Drafting a bespoke prenuptial agreement in Ukraine: legal advice
Marriage contracts are becoming more and more popular among couples. In 2020, marriage contracts in Ukraine were concluded twice as often as in 2019, and there’s a reason for that.
A marriage contract is not only an opportunity to protect your property rights. It is a kind of safety cushion and even a theoretical saving of your money in the future. Visiting an experienced lawyer and development of the agreement will cost much less than a long trial with the division of property.
Today, the marriage contract even allows you to provide for the protection of your business assets, the issue of repayment of loans taken by either party, the procedure of division of corporate rights in the event of divorce, or issues with the division of real estate, as it was with our Clients in the summer of 2021.
Everything can become a little more complicated, if one of the parties to the contract is a foreign national who wants to get married in Ukraine. As an example of such a case, we will tell you how to safely conclude a marriage agreement between a foreigner and a citizen of Ukraine.
You may also like: Marriage Contract: Myths and Reality
Protection of rights to real estate with a marriage contract and other issues that can be spelled out therein
We were contacted by a married couple: the wife is Ukrainian and the husband is a German citizen. Despite the number of years they have lived together, they face the need of a legal “safety cushion” for each partner in the case of the dissolution of the marriage.
A marriage contract can be concluded both before and during the marriage. However, in the first case, the marriage contract will enter into force on the day of the marriage, and in the second - on the day of registration of the contract.
The situation of our Clients had a lot of nuances. So, the family had real estate in Ukraine, and not only, and wanted to pregotiate the possibility of its division.
First of all, we consulted them and explained that in case of need in the property division in their situation, it will be better to do this with a separate act. Having clarified this point and the issues that should be reflected in the agreement, we proceeded to the stage of drafting the marriage contract.
Please note! The Internet today offers you a plethora of marriage contract templates. Why not use any of them? The fact is that when drawing up the marriage contract, one must take into account the characteristics of each of the partners: property, citizenship, etc., to make a contract based on the needs and desires of the couple – it will be extremely difficult to do, because the template was made for another couple or based on the most common requests, and will not meet the specifics of your case. In such templates you will not find any settlements, for example, related to the procedure and the amount of support for the common children, or a special procedure of using the property. It is also important to consider the specifics of each couple and their property: how it will be divided in case of divorce.
A special feature of our Clients’ contract was the fact that the document had to be valid outside Ukraine. Firstly, the spouses were citizens of two different countries, and secondly, they had business, as partners, in the state of which neither he or she was a citizen. Legalization of the marriage contract outside of our state is not the most difficult issue, but a quite time-consuming procedure.
At the same time the contract specified the law of Ukraine as the one the parties would be guided by in case of the divorce and division of property.
In view of international law, we have compiled a bilingual marriage contract. Such a document can also be drawn up in one language, but in the situation of our Clients, the drawing up of a bilingual contract in the future will save them from the additional expenses on translation.
Then our task was to notarize the marriage contract. The procedure was completed by certifying the apostille, which in the future will facilitate the procedure of recognizing the legal force of this contract.
You may also like: A to Z of Drafting the Marriage Contract in Ukraine
Our law firm offers you assistance in drafting a marriage contract at any stage of your marriage. We can help you with:
-
Answers to your questions about the process and nuances of drafting a marriage contract in your particular case;
-
Preparation of the draft marriage contract, taking into account the interests of both parties;
-
Conclusion of the marriage contract, as well as its subsequent legalization in other countries, if necessary;
-
Solution of other issues that may arise when concluding your marriage or marriage contract in Ukraine.
One of the latest trends in the conclusion of marriage contracts in Ukraine is one for the founders of startups, who are counting on a fast-growing business and attraction of investments, including – foreign ones. Such plans can be easily ruined by a divorce without a concluded in advance and well thought-out marriage contract.
Do you need professional legal assistance in conclusion of a marriage contract in Ukraine with a foreigner? Don’t hesitate to contact us! We will take care of your legal safety.
Didn’t find an answer to your question?
Everything about the procedure of concluding the Marriage Contract in Ukraine here.
