Marriage agreement after the death of one spouse: inheritance of property

To draw up a will, the testator may well go to the notary alone. He has the right to dispose of his property in the way he sees fit. Even if he wants to leave everything that belongs to him to his wife, then he does not have to involve her in his plans. Also, spouses can go to the notary together for the same purpose. The notary can propose a marriage contract. “But can a marriage contract be concluded in case of death?” they ask.

It turns out that such cases occur quite often. This applies especially to older married couples when they want to put their property affairs in order. Then, after their death, their descendants will not have any troubles. Almost everyone knows what a will is. But not everyone is familiar with the concept of a marriage contract.

Is a prenuptial agreement valid after the death of one of the spouses?

The question of the validity of a marriage contract after the death of a spouse causes conflicts. Moreover, a double opinion arose not only between ordinary people, but also among the courts. The opinions of authorities often differ. The situation arose due to a double understanding of Chapter 8 of the RF IC, which regulates the procedure, validity and cancellation of a marital agreement between husband and wife. The legal act does not contain clear regulations regarding the legal status of the marriage contract in the event of the death of one of the spouses. Article 43 of the RF IC states that the contract terminates if the marriage is dissolved.

In simple terms, a prenuptial agreement is the disposition of property in the event of divorce. The contract reflects what property the husband and wife will receive upon termination of the official relationship. After the death of one of the spouses, the marriage is automatically annulled. This also serves as the basis for terminating the marriage contract after death. But if the contract provided for the distribution of property between husband and wife during family legal relations, this property will not fall into the inheritance mass. According to the marriage contract, after death, the property will belong to the spouse to whom it was intended according to the document.

Legal grounds for challenging a marriage contract

But it will not be possible to provide for questions regarding inheritance in a marriage contract.
If such instructions are indicated in it, the contract will be declared invalid (in part of this provision or in full). Inheritance is strictly regulated by law, and documents such as a will or an agreement on the division of property allow the disposal of property. If the testator left behind a will, then the property is transferred to the heirs who are included in it, according to the shares indicated in it. In this case, the order of the heirs by law does not matter. But at the same time, persons who have the right to an obligatory share in the inheritance cannot be disadvantaged.

If the testator did not leave behind a testamentary document, then inheritance is carried out according to law. The first-priority heirs are the closest relatives. If they are absent, they belong to the next line, and so on.

But if before one of the spouses died, a marriage contract was concluded between them, and the inheritance of his property has its own characteristics.

The presence of a marriage contract after the death of one of the spouses has an impact on issues of inheritance of property. Of course, it should not contain clauses regarding the disposition of the property of the husband or wife after the death of the spouse. However, indirect influence, one way or another, will take place.

Thus, this document may establish a different regime for property owned by spouses. In addition to joint, there is a separate regime. If the husband and wife agree on the issue that the property should not be common, but separate, then upon the death of one of them, only the property that belongs to only one of the spouses will be included in the inheritance estate.

Example

It is convenient to understand this with a clear example. The spouses entered into a marriage contract, which states that all property acquired during marriage belongs to the one who bought it or with whose money it was acquired.

So, if a wife bought kitchen utensils, and a man bought three cars, then after the death of his wife, the following situation will arise. In the absence of an agreement, half of the jointly acquired property would be included in the estate. That is, both cars and kitchen utensils would be shared. But since the contract has been concluded, the cars cannot be divided.

As you can see, despite the fact that the marriage contract did not say a word about inheriting property after the death of one or another spouse, the difference in this matter, depending on the presence or absence of a document, can be enormous.

The question may arise in connection with whether the marriage contract ceases to be valid in the event of the death of one of the spouses. After all, the general rule on it states that the effect extends to the period of life of the spouses or during their life together. From this it seems logical that the contract should be terminated upon the death of the husband or wife. At the same time, certain consequences created by this document remain even after it has ceased to be in force.

