Розлучення та розірвання шлюбу

The appellant sued his ex-wife, the respondent, regarding the division of property acquired during the marriage as the ex-spouses’ joint property. The appellant noted that during their marriage, the spouses accumulated funds that were kept in the respondent’s bank account. However, immediately after the divorce, the respondent independently managed the funds and bought an apartment. The appellant’s main argument was that, according to Ukrainian family law, the dissolution of marriage does not terminate the right of joint co-ownership of property acquired during the marriage.

The plaintiff sued his ex-wife, the appellant, and requested recognition that a piece of real estate was his private property. The plaintiff noted that he and his wife were in a registered marriage for a certain period. The plaintiff made money as an individual entrepreneur (in Ukraine, this term means an individual that owns his or her business and possesses all the profit). While running his business, he acquired real estate and registered title. The plaintiff invested his own money in this property.

The plaintiff requested that the court grant his divorce from his wife, the respondent. He argued that their married life had ended. After the respondent took the children and his property and left him in 2014, she lived separately from plaintiff, did not have marital relations with him, nor run a joint household with him. The first-instance court granted the divorce and concluded that the family had broken up and continuing the marriage was against everyone’s interests. The Court of Appeal left the decision of the first instance unchanged.

The plaintiff-wife filed a lawsuit for divorce on the grounds of lack of mutual understanding, and loss of love and respect for her husband, the defendant. During the trial, the plaintiff referred, among other things, to the fact that The defendant had repeatedly used physical violence against her, humiliated her honor and dignity, and insulted her, including in front of her co-workers at her workplace. The defendant objected to the divorce because he had certain religious beliefs, according to which marriage is for life and its termination is forbidden by God.

Termination of marriage is a legal status, after which the legal relationship between the spouses no longer exists. Articles 104-105 of the Family Code of Ukraine provide that a marriage is terminated if either spouse is presumed dead or declared missing. Dissolution is one of the types of termination of marriage provided by the Family Code.

Articles 106-107 of the Family Code of Ukraine allow termination of a marriage by the civil registration office upon an application filed by the spouses who do not have children or one of the spouses (i.e., this is an out-of-court procedure for termination of marriage).

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 74 of the Family Code of Ukraine establishes rules governing property division in “civil marriages,” meaning that a woman and a man live together as a family but are not legally married to each other or to anyone else. Any property acquired by a couple in a civil marriage while living together is their joint property that will be shared or divided equally after the marriage ends, unless otherwise defined in a written agreement. Thus, in theory, the legal status of the property acquired by persons in a civil marriage is the same as the legal status of the property of the spouses.