divorce proceedings - this is the procedure for terminating the official union of a married couple. They produce it both in the registry office and in court. Where the divorce will take place depends on many factors (for example, the presence of common children).
Divorce in a registry office
For a couple to divorce in the Civil Registry Office, several conditions are necessary:
- mutual consent - it is expressed in the filing of a joint written application of the spouses, which indicates the desire to divorce;
- no common children under the age of majority;
- no claims regarding the division of property.
In some situations, the divorce proceedings can be executed in the registry office even at the request of one spouse, regardless of whether they have children in common or not. Such cases include:
- conviction of a spouse for a period of more than three years;
- recognition of one of the parents as missing;
- recognition of one of the spouses as incompetent.
Divorce in court. The first steps
If during the divorce any disputes arise, then the registry office is no longer involved in this procedure. The division of property, the resolution of questions about who the children will live with, and about the recovery of alimony - all this is within the competence of the court.
To start the divorce proceedings, a spouse wishing to divorce must submit an application to the court at the place of registration or residence of the defendant. In exceptional cases (for example, poor health), this procedure can be performed at the place of residence of the plaintiff.
Data that must be indicated in the application when the divorce proceedings are carried out through the court:
- place and time of registration of the family union;
- reasons for divorce;
- do the couple have common children, and if so, their age;
- requirements made by the plaintiff to the defendant;
- information about whether the spouses agreed on further upbringing and maintenance of the children (with whom they will live, etc.).
Documents required for divorce
In addition to the application, the court must submit a package of the following papers:
- certificate of marriage of spouses;
- birth certificate of minor children;
- documents or other papers in which the requirements of the plaintiff are announced, for example, on the division of jointly acquired property ;
- in case of unwillingness or impossibility of personal participation in the divorce proceedings, a power of attorney is required on the relevant person;
- extract from personal account or house book;
- state duty receipt.
All documents and a declaration of desire to dissolve the marriage must be presented in two copies or their copies. The first copy remains in court, the second is sent to the registration address of the defendant. The date when the divorce proceedings will be held, both spouses are notified by summons.
In some cases, for example, during the pregnancy of the wife and another year after the baby is born, the husband is prohibited from filing a lawsuit and is not considered by the court.
Divorce Procedure
Divorce through the court, or rather, its sequence, is determined by the Family Code of the Russian Federation. The consideration of the case occurs, as a rule, through open meetings. But in some cases they can be held in a closed form.
Consideration of the application can be postponed for a certain period, which many call the time of reconciliation of spouses. Its duration is determined in each individual case individually, but basically it does not exceed 3 months. Spouses can file an application in which they will notify the court of their desire to shorten the period of reconciliation. In this case, it is necessary to indicate a good reason.
Divorce proceedings in court are terminated if, after the set time has passed, the spouses do not appear at the next meeting. Also, the official gap is canceled when they reconciled and submitted a statement.
Divorce proceedings: division of property
If, upon termination of the family union, the spouses are unable to independently agree on whom the property remains, the court shall deal with this issue. But it should be noted that not everything acquired in marriage will be joint. So, for example, property is considered personal when:
- it was acquired by one of the spouses before the official registration of the relationship;
- it is a personal thing (with the exception of luxury goods and jewelry);
- he was presented or inherited.
The property will be considered personal even if it was acquired during an official marriage, the last few years of which the husband and wife lived separately. In this case, it remains with the spouse who acquired it.
But to jointly acquired property, which, under the laws of the Russian Federation, is divorced in equal shares between spouses, include:
- any income of husband and wife;
- property that was acquired with general cash: this may include housing, cars, securities, etc .;
- state payments that do not have a special purpose (compensation for harm to health, material assistance);
- any other property acquired during marriage.
If it is necessary to resolve this issue by the court, a list of all that the spouses cannot share peacefully must be attached to the application for divorce. Together with these papers, it is worth preparing documents confirming the value of these things, which must be determined in advance by an independent expert.
As mentioned above, the legislation of the Russian Federation provides for an equal division of property between spouses. But in some circumstances (for example, imprisonment), the share of one of the spouses may increase or decrease.
If it is impossible to divide property without violating its integrity (car, refrigerator, etc.), a decision is made to transfer it to one of the spouses as a whole. In this case, the other half will be provided with the so-called compensation either in the form of cash or in the form of another thing to be divided.
If the spouses have various debts (for example, a loan for a car or other household items) and there is no independent decision to pay them, the court sets the amount of payment to each of them.
Divorce in the presence of children
If a couple who wants to divorce has a minor child (or several), and there is no agreement on who he will live with in the future, then the court will have to figure this out. This happens, for example, in cases where both parents express a desire to raise their children. If the spouses independently agree on the procedure for communication with the child and his place of residence, the court does not intervene in these matters.
It is worth considering that such claims can be filed not only while the divorce proceedings are ongoing (in Russia), but also after it.
A parent who after the divorce will not live with the child, if the second spouse wishes, must pay child support. If between the mom and dad of the baby the corresponding agreement on their payment has not been concluded, then the amount shall be established by the court. As a rule, it is calculated from the amount of the wages of the alimony. So, for example, if there is one child, a quarter of the official income will be charged, two - a third, three or more - 50%.
How long does the divorce process last?
The process of termination of official relations is a fairly quick process, but only if the spouses have no complaints against each other. By mutual agreement regarding the divorce, the court fulfills its obligations within 1-2 months. If the spouses have property or other disagreements, or one party does not want to terminate, then the divorce proceedings can last more than 3 months.
Date of divorce
Officially, spouses are considered free from each other from the moment of the record of the divorce at the registry office (if it was carried out there) or the adoption of a positive court decision. Although in the latter case, all the same, the moment of the official breakdown should be registered with the civil registry authorities. Formally, while the divorce process is ongoing, and there was no official issue of a certificate of termination of the union, neither of the parties can register a new relationship.
Who can help with the registration of a divorce?
Divorce proceedings are a very complex and painstaking task. Especially when it comes to disagreements between spouses. In this case, it is necessary to be guided not only by your emotions, but also by a whole set of laws designed to regulate marriage. Unaware people are very difficult to figure it out. Therefore, any of the spouses can seek the advice of specialists. For example, a divorce lawyer or family lawyer handles these cases.