If we consider the same example, in which the wife owned kitchen utensils and the man owned cars, we get the following. After the death of the wife, the contract ceases to be valid. Some of its provisions have lost their meaning. However, others have remained relevant. Kitchen utensils belonging to the wife will be divided among the heirs. But the cars continue to be owned by the husband. Termination of the agreement leaves these provisions unchanged.

Almost any contract can be challenged. The main condition is that its provisions directly or indirectly affect the legitimate interests of the applicant. The plaintiff must be able to substantiate the claims, as well as provide written evidence according to which the contract, in his opinion, is illegal. Often, banking institutions act as plaintiffs in such cases.

Example

As an example, consider the following case. Sberbank filed a claim that the marriage contract is invalid. The defendants were the borrower and his wife. The borrower took out a large sum of money on credit from the bank. However, he did not return the money, resulting in a large debt. As a result of the trial, a settlement agreement was concluded.

But the borrower did not fulfill his obligations in accordance with it. The court issued the plaintiff a writ of execution to collect the debt, in accordance with the terms of the loan agreement. When this agreement was concluded, the husband and wife were legally married. After a settlement agreement was concluded with the bank, the husband and wife entered into a marriage contract.

According to the banking institution, a prenuptial agreement is an imaginary transaction concluded to prevent debt collection through the sale of the husband’s share of joint property. The defendants did not recognize the claim. Nevertheless, the court found the plaintiff’s claims to be fair and the marriage contract invalid.

This is a real life incident. But the case can be considered in a similar way when, after concluding an imaginary transaction, one of the spouses died. In addition, a contract can be challenged if it was concluded by an incapacitated person or was not certified by a notary. However, it will be impossible to challenge a marriage contract upon the death of one of the spouses if it was concluded in compliance with all the rules and regulations in force by law.

Of course, in the event of death, it is much more advisable to draw up a will and, on its basis, distribute the assets of the testator among the heirs. However, the terms of the marriage contract cannot be discounted, since this document can help determine the exact amount of the inheritance, i.e. a list of property owned by the testator.

The hereditary mass includes:

1. Personal property that was received before marriage, given as a gift, inherited, or acquired free of charge. This also includes assets received by the testator as personal property under a marriage contract.
2. The share of joint property acquired during marriage. Those property values ​​whose regime has not been changed in the marriage contract are considered joint.

1. Invalidity, which is certified by the court on the basis of: The imaginary nature of the contract.
2. Use of violence or threats against a party to a contract.
3. Misconceptions of the party about the subject of the contract.
4. Recognition of a party as incompetent.
5. Recognition that a party to a contract is disadvantaged.
6. The pretense of the contract.
7. Violations of the contract form.
8. Inclusion in the text of the marriage agreement of conditions that the law does not allow to be specified in the contract, for example, regulation of non-property relations.

Those who plan to enter into an agreement on property are concerned about the validity of the marriage contract after the death of the husband or wife. It all depends on several factors:

• contents and features of the contract itself;
• the terms and conditions contained therein;
• presence of a will and heirs, etc.

As a general rule, a marriage contract terminates for its intended purpose after the death of at least one of the spouses. In this case, the marriage is considered terminated, and the agreement loses the subject of regulation.

However, in some parts this document may remain valid even after the death of the spouse. For example, when the parties to the agreement determined by its terms that all property becomes the personal property of the one who acquired it. Thus, the regime of separate property is proclaimed in accordance with Art.

33 and 38 of the IC of Russia. In this case, if the deceased has heirs other than the surviving spouse, they will claim equally with the latter the property of the deceased. This means that after the death of the husband (wife), the marriage contract begins to partially control inheritance relations regarding the division of his property by the heirs.

Everyone who is entitled to inherit by law will claim the deceased spouse's share. In this case, the survivor will retain his property under the terms of the marriage contract and will be able to participate in the division of the inheritance not only on a general basis, but also by the right to allocate the marital share in the inheritance.

