Property bought or obtained in various ways by citizens who are officially married may belong to either one person or spouses. The legal regime of spouses' property is determined depending on the conditions under which the right of ownership is formalized, and the existence of a marriage contract allowing to regulate the right to each value is taken into account.
Types of modes
Property may be disposed solely of its rightful owner. The owner is not only one person, as often a certain value is at the disposal of both spouses. Based on this, two types of legal regimes of spouses' property are distinguished:
- Law. It is described in detail in Art. 33 SK. On the basis of it, all property bought by citizens who are officially married is their joint property. Therefore, each person can dispose of the objects with the consent of the spouse.
- Negotiated. Based on Art. 40 SC, this regime assumes that between citizens before or after marriage, a prenuptial agreement was drawn up. This document lists all the rules and nuances of the division of property between spouses. Each citizen under this agreement is endowed with certain rights and obligations that arise not only upon marriage, but also upon its dissolution. You can conclude a contract before or after the wedding. The document describes what values will be transferred to one or another party to the agreement after the divorce.
It is good to understand the concept of the legal regime of spouses' property in each situation.
What is legal regime?
He assumes that there are no agreements between citizens on the basis of which their property can be divided during a divorce. The concept of the legal regime of spouses' property implies that everything bought by spouses in marriage belongs to both citizens.
If there are things that were purchased before marriage, then they belong solely to the husband or wife. It should be decided in addition to the personal property of the spouses and its legal regime. If a man in marriage receives any values on the basis of a gift or by inheritance, then he is his sole owner. Therefore, they do not divide upon divorce. This is prescribed in Art. 36 SK.
The legal regime of spouses' property is called legal if the values belong to both citizens on the basis of joint ownership. Therefore, if citizens decide to terminate their official relations, then property is divided taking into account the provisions of Art. 258 Civil Code.
What is considered joint ownership?
In Art. 34 SK registers all property that is considered joint for both spouses. This includes various values that were bought by a couple after the official marriage. Various benefits are included here:
- funds received as a result of employment, the implementation of entrepreneurial activity or intellectual work;
- pension or benefits from the state, as well as other types of payments;
- various material values represented by real estate, stocks, shares in companies, cars or other items that are subject to state registration.
Based on Art. 34 SK, even if any property is bought at the expense of one of the spouses, it still belongs to both. Therefore, both husband and wife have equal rights to these values. This even applies to the situation if one of the spouses was not officially employed during the marriage, therefore, he was engaged in the house and children. The legal legal regime of spouses' property indicates that even a housewife can claim property purchased at the expense of her husband.
Often, everything acquired is registered in Rosreestr exclusively for one of the spouses. If citizens decide to terminate their relationship, all the same, all these values are shared equally.
When does a property belong to only one spouse?
There are two types of legal regimes for spouses' property, but in any case, situations may arise where the values belong solely to the husband or wife, therefore they cannot be divided after a divorce. All of them are listed in Art. 36 SK. These values include:
- property belonging to a citizen until the moment when he officially married a woman;
- values obtained on the basis of a gift;
- inherited items;
- property received on the basis of other types of gratuitous transactions;
- items of personal use, which include wardrobe items, jewelry or luxury items bought with common means, but used only by one spouse, so women's earrings or men's bracelets will not be shared among citizens;
- rights to copyright results that are copyright.
All of the above values will not be shared between citizens during a divorce, therefore, remain with the rightful owner.
How is shared property shared?
All the rules for the division of property belonging to both spouses are prescribed in Art. 38 SK. Citizens can perform the section not only after their marriage is dissolved, but also before this process. For this, only the presence of an appropriate desire in one of the spouses is sufficient. The process can even begin with the creditor of the husband or wife.
Based on Art. 38 the division of values belonging to both citizens is carried out taking into account the conditions:
- the legal regime of the common property of the spouses allows you to separate the items by drawing up a special agreement, and it is not required to register with a notary
- if there are disputes between citizens as to whom this or that subject will be transferred to, then you have to go to court to solve the problem;
- if one of the spouses receives more property, then he must pay the second compensation, represented not only by money, but also by different rights if it is possible to use them;
- a certain part of the property, which is considered to be joint, by a court decision may be determined as the personal property of a particular participant in the trial;
- if citizens have children in common, then the spouse with whom they stay receives items intended for children, their clothes, accessories for playing or studying, and other items;
- if there is a contribution from the child, it remains with the minor, therefore, in no way can he share with the parents in a divorce;
- Often, the division of values is carried out before the immediate dissolution of the marriage, and in this case, even if, after this process, citizens acquire some property, it is still considered to be jointly acquired and is divided directly upon divorce.
Usually, people who decide to divorce are not in a very good relationship, so they can’t agree on a division of existing values in a peaceful way. Under such conditions, you have to turn to the court for help. Often, a judge does not share property in a very advantageous way for both citizens, so they can draw up an agreement at any time by distributing all the objects on their own.
