LAWYER FOR THE DIVISION OF MARITAL PROPERTY

In the modern world, the division of marital property is a pressing issue. The fate of the property being divided can be determined without a legal process, the spouses can conclude an agreement on the division of property, or the issue can be settled in a prenuptial agreement, if applicable. However, when there is a dispute about property rights or the parties fail to agree, the dispute is resolved in court. In this case, one will need a divorce and property division lawyer.

Our property division lawyer has more than 10 years of experience in resolving these disputes. We accompany clients at all stages of the process until the actual end of the property division procedure.

In our video, you can learn more about the division of property.

Any movable and immovable property acquired by the spouses during marriage is their joint property. Moreover, it does not matter which of the spouses this property was registered to. The lawyer for the division of property will explain to you that that property is in joint ownership.

Such property may include:

1) immovable and movable things (residential and non-residential buildings and premises; land; vehicles; furniture; household appliances; jewelry; animals and plants; works of art, etc.);

2) income of spouses from labour, business and intellectual activities (royalties, etc.); pensions, allowances, scholarships and other monetary payments;

3) deposits in banks; shares (or equities) in business entities (or cooperative societies), property of unitary enterprises;

4) other property that may be owned by the general public.

Our property division lawyer in Minsk will explain in detail what kind of property will be considered joint property in your specific situation.

Our lawyer for divorce and division of property will draw your attention to the fact that joint property includes not only items, but also property rights, including the rights of claim under the obligations arising in the interests of the family, as well as common debts of the spouses. Therefore, the joint property of the spouses may include money and other items received by one of the spouses under a loan agreement, a credit contract, as well as property acquired with a loan (credit), if such an agreement was concluded to meet the needs of the family. Usually, the division of property riddled with loans raises many questions for the parties. Our lawyer for the division of property is ready to help in resolving situations of any complexity.

The lawyer will pay special attention to the division of property that is the personal property of each of the spouses, since its division usually causes the greatest conflicts.  Such property is considered joint property if investments were made during the marriage that significantly increased the value of such property, and in that case it is subject to division.

Our lawyer in Minsk will explain to you that, according to the general rule, the regime of marital property falls under the regime of joint property, but the spouses have the right to agree on the application of a different regime in a prenuptial agreement, for example, by establishing a shared or separate ownership regime for the entire property or its individual types. A prenuptial agreement may provide for the unconditional preservation of one spouse’s right of personal property to the property, which by law can be attributed to the joint property.

The spouses may, by mutual consent, determine a different procedure and conditions for the division of property, not only in a prenuptial agreement, but also in an agreement on the division of property. In this case divided may be both the entire property as well as a certain part of the joint property. Our lawyer for property division will help you reach an agreement on the division of property, if the parties are ready to negotiate.

Our lawyer for divorce and division of property will explain to you that the division of the common property of the spouses is possible at any time, both during marriage and after its dissolution. If the spouses have ceased to maintain a common household before the issue of division of property is resolved, only the property that was their joint property by that time is taken into account in the division. If, at the time of the dissolution of marriage, the spouses did not make a claim for the division of joint property, they retain equal rights to own, use and dispose of such property under the same conditions.

It is assumed that the shares of the spouses are equal in the division of joint property, since the law provides for equal rights of spouses to jointly acquired property. If necessary, our lawyer will detail the grounds for derogating from the principle of equality in the division of property of spouses.

The lawyer will explain when the share can be reduced:

– if one of the spouses did not have independent earnings (income) for disrespectful reasons (spouse’s evasion of work);

– if one of the spouses was spending common property to the detriment of the family’s interests.

Expenditure of joint property should be understood as the alienation or other diminishing of material rights to the property attributed to joint property by one of the spouses against the will of the other spouse or without their knowledge, if such expenditure goes against the interests of the other spouse and/or their minor children.

Our lawyer will let you know in which cases the share can be increased:

– taking into account the interests of the spouses that deserve attention (cases when one of the spouses is deprived of the opportunity to receive income from work for health reasons or other circumstances beyond their control, etc.);

– taking into account the interests of children whose property rights are affected by the division of their parents’ property (the parent with whom the children live bears more expenses for their maintenance).

The list of reasons is not exhaustive.

In parallel with the division of the property of the spouses, divided are also the debts and other financial obligations of the spouses. Our lawyer for divorce and division of property knows all the nuances and subtleties of debt division.

The debts of the spouses are divided on the same terms as their property. Thus, their total debt must be divided in proportion to the property received after division. The value and amount of property allocated to each spouse should be taken into account when distributing debts between them.

The common debts of the spouses when dividing the joint property of the spouses are distributed among the spouses in proportion to the shares awarded to them. Thus, for example, when purchasing property on credit and it later being divided in equal shares, the outstanding amount is subject to the same division.

The value of the property to be divided is determined on the basis of the prices applicable on the day of the agreement between the spouses or the court’s decision. The division of common property or the allocation of shares from it is possible when such property is divisible. In the event that one of the spouses is assigned property whose value exceeds the share due to them, the other spouse must be awarded appropriate monetary or other compensation. Our lawyer for the division of property has extensive experience in legal assistance in the implementation of a fair division of property.

Our property division lawyer often helps resolve disputes when one of the spouses tries to reduce the share of the other spouse in the common property, referring to the common debts that are repaid exclusively by them; or claims that the property belonging to one of the spouses is common; underestimates the value of the property that should be transferred to the other spouse. Our lawyer has a broad theoretical and practical knowledge of disputes in the field of property division and is able to offer you specific measures to counter such situations.

While the issue of the division of property is being resolved, the lawyer for the division of property will, if necessary, help you initiate measures to secure the claim in order to keep the property intact, for example, the court may seize the property held by the second spouse or other persons.

Our lawyer will tell you how to protect yourself and notarize the ownership of a share in the joint property of the spouses. According to article 87 of the Law “On notaries and notary activities”, a notary, upon a joint written application of the spouses, issues a certificate of ownership of a share in the property acquired by the spouses during marriage. It can be issued both during marriage and after the dissolution of marriage, regardless of how much time has passed since its dissolution.

Our divorce and property division lawyer provides the following legal assistance: 

– provides advice on the division of joint property acquired during marriage;

– prepares necessary documentation on the division of joint property, including a legal claim;

– represents one’s interests in court on the division of marital property;

– participates in the mediation procedure on the division of joint property;

– disputes transactions which involve the joint marital property.

Needless to say, the division of marital property cases are complex and difficult; such cases require the knowledge of all the specifics of the Belarusian legislation in this field. If you contact our law office in Minsk, our property division lawyer will save you from the issues that arise during the division of property process and give you a professional view of the situation. Our divorce and division of property lawyer will help you go to court in a legally savvy manner, as well as will professionally represent your interests in court, including on the side of the defendant. Please contact us for more information.