Is it possible to conclude a marital contract in the event of the death of a husband or wife?

A prenuptial agreement is not a disposition of property in the event of the death of one of the spouses. A similar rule follows from Article 40 of the RF IC. The legal act stipulates that the marital contract regulates the property rights and obligations of the husband and wife in marriage or in the event of its dissolution. The article does not contain rules on the basis of which the fate of property could be determined in the event of the death of a spouse.

For your information

Moreover, in the question of the possibility of concluding a marriage contract in the event of the death of a spouse, it is necessary to take into account part 3 of article 42 of the RF IC. It states that the contract cannot limit the legal rights and interests of the husband or wife. The spouse has the right to transfer his share of property by inheritance. Additionally, the provisions of the document must not place the husband or wife at a disadvantage. Based on the above, we can conclude that a marriage contract is not concluded in the event of the death of a spouse. If spouses want to manage their property in the event of death, they can divide the property and make a will. The execution of the document is regulated by Chapter 62 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Inheritance and marriage contract

Couples getting married are increasingly drawing up a prenuptial agreement that regulates their property relations during their married life.

The conditions that they accept in this document may differ from the rules established by law in the RF IC, which may change property rights in the event of inheritance of acquired property after their death.

Let's consider how inheritance can occur under a marriage contract of family property in the event of the death of the spouses, what terms of the contract can affect its distribution when the inheritance is accepted by the relatives and the surviving spouse of the testator.

Methods of inheritance by spouses without a marriage contract

Let us assume that the contract was not drawn up. Inheritance of property will occur either by law or by will, drawn up by each spouse individually:

Marriage agreement and its validity period

To understand how a marriage document can affect the order of inheritance of property belonging to spouses in the event of their death, you need to know what it is.

A prenuptial agreement means a voluntary agreement between partners before marriage or during marriage about their property marital relations, as well as in the event of family breakdown. It represents a bilateral deal between them, allowing them to include their own conditions, different from those provided for by the RF IC, regarding:

• determining the property regime of family property;
• distribution of family expenses;
• establishing their obligations and rights when living together and in the event of divorce, for example, the obligation to provide for a partner in the event of his incapacity.

The conditions included in the agreement should not contradict the law, but they can change the regime of joint ownership established by the RF IC and personalize property objects, transferring them into the ownership of each partner.

An agreement will be considered an official document if it is in writing and certified by a notary. The validity period of the document may be indicated in its terms. If the period is not specified, then the contract is considered an unlimited document. The contract loses its meaning after the couple divorces and in the event of the death of the spouses. In case of divorce, only those terms of the contract that are provided for this case will apply.

Limitations of the terms of the marriage contract

Despite the fact that a marriage contract is a voluntary agreement between partners, its terms have a number of restrictions that should not be present in it.

In particular, the following conditions cannot be included:

• related to the limitation or cancellation of the legal capacity of spouses;
• regulating relations of spouses with other family members;
• excluding a party's rights to maintenance in the event of her incapacity for work during marriage and after divorce;
• creating an unfavorable financial position for one party at the expense of enriching the other party.

When one partner, under the terms of the transaction, received a smaller amount of property compared to the other partner, this will not be recognized by the court as an unfavorable position of the first partner, because the court is not guided by the rule of equality, but proceeds from the fair distribution of property.

The influence of the terms of the marriage contract on inheritance

Important! Actions relating to property relations provided for in a marriage contract are valid only during the lifetime of the spouses. After their death, they cease, and in their place the rules of inheritance law come into force. All property transactions completed before this, according to the terms of the marriage agreement, retain their legality.

For example, if, under the terms of the contract, a spouse during his lifetime transferred into the ownership of his wife an apartment that belonged to him by right of personal property, and this real estate officially became the property of his wife, then it will remain so in the event of the death of the spouse.

If a husband wants to transfer property belonging to him to his wife after his death, he can do this by drawing up a will. Such conditions for the transfer of property cannot be included in a marriage contract.

