Division of marital property

What is happening

The most common story: the flat, the car or a stake in the business is registered to one spouse, who genuinely believes it is theirs. For division purposes that makes no difference: what was acquired during the marriage is, as a rule, joint property, whoever's name it is in.

The second: assets start to disappear the moment divorce is mentioned. The car is re-registered to a brother, money is withdrawn, the stake in the company is diluted. Here it is a matter of weeks, and the first step is to ask the court for a freeze.

The third: complex assets. A mortgaged flat, a house on land bought before the marriage, a business that generates income but on paper is worth almost nothing. Division then becomes an argument about value and the origin of the money, and without a valuation and payment records it cannot be argued on the merits.

What the law says

• Property acquired during the marriage is the spouses' joint property, regardless of whose name it is in or who paid for it. Property owned before the marriage, gifts and inheritances remain personal (the Family Code).
• Personal property may be treated as joint if its value increased significantly during the marriage through joint funds or the other spouse's work: major renovation, reconstruction or conversion.
• Shares are equal by default. The court may depart from equality in the interests of minor children, or where a spouse had no income without good reason or spent joint property to the family's detriment. Joint debts are allocated in proportion to the shares awarded.
• Property can be divided by a notarised agreement or by the court, during the marriage or after divorce. The limitation period is three years from when a spouse learned or should have learned that their rights were infringed.
• A stake in a limited liability company acquired during the marriage is divisible, but the other spouse can become a participant only subject to the charter and Federal Law No. 14-FZ of 8 February 1998 "On Limited Liability Companies"; courts often award monetary compensation instead of the stake itself.
• Title to real estate under an agreement or judgment is registered under Federal Law No. 218-FZ of 13 July 2015 "On State Registration of Real Estate".

What we do

• We draw up an inventory of joint assets and debts and check what was acquired during the marriage and what may be treated as personal.
• We gather information: extracts from the real estate register, vehicle records, accounts and company stakes, including through court requests.
• We apply for interim measures so the disputed property cannot be sold or mortgaged before judgment.
• We arrange a valuation and, where needed, press for a court-appointed valuation expert.
• Where the parties are ready to agree, we draft a division agreement and see it through notarisation.
• We run the case in court, including challenging transactions used to move joint property out ahead of division.
• After judgment we register title and deal with enforcement.

What we will need from you

• Your marriage certificate and, if applicable, divorce certificate; any prenuptial agreement.
• Title documents: contracts, real estate register extracts, vehicle registration documents, loan and mortgage agreements.
• Evidence of where the money came from: deeds of gift, documents on the sale of pre-marital property, bank statements.
• Information on your spouse's business: company names and tax numbers, known assets, accounts if you have access.
• Details of any transactions made after the relationship had in fact ended.