Permanent or temporary registration at a specific address in a city or rural locality allows a Russian citizen to have the following advantages over unregistered persons:
- Use free services of medical institutions and educational institutions for children.
- Receive benefits and benefits.
- It is much easier and faster to find a job.
- Receive services from government bodies, which include the Civil Registry Office.
In this regard, the opportunity to use government services not in the territory of residence, in particular, to obtain a divorce not based on registration, is fraught with difficulties, and in some cases is completely unacceptable. Russian law authorizes two government bodies to deal with divorce cases: the registry office and the court. The nuances of dissolving a marital relationship other than the official place of residence in each of these authorities will be described in detail below.
Features of divorce outside the place of registration
Through the registry office
The divorce process consists of a clear sequence of actions, which is enshrined in law. Every citizen who wants to end unpleasant family relationships with his wife or husband and gain freedom from fulfilling marital obligations must go through it. Knowing how to properly get a divorce at a state registry office other than your place of registration will help you save time, effort and money spent on traveling and collecting documents.
So, in brief, the divorce algorithm is as follows:
- Cases are clarified when a marriage union concluded between spouses can be terminated through the state registry office and what documents are needed for this.
- The registry office authorities that have the legal right to divorce spouses are determined.
- The necessary documents are prepared and methods for submitting them are figured out.
- The documents are submitted and the day on which the marriage will be terminated is determined.
- The divorce is registered at the registry office, and former marriage partners receive divorce certificates.
If the marriage partners agree to amicably separate and, at the same time, they do not have at least one minor child in common, then they can submit documents for the termination of the marriage through the state registry office.
In which state registry office can the end of a marital relationship be formalized? The law distinguishes 2 categories of these bodies:
- Located in a locality in which both or one of the marriage partners are registered.
- Located in the locality where the official marriage took place and family relationships were registered.
This means that a divorce outside your own place of residence is allowed only when:
- The spouses are registered in different cities;
- Both spouses are registered in the same city, but the family union was not registered at the place of residence of the initiator of the divorce.
It should be noted that neither the presence of temporary registration in the city, nor, moreover, the actual residence in it, does not give the right to demand a divorce in the civil registry office of a given city.
The list of required documents in case of mutual divorce is uniform and unchanged and includes:
- A receipt proving payment of the duty.
- Both spousal passports.
- An application drawn up in the prescribed form.
- Marriage certificate.
The law allows three ways to transfer the necessary documents:
- Using the capabilities of the State Services website. The most optimal way to send papers over long distances, which is available anywhere there is Internet access. You can also pay the state fee there on the website. One of the disadvantages of this method is the need to purchase an enhanced electronic signature for each spouse, without which it is impossible to send a package of collected digital documents.
- MFC. Thanks to it, you can send divorce documents, for example, from Yekaterinburg to Volgograd, without coming to the Volgograd registry office. The application with attachments is submitted to the MFC employee in the presence of both marriage partners or one of them, but then the signature of the absent spouse must be notarized. In addition, it is unacceptable to involve a representative in submitting documents. In other words, divorce documents can only be submitted in person.
- Bring the documents in person to the registry office of another city. The rules for filing are absolutely identical to the rules for filing papers using the MFC, i.e. the personal presence of the spouses or one of them is required, a ban on representatives is established, and notarization of the signature of the absent marriage partner is required.
On the day determined by the civil registry office employee or the spouses (at least one month after the divorce documents are served), the termination of the marriage is formalized.
In the personal presence of one spouse or both of them, the civil registry office employee makes sure that the decision of the husband and wife regarding the now inevitable separation is unshakable, enters the necessary information about the divorce into a special book and presents the now ex-spouses with a certificate of termination of the marriage.
The differences between a divorce initiated at the sole request of a spouse and a mutual dissolution of marriage are indicated in the table.
| Differences | A comment |
| Grounds for official termination of marriage |
The above circumstances must be confirmed by relevant judicial acts (sentence or decision). |
| Submission methods | There is only one way possible - a personal visit to the state registry office. |
| Documentation |
|
Otherwise the procedures are identical.
