DIVORCE

Answer:

According to Art. 107 part 2 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation alimony payments shall be recovered from the date of production before court. Alimony payments for previous periods can be recovered for a period not exceeding three years in case it is proved that measures to recover alimony payments were taken prior to production before court but the person obliged to effect alimony payments avoided the payment.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

According to Art. 128 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation minimum age difference between an unmarried adoptive parent and an adopted child is sixteen years. Due to reasons considered by the court to be cogent the difference can be reduced. Age difference is not taken into account in case a child is adopted by a step father (mother).

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

I suppose that such requirement is lawful. Notwithstanding that the marriage is considered terminated from the date of divorce decree enforcement (Art. 25 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation) the divorce certificate is a final document certifying termination of the marriage. In order to obtain the divorce certificate you should submit an extract from the divorce decree, passport and pay a state duty to a Civil Records Office at the place of residence.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

According to the general rule (Art. 34 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation) all property acquired during a marriage is considered to be common property of the spouses. According to Art. 256 part 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation all property acquired during a marriage is considered to be common property of the spouses unless otherwise provided for by a marriage contract. A marriage contract is concluded when spouses want to establish a different ownership regime, e.g. they want to establish joint, participatory share or separate ownership to their common property, each spouse’s property or certain types thereof.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Conclusion of a marriage contract is regulated by the Family Code. According to Art. 40, 41 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation a marriage contract is an agreement between persons effecting a marriage or an agreement between spouses regulating property rights and liabilities of the spouses within marriage and in case of divorce. A marriage contract can be concluded with respect to both existing and future property of spouses. Spouses are entitle to define their rights and liabilities with regard to mutual support, means of participation in each other’s income, procedure for bearing family expenditures, define property that will be transferred to each spouse after divorce as well as include any other provisions regulating property relations of the spouses. Rights and liabilities provided for by a marriage contract can be limited by time or depend on happening or nonhappening of certain conditions. A marriage contract can be at any time amended or terminated by spouses’ agreement. All amendments and/or termination shall be executed in the same form as the marriage contract was. Unilateral invalidation of a marriage contract is not allowed. A marriage contract is considered terminated upon divorce unless otherwise provided for by the marriage contract.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

According to Art. 41 part 1 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation a marriage contract can be concluded at any time during the marriage. Family legislation allows conclusion of marriage contracts prior to conclusion of marriages. But in this case the contract will come into force from the date of state registration of the marriage. According to Art, 1 part 2, 10, 41 part 1 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation a marriage can be concluded only by registration by civil records authorities; rights and liabilities of spouses originate at the date of state registration of the marriage by civil records authorities.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

A marriage contract can not contain any provisions contradicting to the Family Code of the Russian Federation. Art. 168 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for nullity of a contract contradicting to the law or any other legal instruments. A marriage contract or any part thereof may be held invalid by the court on the basis of Art. 166-181 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Te court may also hold a marriage contract or any part thereof invalid upon a spouse's request in case contract provisions discriminate this spouse. A marriage contract can not limit legal capacity or competence of the spouses; their right to seize the court in order to protect his/her rights; regulate personal non-property relations between the spouses, rights and liabilities of the spouses with regard to children; contain provisions limiting right of an unemployable impecunious spouse to receive financial support; contain any other provisions discriminating one of the spouses or contradicting to the main provisions of family legislation. Marriage contract provisions violating these requirements are considered void. Art. 43 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation and Art. 450-453 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provide for grounds, procedure and consequences of amendment and termination of a marriage contract.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Purchase of property under a rent contract is a requited deal. According to Art. 34 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation all property acquired during the marriage is considered to be common property of the spouses. Property acquired during the marriage includes income of spouses, movable and immovable property acquired during the marriage irrespective of the fact whose name it was registered on or who contributed the money. Common property shall be divided in accordance with Art. 38 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

According to Art. 160-161 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation termination of marriages between Russian and foreign citizens or persons without citizenship as well as termination of marriages between foreign citizens in the territory of the Russian Federation shall be performed in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation. Personal non-property and property rights of spouses are determined by legislation of a country of joint residence. In the territory of the Russian Federation personal non-property and property rights of spouses who do not have a place of joint residence are determined by the laws of the Russian Federation.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

According to Art. 39 parts 1 and 2 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation spouses have equal rights in division of property unless otherwise provided for by a marriage contract concluded by the spouses. A court is entitled to adjudge a bigger share to one of the spouses taking into consideration minor children’s interests.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Alimony payments are possible only in case parents are incapacitated due to their age or disabled and need support. According to Art. 87, 88 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation adult able-bodied children are obliged to support their unemployable impecunious parents and take care of them. Alimony amount shall be determined by the court taking into consideration financial and marital status of parents and children as well as other noteworthy interests of the parties, such amount shall be fixed and shall be paid monthly. For the purposes of determination of alimony amount the court is entitled to take into account all adult able-bodied children of such parent irrespective of whether the claim has been raised against all or any of them.
Children can be relieved from their duty to support their unemployable impecunious parents in case it is proved that the parents deviated from performance of parental duties. Children are relieved from alimony payments to parents deprived of parental rights.
In case children do not take care of their unemployable parents and in case of exceptional circumstances (serious illness, parent’s injury, need for care payments and other) adult children can be obliged by the court to bear additional expenses incurred by such circumstances. Procedure and amounts of additional payments shall be determined by the court for each adult child taking into account financial and marital status of parents and children and other noteworthy interests of the parties.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