If the document includes clauses defining the procedure for transferring marital property after their death, the contract may be canceled in terms of their execution.

But even in the absence of conditions related to the topic of death, the transaction may indirectly affect the inheritance. This is confirmed by an official document in the form of “Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court No. 9 of May 29.

12 years”, which contains a list of property to be included in the inheritance volume.

According to the document, you can inherit:

• property owned personally by the deceased person;
• a share in property acquired during marriage that belongs to him by law or by mutual agreement of the parties, unless other conditions are accepted by the marriage agreement.

If the partners’ agreement establishes a different property regime, for example, a separate regime is adopted, then during inheritance this property will be divided. Consequently, the order of its division will be different, because Only property belonging to the deceased person will be inherited.

Last changes

There are no significant changes in legislation on this issue in 2020. Our experts monitor all changes in legislation to provide you with reliable information.

Source: https://lawinfo24.ru/heritage/heir/nasledovanie-pri-brachnom-dogovore

Family Code on marriage contracts after death

The registration of a marriage contract is regulated by Chapter 8 of the RF IC. There are no provisions affecting the death of a spouse. The issue of termination of a marriage contract is contained in Article 43 of the RF IC. The legal act states that the agreement ceases to be valid upon the completion of the marriage. This issue is described in detail in Article 16 of the RF IC. The grounds for ending a marriage are divorce, recognition of one of the spouses as deceased, or the actual death of the husband or wife. It turns out that death becomes a reason for terminating the marriage contract (Article 43 of the RF IC).

Attention

However, as stated above, not all courts are clear on whether a prenuptial agreement is valid after death. Representatives of authorized bodies agree that a matrimonial contract cannot reflect the rights that arise in connection with the death of one of the participants in the family union. The issue is regulated in detail by inheritance law (Section 5 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). If the marriage contract contains rules regarding the distribution of property in the event of the death of the husband or wife, the contract will be considered void.

Marriage agreement after the death of a spouse with inheritance

In the Russian Federation, there are two methods of inheritance - by law or by will (Chapter - Civil Code of the Russian Federation). If one of the spouses has made an order in the event of their death, the property will be divided taking into account the wishes of the owner. When there is no will, inheritance will take place according to law.

IMPORTANT

However, the presence of a marriage contract can affect the distribution of property in the event of the death of one of the spouses. This position is taken by the Supreme Court. The corresponding opinion was set out in Resolution of the Plenum of the RF Armed Forces No. dated May 29, 2012. The legal act reflects that the inheritance will include the citizen’s personal property and that part of the jointly acquired property that was due to him as part of the marriage contract, if the document previously determined the person who owns this or that property. Moreover, it does not matter to whom exactly the property was registered.

In practice, a marriage contract can regulate the property relations of spouses only in the event of divorce. If the document does not distribute the property in advance, the paper will not be taken into account in the probate process.

How does the agreement affect the division of inheritance?

The specifics of inheritance can be fixed in a contract signed by a married couple. Everything she buys (real estate, car, furniture, etc.) becomes common property. Other conditions, such as inheriting real estate, can be established by a contract. The document may establish a regime of separate ownership of property.

Even if all the papers are drawn up correctly, disputes about the division of property still arise, so it is important to protect your interests. It is necessary to keep documents confirming that investments were made during the marriage.

What property cannot be obtained under a marital contract in the event of the death of a husband or wife?

As mentioned earlier, a marriage contract does not affect inheritance issues (Article 42 of the RF IC). The document only regulates the division of jointly acquired property in marriage or in the event of dissolution of family legal relations. The husband and wife have the right to determine in advance who will own the property purchased during marriage (Article 42 of the RF IC). The spouse will not be able to receive property under the marriage contract that has not previously been transferred to the citizen as part of the document. If the agreement does not at all regulate the distribution of real estate during the marriage, but only affects divorce, the husband or wife will not be able to receive property under the contract at all in the event of the death of the family partner. The distribution of property will occur by law or by will (Chapter 62, Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Is it possible to challenge a marriage contract after the death of a spouse?