Through the court
Possible places to file a claim:
At the permanent registration address or at the temporary registration address, or even at the actual residence address of the defendant. If the applicant does not know exactly where the defendant is located, several addresses can be indicated in the statement of claim to which subpoenas will be sent.- At the permanent registration address of the plaintiff, when medical documents confirm that he is seriously ill, as well as if he has a dependent minor.
- In any Russian court by agreement between the spouses.
From this we can conclude that in the case of termination of marriage through the court, the law allows for a wider variety of possible places for divorce.
Next, the applicant must determine which court (magistrate or district) can resolve his case. To do this, it is necessary to have an idea of the competence of each court.
| Name | Competence of the court |
| Magistrate's Court | The simplest divorce claims without disagreements regarding small children and division of property for large sums. |
| District Court | Divorces where there are any disputes regarding children, and (or) marital property is divided at an estimated value of more than 50,000 rubles. |
There are two ways to submit documents for consideration by a judge:
- Via the Internet using the State Automated System “Justice”. To access the service, you must have an account on State Services and confirm your account. Information on how to verify your account can be found here.
- Submit in person through the civil office or through the court reception.
Judges usually send extracts from court decisions on divorce to the state registry office indicated on the marriage certificate. In other words, to the registry office that registered the family relationships of marriage partners. To avoid this, it is necessary to submit a petition at the meeting and ask the court, if a positive decision on divorce is made, to send an extract to the state civil registry office at the place of official registration of the petitioner.
The marital union will be dissolved after the relevant court decision acquires the force of law. An extract from it is sent to former marital partners by mail, if they have submitted a request for this, or is collected through the court office in person.
Next, the former spouse must pick up a certificate of termination of marriage from the state civil registry office that registered the dissolved marital union or is located at the place of residence of one of the spouses.
Documents that need to be provided for this procedure include:
- Application in the prescribed form.
- State duty check.
- Marriage certificate.
- Applicant's passport.
- Court transcript.
Documents are sent digitally through the State Services website, brought in person or by a representative holding a notarized power of attorney. It is not necessary to submit a joint application, so each former spouse has the right to prepare their own copy of the documents.
Once the documents have been verified and their validity has been established, the civil registry officer will produce a copy of the divorce certificate and give it to the applicant. All this usually happens on the day the application is submitted.
What documents need to be prepared?
The list of documents depends on where exactly it is sent. If the application is submitted to the registry office at the registration address, then the spouses must attach:
- Document on registration of marriage union;
- Judicial act;
- Receipt for payment of state duty;
- Identification.
Spouses must indicate in the application that they do not have common minor children or mutual claims. Additionally you need to indicate:
- Passport details of the spouses (full name, registration address, place of residence, citizenship);
- Details of the marriage document;
- Reason for divorce (you can write several general facts, for example, quarrels, misunderstandings).
The issue of withholding alimony or dividing property is resolved through the court. The application can be submitted at the place of registration of the plaintiff, at the place of residence of the defendant. If he does not have Russian citizenship, then the papers are provided at the place of residence. If it is impossible to recognize it, then you can go to court at the address where the property is located. The following is attached to the claim:
- Certificate:
- On marriage registration;
- About the birth of children.
- Certificate from the child’s place of residence.
- A document confirming payment of the state duty.
- Spouses' passports.
- Power of attorney.
If the parties want to clarify additional issues, then the following should be attached to the claim:
- A document containing the plaintiff's demands.
- Papers confirming the stated claims:
- Marriage contract;
- Agreement on payment of alimony;
- Title documents for real estate;
- Characteristics from the employer;
- Certificate of income;
- Bills for services at the plaintiff’s place of residence;
- Judgment;
- Notarized consent for divorce;
- Other documents.
Divorce is an extremely serious process, so you should know all the nuances: what documents to provide, the place of residence of which spouse.
To avoid any questions or rash actions, you can contact a specialized specialist and discuss how the divorce will proceed.
Attention! Due to recent changes in legislation, the legal information in this article may be out of date! Our lawyer can advise you free of charge - write your question in the form below:
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Basic principles of property division
If the parties to the marriage did not draw up a marriage contract, then the marital property is divided based on the provisions of a notarial agreement on property or on the basis of a court decision.
The legal features of the agreement (a sample can be viewed here) include:
A ban on the inclusion in its text of personal belongings (clothing, cosmetics, shoes, donated, premarital or inherited property) of spouses. In other words, by agreement it is allowed to divide only common property acquired jointly and in a marital relationship.- The shares are determined arbitrarily by the spouses, according to an agreement reached between them.
