DIVORCE

Answer:

Cancellation of adoption is regulated by Art. 238 of the Family Code of Ukraine. Adoption can be annulled only by court order in following cases:

1) When the adoption is against the interests of the child; when it doesn’t provide family upbringing

(if you are seriously ill, it is contrary to the interests of children. This fact can be used as grounds for cancellation the adoption).

2) If the child is mentally defective, suffers from a mental illness or other irremediable disease of which the adoptive parent was not and could not be aware at the moment of adoption;

3) If the relationship between the adoptive parent and the child are such (despite the adoptive parent’s efforts) that their living together or performance of parental duties by the adoptive parent is impossible.

According to Art. 18 of the Family Code of the Ukraine each party to the family legal relationship is entitled to take legal action in court in order to protect his/her rights and legal interests. The court determines the remedy including inter alia termination of the legal relationship (Art. 18, part 2, clause 3 of the Family Code of the Ukraine).

According to Art. 17, 19 of the Family Code of the Ukraine the guardianship and custody authorities shall assist a person in performance of his/her family duties and exercise of his/her rights. Assisting you in handling your issue is a direct obligation of the guardianship and custody authorities. You may apply to the guardianship and custody authorities before taking legal action in court. Applying to the guardianship and custody authorities doesn’t prevent further production before court. During the legal proceedings the guardianship and custody authorities shall present a written report containing recommendations regarding resolution of the case based on the information collected as a result of study of the child’s, parents’, adoptive parents’ living conditions and other documents relevant to the case. In most cases the court agrees with the conclusions of the guardianship and custody authorities.
Therefore, I think you should first of all contact the guardianship and custody authorities personally or through a representative, obtain their support and approval of cancellation of the adoption.

The guardianship and custody authorities may initiate legal proceedings, in such case you will act as defendants. The guardianship and custody authorities may also request appoint the children’s grandfather and grandmother their guardians. In such case the grandfather and the grandmother will be parties to the proceedings and the court will have no grounds to reject the claim if the parties to it have reached mutual agreement.

However, you have no legal right to request appointment of guardians if you and not the guardianship and custody authorities initiate the proceedings in order to annul the adoption. You have no right to request the court to make the children’s grandfather and grandmother the parties to the proceedings.

Therefore, it is in the best interests of the children if you request that the guardianship and custody authorities initiate the legal proceedings in order to annul the adoption and appoint guardians of the children.

However, when you decided to adopt the children you accepted both rights and obligations including an obligation to support the children financially. This obligation will survive the cancellation of the adoption and the court is entitled to recover child support starting from the date of initiation of the legal proceedings until the children reach the legal age. Child support may be terminated if the children are adopted by other persons.

We are at your service if you need any legal assistance in your communications with the guardianship and custody authorities and/or in courts in the Ukraine.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