Article 43 of the RF IC is devoted to the issue of dissolution of a marriage contract. The legal act states that, as a general rule, termination of a document is possible at the common wish of the spouses. If there is no agreement, the deal can be terminated in court.

The basis for satisfying the applicant’s demands to challenge the marriage contract after the death of the spouse can be (Chapter 29 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation):

• the marital contract substantially violates the rights of the husband or wife;
• the deal was concluded under pressure;
• the document contains provisions that make the contract invalid (for example, a marriage contract regulates the distribution of property in the event of the death of one of the spouses);
• in addition to property issues, the marriage contract reflects provisions regarding the place of residence and raising of children;
• The marriage contract is not notarized.

It is necessary to prove the presence of grounds for termination of the marriage contract after the death of the spouse.

How to appeal a prenuptial agreement after the death of a spouse?

To initiate proceedings to challenge a prenuptial agreement after the death of a husband or wife, the spouse must prepare an application. The rules for drawing up a document are enshrined in Article 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. The claim must be made in writing.

An application to the court to challenge a marriage contract after death consists of the following sections:

1. Document header . In this section, information about the court that will hear the case is recorded, and the details of the plaintiff and defendant are also entered. It is necessary to provide contact information to contact the applicant.
2. Name of the claim. Placed below the header in the middle of the sheet.
3. Main part. In this place, information about the current situation is recorded, the requirements put forward and references to the norms of current legislation regulating the issue of appealing a marital contract after death are provided.
4. List of applications. The section reflects a list of documents confirming the plaintiff’s case.
5. Date and signature.

A completed claim to appeal a marriage contract after death should not contain errors or corrections. You can fill out the document by hand or compose it on a computer. The application is always signed manually. Information must be presented to the point. The text should not contain lyrical digressions. It is important to adhere to a business style of presenting information. To avoid mistakes, it is better to use a ready-made document form.

An approximate sample application for challenging a marriage contract after death is available.

The submitted claim form must be supplemented with data individually for a specific situation. The list of applications deserves special attention. It includes documents proving the claims made. It is necessary to prepare a list of attachments taking into account the provisions of Article 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. You will need to provide:

• the applicant's identity card;
• check for payment of state duty;
• a prenuptial agreement that a person wishes to challenge after the death of a spouse.

The list of documents presented above is not exhaustive. Documents may be required for disputed property that the spouses were supposed to divide as part of the marriage contract. The judge has the right to request other documents.

Does a prenuptial agreement have the same force as a will?

Nowadays, no one is surprised by the fact that an increasing number of Russian citizens are seeking to protect themselves and their property through various types of legal transactions.

A marriage contract, a will, a bank order, insurance - just a few years ago all of this seemed to the average person to be a waste of money and time.

Moreover, both then and now (although much less frequently) there are people who not only do not accept, but also sharply criticize those who wanted to play it safe and, for example, enter into a prenuptial agreement with their future spouse or, say, settle one's affairs.

In fact, any criticism of reasonable precautions is completely unfounded, and it is no longer fashionable to say that loved ones and relatives must be unconditionally trusted “without any agreements.”

A will or marriage contract, which is more powerful

It must be taken into account that in the marriage agreement itself it is unacceptable to contain clauses regulating inheritance relations. Otherwise, the agreement is recognized as inconsistent with the law and, accordingly, invalid in full or in part.

Thus, an agreement containing a clause stating that after the death of the husband the wife receives his entire fortune is considered void.

Expert advice: if you want the inheritance to go to certain people after death, leave a will; an agreement will not help you here.

But do not think that the contract cannot have an impact on the distribution of real estate after the death of a spouse and the end of a marriage. The degree of influence of the agreement on the distribution of property depends on what restrictions will be placed on the majority of the joint property.