- The document is certified by a notary.
- Debts are divided by agreement and not necessarily equally.
If there is no agreement, then the court comes into play and uses the following rules when dividing:
- Joint property is subject to division. It refers to movable and immovable things acquired during marriage, labor and other income, royalties for intellectual works, shares in organizations, shares, bills and other securities, bank deposits, benefits, pension payments.
- Each spouse's share is 50%. The share of one of the participants in the marriage can be reduced if he did not invest effort and resources in providing for the family, squandered property, or suffered from alcoholism. If the shares are not equal, then the spouse with the larger share gives the difference in money or property to the other partner.
- Debts are divided according to the awarded shares.
- Assets acquired during a marriage by one of the spouses, but during the separation of the partners, when they did not maintain a common household, cannot be divided and are considered the personal property of the spouse.
If the participants in a family relationship decide to simplify a possible divorce for themselves and draw up a marriage contract, then the assets described in it are divided according to its terms. The subject of this agreement can be any property that belongs to a party to the contract. This means that, according to the contract, the husband has the right to give his wife in the event of a divorce, for example, the apartment he inherited.
The only important thing is that the contract does not infringe on the property rights of one of the parties to the marriage. Infringement means, for example, the absolute deprivation of any party of the right to receive property acquired in official relations or unfavorable conditions that must be fulfilled in favor of the other party.
The contract is signed in the presence of a notary and certified by him. It can be concluded both in the premarital period and after the official marriage until the day of divorce. A sample for reference is available at this link.
Search as part of a trial
Applying for child support is the first thing a parent who is actually raising minor children can do. And if it is unknown where the second parent is, the court will take all necessary measures to find him.
USEFUL INFORMATION: The husband said that he fell out of love, but respects her. How to understand it and why it happened
If the person’s presence is unknown, you need to prepare for a delay in the legal process. The delays are due to the fact that the court is obliged to order search activities, which require time.
So, the court ruling is sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Internal affairs officers establish the location at the last known place of work, registration, location or property. If the search does not produce results, then queries are sent regarding:
- tax and pension fees;
- registered vehicles;
- real estate in possession.
Attention! If there are no leads, then the court has the right to consider the application without determining the location of the defendant. The amount of alimony collected from the applicant will most likely be minimal
Question:
What will be the court decision if the spouse is not found?
Answer:
A decision is made in absentia proceedings, it is mandatory for execution and is transferred to the SSP for execution. If there are no payments from the defendant for more than six months, the state will pay the minimum.
List of documents for filing a claim
Below is a list of documents that can be filed with the court in cases where spouses not only get divorced, but also try to resolve disputes regarding alimony, marital property and the place of residence of children.
- A statement describing the claims. Sample samples can be viewed here or here, as well as here.
- Marriage contract.
- Information confirming the defendant’s level of earnings (certificate from the employer, witness statements). It will be required if the plaintiff wants to receive alimony payments from the other side.
- Property division agreement.
- Documents for children (birth certificates).
- Marriage certificate.
- Inventory of property assets belonging to spouses and subject to division.
- Documents for housing (lease agreement, certificate of ownership). They are necessary if the spouse wants to keep the child with him after the divorce.
- Appraiser's report.
- Evidence of the impossibility of further life together with the defendant due to his infidelity, alcoholism, beatings, etc. This may be testimony; certificates from medical organizations or police; administrative protocols; criminal record certificates; information from correspondence via email, instant messengers or social networks.
- Characteristics of the applicant provided by relatives, colleagues, child’s teachers, employer.
How can you file a claim for alimony if you don’t know where your husband lives?
Important
It's fast and free! Which court should I file my application with—district or magistrate? To understand which court to file a claim for alimony, it is important to know the structure of the judicial system. Vessel categories:
- republican/territorial/regional;
- global;
- regional
There are also military judicial bodies that hear cases involving military personnel. However, their competence includes exclusively the consideration of cases related to crimes committed by military personnel and cases concerning the relations of soldiers or officers with the structures of the Ministry of Defense.