I studied very carefully your situation and the agreement that you were offered to sign. Thus, according to Art. 180 of Family Code of Ukraine, parents have responsibility to maintain their minor children. The age of majority in the Ukraine becomes at 18 years.
According to Art. 181 of Family Code of Ukraine, the ways, in which the parents can perform their responsibility to maintain their children are determined upon agreement between them. And such parent who does not live with the child may participate in the child’s support in cash form or in other kind upon agreement between the parents. If the parties were not able to reach an agreement regarding child support, the court orders payment the money for children (child support) as a share of earnings of the mother, father and/or as a fixed amount.
When a party has a changeable income or under other essential circumstances, the court by the application may determine the amount of child support to be paid as a fixed cash sum (Art. 184 of Family Code of Ukraine). As a rule, the fixed cash amount of child support is ordered if the defendant has income in foreign currency. The amount of child support determined by the court order as a fixed cash sum is subject to indexing in accordance with law.
According to Art. 182 of Family Code of Ukraine, in determination of the amount of child support to be paid, court may take into consideration:
1) health and financial situation of the child;
2) health and financial situation of child support payer;
3) whether the child support payer has other children, spouse, parents or other dependants who are unable to work;
4) other essential circumstances.
According to Art. 185 of Family Code of Ukraine, both the parent who has the duty to pay child support and the other parent shall necessarily share the additional expenses for the child when such expenses are in connection with special circumstances (such as: development of the child’s skills, illness, injury, etc.).
In case of dispute, the extent to which one of the parents should share the additional expenses for the child is to be determined by court and the court may take into account any essential circumstances.
The additional expenses for the child may be paid in advance or as a lump sum, or periodical or permanent basis.
Upon petition of child support payer or by its own discretion, the Custody and Care Authority may verify how the paid child support is used. Whenever the child support is not used for the child’s purposes, the parent may apply to court for reducing the amount of the child support or for depositing a portion of the child support at the child’s personal account in a subsidiary of the State Savings Bank of Ukraine.
Support for major and working students of Universities of age from 18 to 23 may be ordered to be paid only in some situations and you should not think about it till 2023. The support of major children under no circumstances will be a subject of court’s hearing and this should not be a topic in your agreement.
So, the draft of the agreement you sent me does not protect your interests. If you sign this agreement, it can be enforced in any country and you will have to discharge the duty you took. At the same time, if the child support is ordered by Court, it will be very difficult to enforce such order outside of the Ukraine, and even not always possible, and in such case the matter of child support payment will be most likely a subject of your good will rather that enforcement.
When your income changes, your also will be able to change in court the amount of the court ordered child support. But to change the amount of support paid by agreement will be much more difficult because this was voluntarily taken duty of support of your children.
In my opinion, the best for your would be not to sign any agreements and not to go to court for orders regarding child support. As you pay voluntarily, your ex wife should not withhold money from you by court’s order. And she has absolute right to go to court with such suit at any time till majority of the children and court in such case will go from the current situation and you income at the day of such court’s application. In case of application to court for the first time and also in case of court’s decision about child support, you will be able to refer to illness, low income, or other circumstances which will make sense to determine the amount of child support or to its change. In case of court order you will be able to easily change the amount of support by reach or your retirement age.
In case of your death, the payment of child support is discontinued and nobody will have to pay it for you. In such case the state (the Ukraine) will take the responsibility to support children and pay a pension for lost of breadwinner.
In case of death without a will, you children independent of their age will be heirs of the first order by law and will inherit equally as your wife, other children and your parents. In order to change the order of inheritance by law, you should execute a will. With the existent will, the children can be heirs of some share of your assets (the required share) till they are minor and depend on you.
As to determination of procedure of communication with children, in this matter the agreement would be needed to you: there should be foreseen not only meetings with children and travels with your or your ex wife, but also the possibility of communication with children by Skype, by phone and meetings with other relatives. If needed, I will be able to prepare such agreement.
I can repeat that mixing in one agreement the procedure of communication with children and the matter of child support is not rational and not always would be lawful.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

There is no such concept as custody in the Ukrainian laws. According to the Ukrainian laws both parents are entitled to bring their minor children unless one of them was deprived of his/her parental rights. Therefore, your wife can obtain sole parental rights only if she files a claim for deprivation of parental rights against you. If such claim is filed you should immediately contact a lawyer. However, dual custody doesn’t mean that you will be able to take the children out of Ukraine. According to the laws of Ukraine children can be taken out of the country only upon written consent of both parents or a court decision. You will not be able to do anything if your wife doesn’t give consent for departure of the children from Ukraine. That is why you and your wife should sign a written agreement in order to establish the procedure for meeting the children and travelling with them out of Ukraine before the court delivers the judgment. If child support is important for your wife, it can be used as a good cause for signing the agreement. A Ukrainian Court can order up to 1/3 of your salary to be collected as child support but such judgment will be declarative and will not be enforced in the USA. If one wants to enforce such judgment in the USA, he/she should follow a special procedure upon which a US Court will set the amount of child support. Such procedure is time consuming and expensive. It is reasonable for you and your wife to sign an amicable agreement in order to facilitate the procedure and minimize expenses . As I have already mentioned the agreement shall provide for the following:
1) Possibility of taking the children to the USA;
2) Mutually agreed child support.
If your wife doesn’t mind signing the agreement I am ready to draft it in Ukrainian and English.
If you wife doesn’t agree to sign the agreement our Ukrainian lawyers will be happy to handle this case.
Do you have copies of the documents that were submitted to the Ukrainian Court? You have a right to obtain such copies. If you have, please send them to me for the purpose of detailed analysis.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

You wife may obtain Ukrainian citizenship for your children. But I guess that she cannot deprive your children of US citizenship. However, you should consult a US lawyer in this instance but I am sure that the children cannot be deprived of US citizenship without your consent.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

A court asks for a child’s opinion if the child is 10 years of age or older. However, the court is not obliged to take account of the child’s opinion.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

A court takes decision taking into account the children’s opinion. But the opinion of the children is not critically important for the court.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

You may make an agreement on any terms and conditions. This matter can be regulated by the agreement if your wife doesn’t mind and there is not dispute about it.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

The child support amount is set by the court. It may be a fixed amount or 1/3 of your income. As you have no income in Ukraine, the child support will be set as 1/3 of an average salary in Ukraine. In case the child support is to be paid as fixed amount, such amount will be fixed by the court.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

It can be done by judicial means.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

A written consent of both parents is required by the laws.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

The best you can do for your children is to sign an agreement with your wife if it is possible. Any judgment will give you fewer rights than an agreement. I can draft an agreement for you if you and your wife agree to sign it.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

OK.

Karina Krasnova