Family law issues are especially relevant for those whose relatives, future or former relatives are citizens of Belarus. In the Republic of Belarus, the scope of family law includes issues of marriage and divorce, including the conclusion of a marriage contract and an agreement on children, the division of property in divorce, the payment of alimony for the maintenance of children and disabled spouses, adoption issues.
Marriage
Marriage is registered in the Republic of Belarus in the civil registry offices of district or city administrations, abbreviated as the Registry Office. To register a marriage, you can contact any department of the Registry Office, not necessarily at the place of residence of one of the future spouses (Article 210 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Marriage and Family). Before the marriage is registered, the bride and groom submit a joint application to the registry office, in which, among other things, they prescribe the surname of which of the future spouses each of them chooses or retains his or chooses a double surname.
Marriage will not be registered in the Republic of Belarus:
- With a person who is already in another registered marriage.
- Between relatives, brothers and sisters, including when they have only one common parent.
- Between adoptive parents, adoptive parents and adopted.
- When the court declared one of the persons wishing to register a marriage incapacitated.
When one of these circumstances is hidden and the marriage is registered, the court may declare such a marriage invalid.
Dissolution of marriage
Without the dissolution of the marriage, it ends when one of the spouses dies or is recognized as dead in court. In other cases, the marriage is terminated after the dissolution of the marriage — divorce.
You can get a divorce in the Republic of Belarus at the registry office when there is no dispute between the spouses about the division of property and they do not have minor children. For divorce, the spouses submit a joint application to the registry office. The term for divorce through the registry office is from one to two months after filing for divorce.
One of the spouses submits an application to the court for divorce when the spouses have minor children, a dispute about the division of property, the second spouse does not agree to divorce. The term for divorce through the court is from three to nine months.
A divorce cannot be arranged without the written consent of the other spouse when:
- the wife is pregnant,
- the spouses have a child under the age of three.
In these cases, a divorce can be issued if the child’s father is not a spouse who wants a divorce.
Property of spouses
All the property that the spouses acquired during their marriage is their common joint property. It does not matter which of the spouses paid for the purchases, in whose name the property is registered. Spouses have equal rights to such property, unless they have determined a different procedure in the Marriage Contract. The same rights to the joint property of the spouses apply to cases when one of the spouses did not work for valid reasons during the marriage.
In case of divorce and division of the common property of the spouses, their shares are recognized as equal. Another procedure for the distribution of shares can be provided for in the Marriage contract. When there is no Marriage contract, the size of the shares can be changed by the court, taking into account the interests of one of the spouses and children, the common debts of the spouses, etc.
The spouses can divide the common property by consent during marriage or after divorce, when another procedure is not provided for in the Marriage Contract. For the division of property without the participation of the court, spouses or former spouses conclude an Agreement on the division of property among themselves. This document must be certified by a notary.
You can apply to the court for the division of property within three years. This period is counted from the moment when the spouse found out about the violation of his right to property.
The property is not the common joint property of the spouses:
- which belonged to each of them before the marriage,
- received during marriage by inheritance,
- received as a gift during marriage.
Issues of alimony and maintenance of spouses
When one of the spouses has money, but does not financially support the second spouse, the second spouse can demand maintenance through the court when he needs financial assistance:
- a wife during pregnancy,
- a spouse who takes care of a common child up to three years old or a disabled child up to 18 years old, or a disabled adult child,
- a disabled spouse. This is an old-age pensioner or a disabled person of group I – III,
- the marriage contract may provide for other cases when the spouses must financially support each other,
- when one of the spouses became incapacitated during the marriage or within one year after the divorce, he may demand financial assistance from the former spouse in court,
- when one of the spouses became a pensioner no later than five years after the divorce, and the marriage lasted at least 10 years, the court may collect alimony in favor of such a spouse.
In a Prenuptial agreement or in an Agreement on children, an Agreement on the payment of alimony, you can determine the amount of alimony for children. When there are no such documents, alimony is collected from the parent from earnings and (or) other income of the parent in the amount of:
- for one child — 25% of income per month,
- for two children — 33% of income per month,
- for three or more children — 50% of income per month.
Adoption issues
It is possible to adopt a child who does not have parents, parents have given consent to adoption, or a child who has one of the parents. Adoption is executed in court at the request of persons or a person who wants to adopt a child.
On the basis of a court decision, the same rights and obligations appear between the adoptive parent and the adopted child as between parents and children.
For adoption, it is necessary to obtain the conclusion of the guardianship and guardianship authority that adoption meets the interests of the child.
The adoptive parent (adopter) may not be any person. They cannot be adoptive parents in particular:
- persons who, for health reasons, cannot be adoptive parents,
- persons who do not have suitable housing,
- persons who do not have the income level necessary for adoption, etc.
After the child for whom alimony was paid is adopted, alimony does not need to be paid.
How we can be useful on family law issues
Our lawyers and attorneys are experienced specialists in family law and speak English. We can guide you in family matters, draw up the necessary documents for government agencies and the court and represent your interests under a power of attorney.
Contact us
If you have any questions or disputes in the field of family law in the Republic of Belarus — we will be happy to help you! Our many years of experience in the field of family law will help you in resolving any disputes in this area.
Phone and email communication options are available for your convenience:
- +375293664477 (WhatsApp/Telegram/Viber);
- info@ambylegal.by.
