право власності та спадкові права

Article 57 of the Family Code of Ukraine defines a list of types of property that are not considered joint property of spouses, for example: (i) any property acquired by either spouse before getting married; (ii) any property acquired under a gift agreement or as heritage during the marriage; (iii) any property acquired during marriage with one spouse’s own money; (iv) personal items such as jewelry, even if acquired with money owned jointly by the spouses, etc.

Articles 60-61 state that any property acquired during marriage shall be jointly owned by the spouses regardless of whether either spouse did not make their own income for a valid reason (studies, household matters, children care, sickness, etc.).

These articles determine the legal consequences related to joint property of the spouses after the dissolution of the marriage. Dissolution of marriage shall not terminate the joint ownership of any property acquired in marriage, meaning that co-owners shall manage any property that remains in their joint ownership upon divorce only on the basis of their mutual agreement.

Article 1241 of the Civil Code of Ukraine provides for a special type of inheritance regardless of the content of the will. This article establishes the rule that a certain category of heirs, including incapacitated widows, will inherit half of the share (“compulsory share”) that would belong to them pursuant to inheritance by law. An “incapacitated citizen” is, for example, a person who has reached the age at which they have the right to a pension, a person with a disability, etc. This rule is meant to protect the testator’s closest relatives.

This article established the right of married couples to create a joint will to manage the inheritance of property that the spouses own together. Under a joint will, the deceased spouse’s share of the spouses’ joint property passes to the surviving spouse. No one else can inherit property included in a joint will until after the death of the second spouse. For example, if the spouses made a joint will in which they bequeathed their property to their children in equal shares, the children will be able to receive the inheritance (only after death of both spouses).

Article 1258 of the Civil Code of Ukraine defines the rules of intestate inheritance, or inheritance without a will. If a person did not write a will, or made a will and canceled it before their death, then inheritance proceeds in accordance with the legislation. The grounds for inheritance according to law can be family relationships, adoption, or dependence on the testator for at least five years before his death.