The consent is required. According to Art. 130 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation parents' consent to adoption is not required in case they are:
- unknown or acknowledged missing by the court;
- acknowledged legally incapable by the court;
- are deprived of parental rights;
- do not live with a child and deviate from upbringing and supporting the child for more than six months due to excuses which the court considers unreasonable.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

You are not entitled to change the procedure of alimony payments by yourself. According to Art. 60 part 2 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, all amounts payable to a child as alimony payments, pensions, and allowances are disposed by parents and shall be used for support, upbringing and education of the child. Upon parent’s request the court is entitled to deliver a judgment allowing to transfer up to 50% of alimony payments to bank accounts opened in the names of minor children. This means that alimony payment procedure can be changed only by court decision and only within 50%. I think that you have very small chances to obtain such judgment.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

According to Art. 80, 81 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation you are entitled to receive child support money equal to 1/4 of all income until the child reaches the age of 18 years. According to Art. 89, 90 you are entitled to receive financial support from your husband or ex-husband until the child reaches the age of 3 years. Amount of your financial support shall be fixed and determined by the court on the basis of respondent’s income and other noteworthy circumstances.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

According to Art. 21 part 1, Art. 22 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation a marriage shall be dissolved by court decision in case spouses have minor children or one of the spouses is against the divorce. The marriage is terminated in case the court comes to a conclusion that joint residence and family life are not possible. In case one of the spouses is against the divorce the court is entitled to take action to reconcile the spouses and is entitled to postpone hearing of the case by establishing a term (not exceeding 3 months) for reconciliation. In case such actions do not bring any result and the spouses (one of them) insist on divorce the marriage is considered dissolved. As for registration of the child in father’s apartment, the registration itself has notifying nature and doesn’t result in any legal effects. It is necessary to know where the family lives in order to make a conclusion about any rights to the apartment. Anyhow only the child may have a right to the apartment. In my opinion the mother doesn’t have such right.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

According to Art. 24 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation spouses may provide court with an agreement determining which parent will take care of minor children, child support payments procedure and amount of such payments or partition of common property. In case such agreement hasn’t been concluded by the spouses or such agreement violates children's interests or interests of any of the spouses, the court shall determine whether the children will stay with the mother or the father after divorce; who shall effect alimony payments (as well as amount of alimony payments); portion out spouses’ common property.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

According to Art. 10 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation a marriage shall be concluded in Civil Records Authorities. Rights and liabilities of spouses originate at the date of state registration of the marriage by Civil Records Authorities. You have to obtain a new passport for the purpose of marriage registration. Religious marriage is not acknowledged in Russia and doesn't have validity.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

No, it is not so. A marriage is certified not by a stamp in a passport. In case you register a new marriage without dissolving the previous one the new marriage will be hold invalid (Art. 14, 27 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation). According to Art. 158 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation marriages concluded between Russian citizens and foreigners in the territory of foreign countries in accordance with laws of such countries are legal in the Russian Federation in the absence of impeding circumstances. According to Art. 160 part 1 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation marriages between Russian citizens and foreigners are dissolved in the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the Russian legislation.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

According to Art. 87 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation adult able-bodied children are obliged to support their unemployable impecunious parents and take care of them. Alimony payments shall be enforced by action in case there is no alimony payment agreement. Alimony amount shall be determined by the court taking into consideration financial and marital status of parents and children as well as other noteworthy interests of the parties, such amount shall be fixed and shall be paid monthly.
As this is provided for by Russian Law you are entitled to file a case and in case the decision will be rendered in your favour you will be able to perform it to competent authorities of a foreign country for execution.
Unfortunately the USA and Russia haven’t concluded a legal aid treaty with regard to civil and family cases therefore any judgment of a Russian Court is not subject to mandatory execution in the territory of the US. Nevertheless, in case of legalization (Hague Convention of October 05, 1961) such document may be accepted in the territory of the USA. For this purpose you should submit the effective court decision to the Justice Department in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region where the decision will be apostilled.
I would like to note one more time that legalized document will be accepted by competent authorities of a foreign country but there are no guarantees that it will be enforced due to lack of a legal aid treaty between the USA and Russia.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

You are not quite right. The fact that the child is born in marriage proves paternity of your ex-wife’s husband. According to Art. 48 part 2 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation in case a child is born in marriage, mother’s husband is considered to be child’s father unless otherwise proved. Paternity of child’s mother’s husband is identified by marriage registration record.
Your ex-wife can register you as child’s father only in case she conceals a certificate of her new marriage and presents the divorce certificate. Such situation is unlikely and easily contested as you know about her new marriage.
Art. 52 part 2 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation is not applicable to you as child’s father in this case will be registered not in accordance with Art. 51 part 2 when child’s parents are not married and information about the father shall be entered on the basis of parent’s mutual application.
And finally, according to Art. 17 part 1 of the Law of the Russian Federation “About Certificates of Civil Statutes”, married mother and father are registered as parents on the basis of application of any of them. Information about child’s mother is entered on the basis of medical documents, and information about child’s father is entered on the basis of a marriage certificate.
Thus I do not see any problem here.

Karina Krasnova