Find out why having a marriage contract in place is important for protecting your assets and ensuring a smooth process in case of divorce.This document is not about how to cheat more cunningly and grab more. Drawing up a prenuptial agreement does not mean not trusting each other. On the contrary, it helps to calmly and confidentially resolve many uncomfortable financial issues. We tell you how to draw up a prenuptial agreement and how it will be useful.
Who will benefit from a marriage contract?
A marriage contract is an agreement between spouses. Each country has its own rules. For example, in Belarus, a marriage contract can specify household responsibilities and rules for raising children. In Russia, the document is more limited. It primarily distributes property and finances. The conditions for its conclusion are dictated by the Family Code .
In what cases will a marriage contract in Russia be especially useful:
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you have a lot of premarital property;
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one of the spouses is engaged in business;
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One of you has a bad credit history.
What is specified in a marriage contract
Who owns the property?
The property of spouses is divided into personal and joint. Personal property includes everything you bought before marriage, such as an apartment or a car, as well as what you inherited or received as a gift. Expensive purchases after registration at the registry office by default become jointly acquired property, regardless of how much money each of the spouses contributed. And in the event of a divorce, they will be divided in half.
To avoid confusion and conflicts, specify who owns what. This list includes not only the apartment, but also equipment, expensive musical instruments, and works of art. You can fully assign the property to one of the spouses or distribute shares. An agreement can be concluded not only for existing property, but also for future property.
The marriage contract also provides for compensation. This will come in handy if, for example, you moved into your husband’s apartment but did the renovations with joint money. Then discuss the amount that your spouse will pay you for inseparable improvements to the apartment in the event of division of property.
But major repairs using common money can serve as grounds for recognizing the apartment as common property. Even if it belonged to you personally. If you do not agree with this arrangement, specify in the marriage contract that the apartment remains yours even after major alterations.
Who is left with debts and loans?
The spouses’ debts after marriage will also be common. If one of you took out a loan to develop a personal business and was unable to repay the money, the bank has the right to request common property as compensation.
So, in the marriage contract, you can stipulate that loans, credits and other financial obligations remain the personal business of the spouse who has taken them on. In this case, the bank will return the amount only from his property. This way, you will protect your property if your partner turns out to be too wasteful.
Who pays for what?
The contract can specify the extent to which each spouse contributes to the family budget. For example, who saves money for large purchases, who pays for utilities and groceries.
The obligation to provide mutual support is also a matter for a marriage contract. If one of the spouses does not work, but runs a household and raises children, in the event of a divorce, he or she can receive financial support until they find employment. If you plan to go on maternity leave, you can agree on a fixed amount that the working spouse will allocate to you while you are caring for the child.
What can’t be included in a marriage contract
Personal non-property matters
The contract cannot specify what weight the spouse must support. What he/she must do in his/her free time. Whom he/she must not work as. Where he/she must not travel. The marriage contract in Russia takes into account property relations, and the human body does not apply to them.
Rights and responsibilities towards children
In Russia, a marriage contract cannot concern the personal rights and obligations of spouses in relation to children. It is impossible to specify who is responsible for their upbringing and for how long. As well as who the children will stay with in the event of a divorce. This is decided in court.
Limitation of legal capacity
A marriage contract cannot prohibit a spouse from going to court and demanding a revision of the marriage contract. Neither of the couple can prohibit the other from receiving income, bequeathing property, accepting an inheritance, or running a business. In short, basic constitutional human rights.
How to draw up a marriage contract
A marriage contract is drawn up both before and after registration. But it will only acquire legal force after an official visit to the registry office. This rule is established in Article 41 of the Family Code of Russia. So cohabitants will not be able to draw up a marriage contract.
To draw up a marriage contract, you need to contact a notary. Without his certification, the document is invalid. This is a paid service, so first choose a notary office whose rates suit you. The basic amount includes the cost of certification, but may also take into account the number of points, copies and other additional services.
You can change or terminate the contract at any time by mutual consent. But you will have to contact the notary again. Your personal agreement does not deprive the document of legal force. If a conflict arises, you will have to go to court to terminate the marriage contract.
The prenuptial agreement automatically ceases to be valid as soon as you are officially divorced. But only if you have not specified the clauses that continue to be valid after the marriage. The document also loses its validity if one of the spouses dies. In this case, the joint property passes to the living spouse. And the property assigned to the deceased can be claimed by his other heirs, for example, parents and children. They can go to court for division.
In what cases is a marriage contract invalid?
A marriage contract will not provide a 100% guarantee of property protection. Article 44 of the Family Code of Russia takes care of this . A marriage contract may be declared invalid if its terms put one of the spouses in an “extremely unfavorable position.”
When you apply to the court for the termination of a marriage contract, it will examine each clause to see if the contract violated the rights of one of the spouses. “Extremely unfavorable situation” is a very vague interpretation that can be interpreted in different ways. But if the court finds enslaving conditions in the marriage contract, the document will be annulled and the property of the spouses will automatically become common. According to Article 39 of the Family Code, it will be divided in half, regardless of how much money you invested in it.
Therefore, draw up a contract that will take into account the interests of both parties. A proper marriage contract establishes a dialogue between spouses, and does not destroy it.
Short
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In a marriage contract, you can specify the spouses’ property, financial and debt obligations.
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The document cannot violate the constitutional rights of a person or regulate rights in relation to children.
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To draw up a marriage contract and give it legal force, you need to register at the registry office and have the document certified by a notary.
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A marriage contract can be changed and terminated by mutual consent or through the court.
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If the court finds violations of the spouse’s rights in the document, it can annul the agreement and divide all property in half in accordance with the Family Code.