Contractual regime
Briefly, the legal regime of spouses' property, called contractual, involves the preparation of special agreements before marriage or after the wedding. Based on these documents, it is determined which spouse will receive certain values if a decision is made in the future on the need to terminate relations. Usually a prenuptial agreement is concluded for this.
The nuances of drawing up a marriage contract
Based on Art. 41 SC is allowed to conclude a marriage contract not only on the day when officially citizens enter into a marriage, but also after. Most often, people prefer to draw up this document in the premarital period. In this case, the rights and obligations that arise in people after marriage are spelled out in it.
A prenuptial agreement establishes the legal regime for spouses' property as presented by the contractual Its main features include:
- necessarily compiled in writing;
- the documentation is certified by a notary, since without the participation of a specialist it does not have legal force;
- includes property rights and obligations of each spouse;
- it is allowed to prescribe the dates after which the prenuptial agreement will be considered invalid;
- it is not allowed to enter into the document any information that may limit the ability of citizens to assert their rights in court.
The legal regime of spouses' property abroad is almost always contractual. Therefore, foreigners prefer to enter into a marriage contract before marriage.
How does the contract change or terminate?
Based on Art. 43 SC is making changes to this document. Additionally, this legislative act contains information on the rules for terminating the agreement.
Rather rarely in Russia, the contractual legal regime of spouses' property is used. Analysis of this method leads to the fact that citizens do not have significant savings before marriage, so that there is a need for a prenuptial agreement. But if it is nevertheless compiled, then you should understand the rules for changing or terminating it. Features of the process include:
- You can terminate or change the documentation at any time after signing the contract;
- it is allowed to make changes immediately before marriage;
- To complete the process, it is necessary to draw up a special agreement for citizens, moreover, a form similar to the contract is used for this;
- making changes or termination of the document is allowed with the mutual consent of the spouses.
Often the contract does not have a validity period, therefore the rights and obligations under this document are terminated upon divorce or when a special supplementary agreement is made by the spouses. Unilateral termination or making adjustments is allowed if there is an appropriate court decision.
When is a contract declared null and void?
There are certain conditions under which a prenuptial agreement is invalidated. In this case, the legal legal regime of the spouses' property and its division will apply. The contract is recognized invalid only if there are good reasons listed in Art. 44 SK. This includes incorrect compilation, lack of notarization or the existence of clauses that infringe on the rights of one of the spouses.
To invalidate the contract, a citizen must go to court. On the basis of a court decision, the entire document may be completely recognized as invalid, and only some clauses of this agreement are often canceled. If the contract restricts the rights or legal capacity of one of the spouses, then such a document shall be declared null and void.
What is the responsibility of citizens for existing obligations?
The legal regime of spouses' property from history was usually established by law. Now, citizens can independently choose which regime will be used in relation to their values. This takes into account the responsibility of one spouse in relation to the obligations of another.
Based on the provisions of Article 45 SK, a spouse who did not pay off debts, can use only part of the common property, since it belongs not only to him, but also to his wife. The property can also be used to compensate for harm caused by minors.
Often both spouses have obligations that they for various reasons cannot repay. In this case, by decision of the court, their joint property may be used in full to repay the debt.
If a prenuptial agreement is concluded between citizens, then it certainly contains clauses on obligations. When making changes to the document or terminating the agreement, the citizen must notify the creditor of this on the basis of Art. 46 SK. Typically, such actions are required if a loan is secured against existing real estate. Banks or other lenders may request, through a court of law, termination of the marriage contract if any circumstances related to the loan received by the debtor have been changed.
Other nuances of legal regimes
Every person who wants to enter into a legal marriage should think about how the legal regime will be established in relation to his property or those values that will be bought in marriage by both citizens. There are only two legal regimes of spouses' property: legal and contractual.
If a prenuptial agreement is drawn up between citizens, then it will have to be guided by it when sharing values. It may be drawn up before or after the registration of marriage. It is allowed to make various adjustments to it or to terminate it at all, but consent must be obtained from each spouse. Additionally, an agreement may be terminated by a court decision if there are appropriate grounds.
The legal regime implies the absence of any agreements drawn up by citizens. All property bought by people in an official marriage is considered jointly acquired, but the exception is items intended for individual use. Most often in Russia, citizens prefer to use the legal regime.
Conclusion
The legal regimes of property of citizens who have entered into a legal marriage, govern the rules for the division of property in case of divorce of spouses. The parties can independently choose whether they will draw up a prenuptial agreement regulating the ownership of property to one or another citizen. The legal regime is most often chosen, according to which all items purchased in a marriage belong to both spouses.
If necessary, adjustments can be made to the contract, and also by mutual agreement it can be terminated. Often he is terminated by a court decision, if there are certain grounds for this.