- Family Code on division of property
- Joint and personal property according to the Family Code of Ukraine
- Division of property of spouses through the court according to the Family Code
- The limitation period for the division of property under the Family Code of Ukraine
- Agreement on division of property and the Family Code of Ukraine
- Judicial practice of division of property of spouses according to the Family Code
- Division of property under a marriage contract: Family Code
- Law on the division of property of spouses in Ukraine
- Division of property of spouses and the Family Code
Family Code on division of property
The Family Code of Ukraine is a document regulating family relations between citizens on the territory of our country.
Family legislation establishes the procedure and conditions of marital relations. It defines the personal property and non-property rights of family members: parents and children, spouses, adoptive parents and adopted children (Family Code of Ukraine).
The Code also regulates issues related to the division of property of persons in a marriage, namely: it defines the categories of personal and common property, establishes limitation periods, and establishes provisions for the division of property in a contractual manner.
Joint and personal property according to the Family Code of Ukraine
The Family Code of our country establishes the division of property into private, that is, it is the exclusive property of one person, and that is related to jointly acquired property.
According to the Family Code of Ukraine, the following can be attributed to the common property of spouses:
- Benefits, pensions and other payments, except amounts with a specific purpose, such as compensation for damage due to damage to health.
- Earnings received through labor, entrepreneurial activity of individuals, the results of intellectual work (artistic and scientific works, trademarks, etc.).
- Real estate (apartment, residential building) and mobility (car, furniture set), acquired with common funds, as well as securities, deposits, shares in capital.
- Other property that appeared in the spouses’ name during their marriage, regardless of who it is registered to or who exactly paid for it.
- Property that is the personal property of any person includes (Family Code of Ukraine):
- What citizens owned before marriage, which they borrowed as a gift or by inheritance.
- Things for individual use (hygiene items, shoes, clothes).
- The right to the result of their intellectual activity (copyright and patent law).
Married persons own, use and dispose of joint property by mutual consent (Family Code of Ukraine).
Division of property of spouses through the court according to the Family Code
Example
Morozova T.A. filed a lawsuit against her husband Morozov I.F. The woman explained that while she was on a business trip, Morozov sold the car that the spouses had purchased together two years ago. Morozova stated in court that she did not know about the man’s intention to sell the car and did not give her consent. Morozov I.F. did not appear in court.
The judge ruled that the agreement to sell the car should be declared invalid because one person has the right to dispose of common property only with the express consent of the other (Family Code of Ukraine).
The Family Law Code states that the property of each person may be recognized as common if it becomes known that during the marriage, investments were made using the common funds of the spouses that significantly increased the value of this property, for example, major repairs (Family Code of Ukraine).
The limitation period for the division of property under the Family Code of Ukraine
The limitation period for claims arising from family relations is not established (Family Code of Ukraine). But as for the provisions on the division of property, the Family Code notes that for the resolution of this issue in court after the divorce of spouses, they are given a period of three years (Family Code of Ukraine).
Issues concerning the limitation period are regulated by the Family Code of Ukraine, together with the norms of Civil Law.
The limitation period is the period during which a person has the opportunity to defend a violated right in judicial bodies (Civil Code of Ukraine). It is important that the court accepts demands from citizens to restore their legal interests even in cases where the limitation period has already expired (Civil Code of Ukraine).
The moment of commencement of the calculation of the limitation period is defined as the day when the citizen learned or should have learned about the violation of his rights, as well as about who exactly is encroaching on his opportunities (Civil Code of Ukraine).
The court, if there is a valid reason, may recognize that the person still has the right to file a claim, even if the required period for this has been missed, for example, due to a helpless state or serious illness (Civil Code of Ukraine).
The limitation period may be terminated if the following circumstances arise in the last months of the period:
- moratorium (a decision of the Government of Ukraine that suspends or postpones the performance of any actions);
- service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, transferred to martial law;
- an emergency and force majeure (fire, flood, earthquake, etc.);
- the effect of a normative legal act governing this area of family relations.
Family legislation of Ukraine proceeds from the fact that if a man and a woman after division continue to use common property without hindrance, then the period given for protection of violated rights begins to run when one of them places their rights regarding such property in the hands of the other.