Thus, even if the parent who is avoiding providing for the child is a military serviceman, filing a claim for child support in a military court is excluded. Consideration of cases concerning alimony takes place in the magistrate's court. However, there are a number of exceptions to this rule.
State duty amount
The fee must be paid before the documents are submitted to the competent government authority. If this is not done, they will be returned to the person who submitted them for consideration.
The fees the Civil Registry Office charges for divorces are as follows:
- Each spouse pays 650 rubles. in case of mutual termination of marriage.
- The applicant pays 350 rubles. in case of a unilateral declaration of termination of marriage.
The fees payable for the proceedings of a divorce case are as follows:
- The plaintiff pays 600 rubles. for the judge's permission to terminate the marital relationship with the defendant.
- The defendant pays 150 rubles if he is forced to pay alimony in favor of a minor child.
How to contact a bailiff while in different regions?
The “Personal Account” service is available on the official website of the FSSP, through which individual entrepreneurs can submit applications and complaints, and maintain contact with bailiffs.
Also in the “IP Bank” the telephone number of the FSSP employee conducting the proceedings is indicated, by which you can contact him during working hours.
Communication support is also available through Russian Post. The claimant has the right to send applications for certificates in this way, but the delivery time can reach several weeks.
Arbitrage practice
Previously, in the cases described below, plaintiffs faced serious difficulties in determining the court in which to bring their written demands. However, at present, thanks to the activities of the Supreme Court of Russia, dedicated to the systematization and interpretation of court practice, these problems have been resolved.
So:
- If the second spouse is in prison, and the sentence assigned to him is less than 3 years, then the application must be submitted to the court located at the prisoner’s place of registration, but not at the location of the colony.
- If a participant in the marriage is in an unknown place, but is not recognized by a court decision as missing, then the applicant has the opportunity to choose one of two options: Submit the claim to the court that serves the residence address of the missing defendant. This address must be the last known address for the plaintiff.
- Submit the claim to the court located at the location of the defendant’s property assets.
What to do after filing for divorce in court?
Depending on the situation, the court may:
- consider the filed claim;
- refuse to accept it;
- return the documents to the plaintiff;
- do not take any action on the application.
The first case occurs when all conditions are met and the documents are completed correctly.
The second one can occur if:
- there is already one claim considered by this court;
- the claim is under the jurisdiction of another instance (often this is due to its price);
- the plaintiff is a person who did not have the right to go to court (for example, a close relative of one of the spouses);
- and others.
The third situation occurs when:
- the case is being considered in arbitration;
- the plaintiff spouse asked to return the application;
- the person who submitted the application does not have the right to do so;
- the plaintiff spouse is incompetent;
- the case is not within the jurisdiction of this court;
- and others.
The latter case occurs if:
- the claim was drawn up incorrectly;
- not the entire package of documents is attached;
- and others.
In all cases, the applicant will receive a notification.
The legislative framework
| Normative act | Articles |
| Civil Procedure Code | Article 23 – marriages dissolved by a magistrate. Article 29 – situations when the plaintiff chooses a court to file a divorce claim. Article 32 establishes the possibility for spouses to agree on a specific court to which they will transfer the materials of the divorce claim. Article 132 – additional documents submitted to the judge. |
| Family code | Article 17 determines in which cases a husband cannot divorce his wife. Article 34 is a detailed list of the common property of the participants in the marriage. Article 36 is a detailed list of personal property of the participants in the marriage. Article 39 establishes how spousal shares in property are determined. Article 42 determines what can be regulated by a marriage contract and what cannot be regulated. Article 160 – nuances that are important when terminating a marriage with a citizen of a foreign state. |
| Tax Code (Part 2) | Article 333.26 - the amount of money transferred for the services of the registry office to the state treasury. Article 333.19 – the amount of money transferred for court services to the state treasury. |
| Federal Law “On Acts of Civil Status” | Chapter 4 – description of the procedure for ending marital relations in the civil registry office. |
How to divorce your spouse if his new place of residence is unknown
In such a situation, there are two possible options for divorce - either to dissolve the marriage through the court, or to recognize the spouse as missing in court and file a divorce through the registry office.
The court dissolves the marriage if the spouses do not have mutual consent to divorce, as well as if they have common minor children.