What has greater legal force – a will or a marriage contract?

After the distribution of the husband’s share, the final share of the land plot will be: for the wife – 7/15; for each of the parents of the deceased – 2/15; for each of the father’s children – 2/15.

Distribution in separate property This means that property that a spouse acquired during the marriage is his or her personal property (as it would be if there was no relationship).

Such property can be freely disposed of at your own discretion without the consent of the spouse.

Real estate and other things are not subject to division, and the notary can immediately begin distributing such property by inheritance. Let's consider an example with a land plot, provided that the land plot was acquired by the husband under a separate ownership regime.

Does a prenuptial agreement affect inheritance after the death of a spouse?

In this case, the estate that the testator owned under the marriage contract may be included in the estate left by the deceased, without going beyond its limits:

• Cash;
• Movable property;
• Real estate;
• Bank accounts;
• Securities.

However, in the first place, the surviving spouse, as a representative of the first line of inheritance, can inherit the property of the deceased, which belonged to him at the time of death.

If the deceased did not have time to leave a will in the name of another heir, who will have priority over the surviving spouse.

If the surviving husband or wife is disabled, then by law they have the right to an obligatory part of the deceased spouse’s inheritance, even if there is a valid will for another person (Article 1149 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The procedure for appealing a marriage contract after the death of one of the spouses

If a marriage contract violates the rights of one of the spouses, to challenge the contract, you must proceed according to the following scheme:

1. Make sure there are any violations. The reason for going to court may be the conclusion of a transaction under pressure, the presence of illegal provisions in the document (Chapter 29 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
2. Prepare a claim and a package of documents. When filling out the application, you need to exercise maximum care. Errors and inaccuracies are unacceptable.
3. Contact the district court. The documents will be reviewed within 5 days (Article 133 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation). A decision will then be made whether to proceed or not to proceed.
4. Take part in the proceedings. The date and time of the citizen's hearing will be announced in advance. A summons will be sent for this purpose.
5. Find out the final solution. If the applicant is not satisfied with it, the verdict can be challenged by preparing an appeal (Article 320 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Can all property belong to the wife under a marriage contract?

In court, to prove your own case, you need to justify your own steps and prove that this procedure was carried out under pressure, using manipulation, fraud or blackmail. What to do when a refusal to register is received? When is a deed of gift in marriage impossible? Most often, the grounds for refusal are incorrectly filled out papers or unreliable data, and, in addition, a lack of required rights. One of the reasons may be that contradictions arise or the appeal is submitted by a person who, in principle, cannot do this. If this happens, then you should eliminate the violation and challenge the decision by going to court.

Deadlines and state fees

When considering a case, the judge must take into account all the evidence, take into account the arguments of the participants in the hearing, analyze the legislation, and review existing practice on the issue. It takes time to make an objective decision on challenging a marriage contract after the death of a spouse. Therefore, proceedings in the district court last up to 2 months (Article 154 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation). The death of a spouse complicates matters. Additionally, there may be other circumstances that do not allow a quick decision to be made. If the situation is difficult, the period may be extended for another month.

IMPORTANT

A verdict on challenging a marriage contract after the death of a husband or wife does not come into force immediately. Participants in the proceedings are given 1 month to appeal the decision (Article 321 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation). If the spouse uses this right, the consideration of the case will be extended. In total, the proceedings will take 3 months.

In order for the situation of appealing a marriage contract after death to be considered in court, the interested spouse must pay a state fee. Proceedings during which a contract is contested are included in the category of non-property disputes. The state fee for consideration of the case is 300 rubles (Article 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Participants in the proceedings have the right to involve a lawyer. Representative services must be paid separately.

Is it possible to challenge it?

If the deceased person did not leave a will, his relatives may try to challenge the marriage contract after his death and try to invalidate it in court.