Agreement on division of property and the Family Code of Ukraine
Family law establishes that spouses can divide property after divorce or during the marriage. To distribute property, the desire of one of the spouses is sufficient; they can enter into a mutual agreement or go to court (Family Code of Ukraine).
An agreement on the division of acquired property is a mutual agreement between persons by which they determine the procedure, conditions and size of the property to be divided.
The Family Code does not contain any special requirements for such a document. Spouses have the right, at their own discretion:
- formalize the transaction by contacting a notary;
- fold it yourself.
It is important that the provisions included by citizens in the property division agreement do not contradict the norms of current legislation.
Judicial practice of division of property of spouses according to the Family Code
Example
Borisov A.S. and Borisova S.G. decided to divide their common property, for this purpose they independently entered into an agreement. In the document, among other things, the spouses indicated that the things that they would buy for their children would be divided between the parents according to the principle: whose money they bought them for, that is why they are due. The spouses, after drawing up the agreement, decided to show his friend to a family who worked as a lawyer. The friend explained to the Borisovs that the condition on the distribution of minors’ things contradicted family law, since property acquired to meet the needs of children, such as musical instruments, school supplies, shoes, clothes, cannot be divided (Family Code of Ukraine). Borisov had to revise the document.
The Code establishes that spouses may proceed from the principle of equality when distributing property, but the equal opportunities of spouses are subject to change based on their mutual decision (Family Code of Ukraine).
Division of property under a marriage contract: Family Code
A marriage contract is an agreement between citizens entering into marriage or persons already in a family relationship, in which they define personal property obligations and rights in the event of a possible divorce (Family Code of Ukraine).
The Family Code of Ukraine states that, if necessary, spouses can independently decide issues regarding the size, shares and grounds for the distribution of property (Family Code of Ukraine).
The contract regulating relations in marriage must be concluded in writing and certified by a notary (Family Code of Ukraine).
The content of the marriage contract must comply with the requirements of the current norms of family law and may include:
- Relationships regarding property that spouses already own or may start owning in the future.
- Provisions on income and expenses.
- Issues of the duties and rights of husband and wife regarding the maintenance of property.
- Norms regarding what property and in what volume will belong to each in the event of divorce.
It is important that the marriage contract should not violate the legitimate interests of citizens; it can be used to regulate personal non-property relations. The law prohibits including conditions in the document that will be extremely unfavorable for the spouses.
Law on the division of property of spouses in Ukraine
Example
Sokolov I.V. and Sokolova P.M. after registering their family relationship, entered into a marriage contract. In which, among other provisions, the spouses indicated that they would resolve all disagreements peacefully, and that neither of them had the right to go to court. But due to an event in time, Sokolova P.M. had to go to court, since the man decided to restrict her communication with their minor child. Sokolov I.V., having come to court, explained that the spouse had no right to file a lawsuit, since they themselves excluded such an opportunity in the mutually drawn up marriage contract.
The court declared the condition that Sokolov referred to invalid on the basis of the Family Code of Ukraine, since it is impossible to deprive a person of the opportunity to defend his rights in a judicial body and obliged the husband to ensure unimpeded communication with the minor for the mother of his child.
The Code states that a marriage contract may be amended or terminated at the joint initiative of the spouses. Divorce automatically terminates the document.
Those duties and rights that are provided for in a marriage contract can be limited to a certain period, or made dependent on the non-occurrence or, conversely, the occurrence of certain circumstances.
Division of property of spouses and the Family Code
In the Family Code of our country, a special role is given to relations on the division of property of spouses, since it is in this area that contradictions and conflicts often arise between citizens.
Drawing up a mutual agreement on the division of property, as well as the execution of a marriage contract, can resolve all the necessary issues. But most typically it is not easy for spouses to reach an agreement, and then the problem of division is resolved by the court.
Family legislation of Ukraine is based on the equality of opportunities for spouses. It is primarily aimed at protecting the interests of minor children. Family rights of citizens are protected by law and through the activities of justice bodies, state institutions (Family Code of Ukraine).
