MARRIAGE CONTRACT IN RUSSIA PREMARITAL AGREEMENT PRENUPTIAL

Important Disclaimer

The below Family Law text on marriage contract (premarital agreement, prenuptial agreement, premarital contract, prenup agreement) in Russia should be used for information purposes only and appropriate legal advice should be sought as and when appropriate.

For legal advice on marital contract in Russia contact Mr Maxim POLYAKOV, your Russian qualified lawyer, member of the Moscow City Bar Association, tel. +7-495-518-72-62, email maxim@arbitratus.ru (English or Russian).

The Family Code of the Russian Federation

Article 40. The Marriage Contract

The marriage contract shall be recognized as an agreement between the persons entering into a marriage, or an agreement between the spouses, defining the spouses' property rights and duties in marriage and (or) in the case of its dissolution.

Article 41. Conclusion of the Marriage Contract

1. The marriage contract may be signed either before the state registration of the marriage or at any time during the marriage.

A marriage contract concluded before the state registration of the marriage shall come into force as from the date of the state registration of the marriage.

2. The marriage contract shall be concluded in written form and shall be subject to notarial certification.

Article 42. The Content of the Marriage Contract

1. The spouses shall have the right to amend the law-established regime of joint property (Article 34 of the present Code) under the marriage contract, to establish the regime of the joint, shared or separate ownership over the entire property of the spouses, over its individual kinds, or over the property of each of the spouses.

The marriage contract may be concluded both with respect to the existing and future property of the spouses.

The spouses shall have the right to define in the marriage contract their rights and duties involved in the mutual maintenance, in the ways of taking part in each other's incomes and in the way each of them bears family expenses; they shall have the right to delineate the property which shall be transferred to each of the spouses in case of the dissolution of their marriage, and also to include into the marriage contract any other provisions related to the spouses' property relations.

2. The rights and duties envisaged by the marriage contract may be restricted to definite terms or may be made dependent on the arising or the non-arising of certain conditions.

3. The marriage contract shall not restrict the spouses' legal capacity or active capacity or their right to turn to a court for the defence of their rights; regulate the personal non-property relations between the spouses, their rights and duties with respect to the children; stipulate provisions restricting the right of a disabled needy spouse to obtain maintenance; or contain other terms, which put one of the spouses into an extremely unfavourable situation or which contradict the fundamental principles of the family legislation.

Article 43. Amendment and Dissolution of the Marriage Contract

1. The marriage contract may be amended or dissolved at any time by an agreement between the spouses. The agreement on the amendment or on the dissolution of a marriage contract shall be made out in the same form as the marriage contract itself.

A unilateral refusal to execute a marriage contract shall not be admissible.

2. Upon the claim of one of the spouses, the marriage contract may be amended or dissolved by a court decision on the grounds and in conformity with the procedure established by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation for the amendment and the dissolution of a marriage contract.

3. The operation of the marriage contract shall cease as from the moment of termination of the marriage (Article 25 of the present Code), with the exception of those obligations which are envisaged by the marriage contract for the period after the termination of the marriage.

Article 44. Recognizing the Marriage Contract as Invalid

1. The marriage contract may be recognized as invalid by a court fully or in part on the grounds stipulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation for the invalidity of the deals.

2. The court may also recognize the marriage contract as invalid fully or in part upon the claim of one of the spouses, if the terms of the contract put this spouse into an extremely unfavourable situation. The terms of the marriage contract violating the other requirements of Item 3, Article 42 of the present Code, shall be void.

Article 46. Guarantees for the Creditors' Rights in the Conclusion, Amendment and Dissolution of the Marriage Contract

1. The spouse shall be obliged to notify his creditor (creditors) about the conclusion, amendment or cancellation of the marriage contract. In the case of his non-fulfilment of this duty, the spouse shall be held responsible per his obligations, regardless of the content of the marriage contract.

2. The creditor (creditors) of the debtor-spouse shall have the right to demand that the terms of the contract concluded between them be amended, or that it be cancelled in connection with the essentially changed circumstances in conformity with the procedure laid down by Articles 451-453 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

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Important Disclaimer

The below Family Law text on premarital agreement in Russia should be used for information purposes only and appropriate legal advice should be sought as and when appropriate.

For legal advice on Russian marriage contract (premarital agreement, prenuptial agreement, premarital contract, prenup agreement) in Russia contact Mr Maxim POLYAKOV, your Russian qualified lawyer, member of the Moscow City Bar Association, tel. +7-495-518-72-62, email maxim@arbitratus.ru (English or Russian)who provides divorce information on Family Law topics such as divorce, child custody, visitation, child support, alimony and property division.