A statement of claim is submitted to the court, where it is necessary to indicate the full name. and the place of residence of you and your spouse (the last place of registration known to you), the date and office of the registry office where your marriage was registered, the names and ages of the children (if any), the reasons why you want a divorce, as well as your decision regarding whether , with whom the child will remain after the divorce and who will raise him.
The statement of claim is submitted to the court in two copies, each of which is accompanied by a marriage certificate, birth certificates of children, an extract from a personal account or another document confirming the place of registration of your spouse (if there is none, you can petition the court to request this information at the house management company).
Notarized copies or originals of documents are attached in one copy (for the court case), the second copy is ordinary copies (they are sent to the defendant at the address you specified). The statement of claim for divorce is paid by state duty, the receipt is also attached to the claim.
The statement of claim for divorce is submitted to the magistrate whose boundaries include the address of the place of registration of your spouse. If at the same time a dispute is filed about the procedure for maintaining and raising a child, the claim must be filed in the district or city court at the place of residence of the defendant.
The law allows for the possibility of filing a claim for divorce in the court at the plaintiff’s place of residence, but on the condition that the plaintiff proves the difficulty of going to court at the defendant’s location for health reasons or the need to supervise and care for a minor child.
If your spouse fails to appear in court for a hearing twice, the court will issue a default judgment, which will take effect on the 11th day after the end of the 7-day period for the defendant to object to the decision. With an extract from the court decision that has entered into force, you can contact the registry office to obtain a divorce certificate.
The second option for divorce is to file a divorce from the missing spouse through the registry office. To do this, it is necessary to recognize the spouse as missing in court. The law allows this possibility in relation to persons whose whereabouts have been unknown for more than 1 year.
An application to recognize a citizen as missing is submitted to the district or city court at the applicant’s place of residence. The application shall indicate the full name. and the place of residence of the applicant, facts confirming the unknown absence of the citizen for a long time (at least 1 year), incl. the date when you or one of the witnesses last saw your spouse, as well as the reason why you need to recognize him as missing (in particular, divorce and, for example, division of joint property).
The application is paid with a state fee, the receipt is attached to the application. During the consideration of the case, the court takes all measures to find out the location of the citizen - submits requests to the internal affairs bodies, to the last place of work, etc. In such cases, a prosecutor must be involved.
If the court recognizes your spouse as missing, then after the court decision enters into legal force, you can apply to the registry office with an application for divorce on the basis of Article 32 of the Federal Law “On Acts of Civil Status” (as with a recognized missing person).
If your spouse later turns up, the marriage will not automatically be restored; a divorce on this basis cannot be canceled without your consent, so you have every right to remarry. Whichever option for divorce is preferable for you, choose that one.
Presence of property disputes or disagreements regarding the payment of alimony
In the second case, not only will the divorce process be considered in court, but it may drag on in such authorities for six months or more. What is this connected with? First of all, with the spouses themselves - if the former married couple does not have any claims or disagreements with each other regarding the division of property, everything is resolved on a general basis, but in the event of a dispute about the division, as they say, “acquired jointly through backbreaking labor,” possible nuances. Mainly related to how to divide real estate, vehicles, etc. acquired while living together in a registered marriage.
Do not forget that, according to current legislation, not only the various assets themselves, but also all associated obligations will be divided between the former spouses.
Imagine, for example, how difficult it will be to divide an apartment taken on a mortgage between former spouses, especially if, in the event of a divorce, the income of one of them, the one who plans to stay in this apartment, will not be enough to make monthly loan payments.
If you are not sure about your ex-spouse (or, on the contrary, you know him too well), then it is recommended to seize the property. You fully have the right to this and can be sure that the property will not be sold before the trial, and the proceeds for them will not “dissolve” somewhere with the ex-spouse.
Divorce in court under the “Divorce without Stress” program is a guaranteed saving of nerves and time! For more details call: +
Having children together who are under 18 years of age
In the first case, everything is relatively clear. The current legislation of the Russian Federation establishes clear norms and rules for divorce of married couples with children whose age has not reached 18 years. No matter how well the ex-spouses treat each other, in this case it will no longer be possible to get a divorce through the registry office.