In order to begin the procedure for challenging this document, there are several reasons:

1. Lack of consent of the plaintiff to change the document, to include all the conditions in it, to become a party to the marriage contract.
2. Discrimination against the plaintiff, disadvantage as a result of the division of property specified in the contract.

In judicial practice, there are many cases where heirs try to carry out the procedure of challenging this document, since declaring it invalid leads to an increase in the share of the inheritance left by the deceased.

Please also pay attention to other useful materials from our experts telling about the nuances of concluding a marriage contract:

• How does it happen and how much does it cost to draw up and certify an agreement with a notary and a lawyer?
• When does the document come into force and what is its validity period?
• How can I amend or terminate a contract?
• The role of the agreement when declaring a family bankrupt.

Arbitrage practice

Proceedings concerning challenges to prenuptial agreements after the death of a spouse are extremely controversial. The decision is made depending on individual characteristics. The court may satisfy the applicant's demands if compelling evidence is provided.

Examples from judicial practice

A man’s daughter from his first marriage applied to the court with a request to dissolve her father’s marriage contract with his new wife after the death of her parent. When the couple got married, a formal agreement was concluded under which the apartment purchased in the wife's name became the woman's personal property. The document was notarized and prepared taking into account other rules. The marriage contract did not affect other property. The plaintiff demanded that the apartment be included in the estate together with other property of the late husband. The court reviewed the case materials and rejected the application. The representative of the authority motivated his decision by the fact that the ownership of the premises arose with the man’s new wife immediately after the conclusion of the marriage contract. At that moment, the spouses were married, and the subsequent death of the husband cannot be grounds for challenging the agreement. The apartment was excluded from the inheritance estate.

There is another clear example. The applicant applied to the court to challenge the marriage contract between his father and stepmother, after the death of the man, citing the fact that the agreement was not notarized. The representative of the district court fully satisfied the plaintiff’s demands and included all the property distributed under the agreement into the inheritance estate.

Problems and nuances

1. It is noteworthy that the deceased himself cannot be named as a defendant in cases challenging a marriage contract after death. This explanation was given by the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases in paragraph 6 of the resolution of the plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. dated May 29, 2012. Demands can only be made against living citizens. This is due to the fact that the deceased does not bear legal responsibility. Therefore, in most cases, the marriage contract of spouses after the death of one of them is disputed by the heirs, whose property rights are infringed by the agreement.
2. In order for the requirements of the marriage contract to be taken into account, the document must be presented to a notary during the process of registering an inheritance. It is important that the agreement is drawn up according to all the rules. In particular, notarization is required (Article 41 of the RF IC). If the marriage contract is not certified, the document will be declared invalid, and the property of the husband and wife will be distributed according to the general procedure.

The prenuptial agreement does not regulate the inheritance issues of the husband and wife. However, the provisions of a marital contract may be taken into account when distributing property after the death of the property owner. The rule applies if, within the framework of the contract, the husband and wife distributed the property they owned even before the death of one of the participants in the marriage. In all other cases, the rules governing inheritance apply. If the agreement violates the rights of a citizen, the document can be challenged.

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Features of the termination procedure

A husband and wife can draw up an agreement that reflects their positions regarding the division of property. In this document, they have the right to specify all the conditions and procedure for distributing parts of jointly acquired property. Also in such an agreement, the husband and wife have the right to indicate the occurrence of certain events that may change the rules of distribution.

The peculiarities of drawing up such an agreement are that in order to sign it, a number of conditions will have to be met:

• mutual consent to conclude such a document. It is impossible to force the second spouse to sign a marriage contract or to enter into it unilaterally;
• absence of conflicting instructions regarding the same object;
• absence of conditions and clauses that contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation;
• notarization of the document is mandatory;
• the ability to include conditions and dispositions regarding property that has already been acquired and will be acquired.

Such a contract can be drawn up once and not changed throughout life or the existence of the marriage. Its validity and legal force directly depend on the correct drafting and execution of a document.

