Division of property

Often enough, formerly close and loving people face seemingly simple but at the same time such a painful problem - how to divide property of spouses at divorce? It may not be easy to find an answer to this and other questions of legal nature. Where to get the qualified legal support?

Lawyers of "Profit consul" law firm specializing in Family law can help!

First of all, let's find out what «the personal private property of spouses» and «the common joint property of spouses» represent. Article 57 of the Family code of Ukraine specifies what should be considered as «a personal private property of the husband, wife»:

• If the property was acquired by a spouses prior to marriage;
• If the property was acquired by one of the spouses during marriage (inheritance, property accepted as a gift or was purchased using personal means);
• Personal items (jewelery, awards for personal merits, etc);
• Assets received as a result of compensation for loss of other property;
• Compensation for moral damage;
• Insurance compensations received by one of the spouses on personal policy (only if premiums had been paid out of corresponding spouses' expense).

Further, Articles 60 and 61 of the Family code of Ukraine specify what should be considered as «a common joint property of spouses»:

• Property acquired by spouses in marriage (except for items of individual use, also acquired in the course marriage);
• Incomes of spouses: (salaries, grants, etc.);
• Money, winnings, other property, received under the contract concluded by one of spouses on behalf of the family;
• Personal belongings and other items obtained by one of the spouses: musical instruments, medical equipment, office equipment etc.

Moreover, if the property of one of the spouses considerably increased in the course of marriage due to mutual monetary or labor contributions, this property in case of a dispute can be recognized as a common joint property of spouses.

If a couple decides to dissolve their marriage and divide property they can do it voluntarily and agree among themselves upon order of use of their common property and belongings.

Division of property can be maid during marriage, in the process of dissolution of marriage as well as after divorce. Article 69 of the Family code of Ukraine states that husband and wife regardless of their current marital status have a right to division of their common joint property. In case a couple owns real estate, agreement of dissolution of immovable property has to be notarize in accordance with part 3 of Article 371 of the Civil code of Ukraine and part 2 of Article 69 of the Family code of Ukraine. Also note, Article 182 of the Civil code of Ukraine provides mandatory state registration of immovable property.

But if the parties can not come to the agreement on division of their property and there is a dispute between them concerning the way the property should be divided, or concerning their corresponding shares in that property, or if spouses have underage children, in that case division of common joint property of spouses is subject to court proceedings.

Article 70 of Family code of Ukraine contains the following norm: upon division of common joint property of spouses their shares should be equal. This norm is applied when one of the spouses for valid reasons (studies, house-keeping, infant care, illness) was unable to earn income. It's up to court whether to use this norm or not and in some case it is not applied. For example: if one of the spouses did not support the family financially, destroyed or damaged family property, used common joint property to his/her own benefit.

Also, court may consider other factors, such as interests of minor children. For example, if mother has custody of an underage child, or has in her care disabled child over age of 18, mother's share of common joint property can be increased if the amount of child support is insufficient for physical and spiritual development or medical treatment of a child.

It is important to note that upon division of common joint property of spouses during divorce proceedings court can apply two norms simultaneously. Thus, one kind of property is divided equally; other kind of property can be awarded to one of the spouses on the condition that he/she pays certain amount of compensation to the other party, the rest of items are split taking into account their monetary value.

Methods and order of division of common joint property are also provided by the law. If one of the spouses uses indivisible property in his/her professional activities then such items will be transferred to the corresponding spouse but the value of items must be taken into account awarding other property to the other spouse.

Also one of the spouses can be awarded a monetary compensation for his/her share of real estate it is possible if the other party makes a deposit of certain amount to his/her bank account.

Either of spouses can demand division of property prior to dissolution of marriage, limitation period in this case doesn't apply.

If one of the spouses demands division of common joint property after divorce for these cases limitation period is 3 years.

Article 74 of the Family code of Ukraine deserves special attention. It covers cases when husband and wife live in civil marriage for a prolonged period of time. According to this article, all property accumulated in the course of their relationship should be considered their common joint property unless otherwise established by the written agreement between the parties.