Moreover, there is a legal norm according to which, if the issue of the future place of residence of a joint child is being decided, then an application for divorce will no longer have to be submitted to the magistrate’s court, but to the district court. In general, you will have to go to court at the place of residence of the defendant, that is, your spouse. However, if he or she lives separately, and sometimes it is not known where, then you won’t have to run around and look for him or her, or establish a place of residence - the law allows you to contact the district (or city, if your city or locality does not have a district division) court at the place of residence of you and the child.
It is also worth separately noting that the husband does not have the right to file an application for divorce (more precisely, he can file an application, but it will be denied) if his wife is pregnant, as well as if their common child is not yet one year old . In this case, only the spouse can begin the divorce process.
Reluctance or inability to appear at the civil registry office of one of the spouses
Although, in general, there may be several valid reasons, generally the judicial authorities recognize such reasons as either an illness associated with loss of the ability to move, including in the case of hospital stay (in this case, a doctor’s certificate must be provided), or infectious. The option of a long business trip is also taken into account. In the latter case, the defendant will need to provide a certificate of employment. In addition to these circumstances, the court may also take into account others, for example, vacation in remote, hard-to-reach areas where there is no mobile communication, etc. However, it will be more difficult to prove this.
The proper notice is usually certified mail, return receipt requested, sent to and received by the defendant PRIOR to the trial date. Other options are also possible, for example, you will inform your spouse about the future trial in front of witnesses. However, in this case, you will have to provide the court with evidence that the defendant was notified.
The minimum period for consideration of a case in court is one month, the maximum is three months.
But let's continue. So, your ex-husband didn't show up. The court can either postpone the hearing of the case or consider it without the defendant. However, it is not possible to reschedule a case more than twice, so we can get a maximum period for consideration of your case - three months.
You can sign up for a divorce consultation by calling + 7 (495) 722-99-33
In addition to the question of which court to file for divorce in, the issue of correctly drawing up the statement of claim and other documents necessary for filing with the court will also be relevant. As a rule, the court office has samples of filling out and a list of all necessary documents. The same data can be found on the Internet, however, the inevitable question of its relevance and sufficiency arises. Since this is an important issue, we recommend consulting with our specialists, who will consider your situation in detail, tell you exactly which court to file for divorce in and help you fill out all the necessary documents. In addition, later you will always have the opportunity to use their qualified support at the court hearing itself or later, when the court decision comes into force, if any obstacles arise.
Peculiarities
To apply the rules of jurisdiction in practice, you need to understand the difference between the place of residence and the place of registration.
So, when determining jurisdiction, it does not matter ...
- temporary registration of the parties at their place of residence;
- place of residence of the parties without registration.
As for children, in contrast, it is the place of their actual location that matters - with the plaintiff or the defendant. From the text of paragraph 4 of Art. 29 of the Code of Civil Procedure does not mean that children must be registered together with the plaintiff; we are talking specifically about cohabitation, as a result of which it is difficult for the plaintiff to visit a remote judicial body.
My husband is registered in Belgorod, but lives and works in Rostov-on-Don (under temporary registration). I live in the Leningrad region, but am registered at the same address as my husband. Can I file for divorce in the Magistrates' Court at my current place of residence? A 5-year-old child lives with me. Or will you have to go to Belgorod for a divorce?
Answer
You will have to file a claim in the Belgorod court, since both parties - the plaintiff and the defendant - are registered there. According to judicial practice, only the permanent place of registration of a citizen is recognized as a place of residence.
If the court has doubts about where the parties are registered, it can send a request to the local authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Federal Medical Center and obtain information about the place of registration of the plaintiff or defendant. If it turns out that the place of residence of the plaintiff or defendant (depending on who filed the claim and where) does not fall within the jurisdiction of this court, the rules of jurisdiction have been violated and there were no legal grounds for filing a claim at the plaintiff’s place of residence, the claim will be returned or transferred to another judicial body.
Territorial jurisdiction for divorce
The decision on the territory of which locality will consider the dispute is made on the basis of law or within the framework of an agreement between the participants.
If the spouses have independently resolved all conflicts and continue to communicate, then they have the right to agree in which city the court proceedings will be considered. Otherwise, the plaintiff is obliged to send a statement of claim to the court located in the region of residence of the defendant.
Exception:
- the defendant's residential address is unknown;
- the applicant has minor children or incapacitated relatives in his care;
- The plaintiff's health condition does not allow him to travel between different cities.