A marriage contract, if there is mutual consent of the parties, can be terminated by any notary in Russia. The parties have the right not to disclose the reasons for their decision to the notary.

Before going to him on a personal visit, the husband and wife or former spouses together draw up 3 copies of the termination agreement, a sample of which can be viewed here. Additionally, the following documents should be prepared:

1. Two originals of the marriage contract.
2. Passports.

During the visit by his spouses, the notary must check the documents provided to him, make sure that the spouses or former spouses are legally capable citizens, accept payment for services and put a certification inscription on all copies of the termination agreement. After this, the marriage contract is considered officially terminated.

The court resolves disputes between legal entities, citizens and government bodies in Russia, including disputes regarding marriage contracts. In order for the consideration of the case to end with a positive result, it is necessary to follow the steps described below.

First of all, the court needs to prove that the applicant has exhausted all possible ways to peacefully resolve the conflict. Before going to court, you should prepare and submit to the potential defendant a proposal to terminate the contract, in which you should describe what does not suit the applicant in the contract and allows him to demand termination of the contract.

The proposal can be submitted by mail with a return receipt attached to the letter, or delivered in person to the potential defendant. In the second case, it is important that the other party signs the second copy of the proposal, which remains with the applicant. As a rule, the deadline for a response is set within 30 days.

If the conflict could not be resolved peacefully, then the interested party should involve a state arbiter - the court - in resolving it. Before you begin preparing claim documents, it is necessary to resolve issues of jurisdiction and jurisdiction of the claim.

Cases related to disagreements regarding marriage contracts are resolved:

1. A magistrate, if the plaintiff has declared non-property claims or property claims with a price of less than 50,000 rubles.
2. By the district court, if the plaintiff made property claims exceeding 50,000 rubles.

The following rules apply regarding jurisdiction:

• If the plaintiff is the heir of the deceased spouse, then the dispute regarding the marriage contract must be considered at the place where the inheritance was opened.
• If the plaintiff is a party to the contract, then the dispute must be considered at the place of residence or temporary residence of the defendant.
• If the parties to the dispute sign an agreement on jurisdiction, the dispute must be heard in the court of their choice.

Next, the applicant prepares the text of the statement of claim independently or delegates the preparation process to a lawyer or attorney. The following sample statements can help the applicant prepare for the trial on his own:

1. Declaration of invalidity of the marriage contract.
2. Allegation of material violation of the terms of the marriage contract.

Then the applicant prepares additional documents and evidence, a detailed list of which is described in the chapter “List of documents for filing a claim,” and pays the state fee. Details for payment must be found on the website of the court that will consider the claim.

Next, the application with documents is transferred to the court office in one of 3 possible ways:

1. Bring the documents in person or authorize a representative to do so by issuing him a judicial power of attorney.
2. Send through GAS "Justice".
3. Send by mail.

After the documents are accepted and the court takes over the case, the office will send a summons by mail, where the date and number of the office where you should go to participate in the hearing will be written. Before going to the hearing, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the rules of conduct in court, which will help you show yourself in the best light before the judge and, thereby, increase the likelihood of a positive decision:

• Emotions should be left outside the judge's office. At the hearing, there is no need to shout or insult the judge or other participants in the process.
• You should not interrupt the judge.
• Whenever you address a judge, you must first stand up, say “Your Honor,” and only then say the essence of the appeal.
• You need to talk only about the essence of the matter, there is no need to go into assumptions, conjectures and rumors.
• To substantiate your words, you must refer to the available evidence.
• And, of course, you need to be present at every meeting. If this is not possible, a representative should be hired.

The marriage contract will be recognized as terminated only after the court decision comes into force. This means that all obligations under it are considered terminated.

After a divorce, the marriage contract is terminated according to the same rules that were indicated in the chapters “With mutual consent of the parties” and “Unilaterally”.