses automatically acquires the status of common joint property; the essence of the section is the transition of things from common to personal property;
- In case of divorce, the property acquired by the spouses can be divided through an agreement or in court;
- Division of property is allowed in marriage, in case of divorce and after divorce; you can dissolve the marriage union without dividing anything or dividing only a certain part;
- There is no prohibition if you divide part of the property by court, part by agreement, leaving a greater or lesser part without division;
- After the termination of the family union, common property is no longer regulated by family, but by civil law.
The law establishes the limitation period for the division of property, depending on whether the parties are married or not.
The overwhelming majority of citizens ask to divide the property acquired in marriage at the same time during divorce. This happens if the separation of the spouses is accompanied by a conflict, excludes the signing of an amicable agreement. The law does not establish strict requirements, leaving citizens to independently decide how, when and in what order they will act. At the same time, using the example of the limitation period, we see that the law cannot ignore inaction and indicates negative consequences.
The peculiarities of the application of the norms are formulated by judicial practice, among the most important is the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Ukraine dated December 21, 2007 N 11 “On the practice of the courts’ application of legislation when considering cases on the right to marriage, divorce, invalidation and division of the common property of spouses.” The most important provisions of the laws can be formulated as follows:
- To divide the property, you need to document that it was acquired during the marriage;
- If it is proved that the property was acquired not at the expense of the income of the spouses and not by the labor of one of them, it will not be divided;
- If the property is not divided upon divorce, it retains its general status;
- Each of the ex-spouses can do what he sees fit with the undivided property (this is one of the most risky moments);
- The judicial division of property is carried out on the basis of the equal rights of the spouses (the so-called “beginning of equality of shares in the common property”), i.e. equally;
- In the presence of exceptional circumstances, the judge may deviate from the beginning of equality, that is, transfer a larger part to one and a smaller part to the other;
- The property of parents and children, as well as the personal property of spouses with different regimes, do not overlap in any way;
- The division may take into account the debts received in connection with family life.
It is easy to see that the division of property is by no means a trivial undertaking. For the only correct decision, you need to take into account a lot of nuances and calculate the risks, and this is within the power of experienced professionals. Our lawyers provide professional legal assistance in the registration of property relations in case of divorce, as well as protection of the rights of the plaintiff and the defendant in the courts of all instances. Take advantage of the legal assistance of professionals!
Judicial procedure for the division of spouses’ property in case of divorce in Ukraine
If it is not possible to conclude an agreement on matrimonial property, the only way out is to resolve the issue through the court.
There are no simple courts and similar processes. The cost of an error is the higher, the more expensive the objects of dispute. Especially when it comes to the division of an apartment, a summer residence and other real estate.
When a person with no legal education or an inexperienced lawyer is engaged in a case, an error in wording, inaccuracy in interaction with a judge can easily lead to an unfavorable outcome, denial of a claim. Also, the lack of professionalism of the defendant’s representative often leads to a loss in an unfounded – deliberately unfair suit.
For the same reason, it is worth forgetting about such a concept as a form, a claim form for the division of property. Each document is “sharpened” for a specific situation. Do not forget about the inconsistency in the legislation: you prepare a court document – check it for compliance with the current norms of law, and how it looks in the light of judicial practice.
There is a simple rule of thumb for writing court documents. Write in such a way that the judge wants to copy the text and put it in their decision on the case.
The work on the division of matrimonial property in a divorce is to implement the above provisions of the law. Technically, the work can be divided into the following stages:
- Collection and legal assessment of information, evidence and decision-making on the strategy and tactics of doing business;
- Negotiation and claim work;
- Taking measures to prevent waste and loss of matrimonial property;
- Drawing up procedural documents (claim, response to a claim, petition, etc.);
- Submission of documents of claim in the prescribed manner to the competent court;
- Work in the court session;
- Conciliation procedures – upon reaching a compromise, including the signing of an amicable agreement;
- Work in proceedings in fact until the end of the trial;
- Work on the implementation of the judgment.
Everything needs to be proven in court. There is a direct limitation: the judge has no right to take anyone’s word or rely on guesswork. That is why the court case on the division of matrimonial property is a multivolume document, the main content of which is written evidence, calculations, petitions, explanations, etc.
All actions during the process should be aimed at convincing the court of the presence or absence of certain circumstances. This means that in the factual and legal correctness of your position. You should not expect that the secretary, and even more so the judge himself, will literally write down what has been said, at best the general meaning will be reflected. Therefore, all applications and petitions must be set out in writing and handed over to the judge for attachment to the materials of the court case.
However, usually the following situation. The plaintiff and the defendant have mutually exclusive decisions, and each presents a different set of evidence, often of equal strength. And then the judge can resolve the dispute based, among other things, on his sympathies.
You can directly influence the result and win the judge’s sympathies to your side during the oral part of the process – when giving explanations and during debates. For this reason, it is imperative to carefully prepare for performances so that they are roomy, understandable, touching the quick and just not boring. This is not always taken into account. On the contrary, unfortunately, in court one can often see the following picture: a lawyer mutters something, reading from a piece of paper, and the judge leafs through the materials of some completely different court case. This state of affairs is unacceptable.
Property distribution lawyers and attorneys in Ukraine
What legal services are in disputes with matrimonial property can be understood within the meaning of this article. The quality of legal assistance is expressed in the full and timely execution of the listed court documents and actions.
You can order the service of our lawyers, we will calculate the judicial prospects for your case and carry out the process with the maximum benefit for you. You will be assisted by lawyers with judicial experience of 10 years or more.
For the conduct of the case, an agreement on the provision of legal assistance is mandatory.
To order services, go to the CONTACTS page.
Useful site materials rozluchennya-onlain.com.ua:
- Eliminating obstacles in communicating with your child online
- Divorce from a foreigner online
- Court permission for a child to travel abroad online
- Restoration of documents in the registry office online
- Contesting paternity online
- Establishing paternity online
- Termination of parental rights online
- Alimony online
- Online divorce in Ukraine