Families of fallen soldiers are forced to prove living as one family in court: what problems arise

After the death of a serviceman, most legal disputes arise not only regarding the payments themselves but also about who actually has the right to be considered a member of the deceased defender's family. This status determines the receipt of a one-time financial aid, a pension due to the loss of a breadwinner, benefits, and social guarantees.

In the conditions of a full-scale war, the problem has acquired a systemic character. Especially often, civil wives or husbands, adult children, dependents, as well as relatives who have conflicts over the right to payments, turn to the courts.

The main regulatory act in this area is the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families." Article 16-1 of this Law provides the right to one-time financial assistance in case of the death of a serviceman.

According to this Law, members of the deceased serviceman's family include children, widow or widower, parents, grandchildren in cases defined by law, as well as a civil husband or wife who lived with the deceased as one family without marriage — subject to a court decision establishing such a fact. Other dependents of the deceased who have the right to a pension due to the loss of a breadwinner may also have the right to payments.

At the same time, as recently noted by "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins can also protect their rights through the court by establishing legal facts — family relations, living as one family, or being dependents. Not only formal kinship matters but also real family ties and shared household.

For example, in case No. 298/1350/22, the court established the fact that a sister is a member of the deceased serviceman's family, which creates legal grounds for her to apply for one-time financial assistance and other social payments provided by law.

Current procedure for obtaining status and payments

The procedure for obtaining one-time financial assistance is regulated by the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families," Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168 dated February 28, 2022, and the Procedure approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 975.

The application is submitted through the Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support (TCR) or an authorized unit of the Ministry of Defense, National Guard, Security Service of Ukraine, or another military formation depending on the place of service of the deceased.

The application usually includes the serviceman's death certificate, documents on service and circumstances of death, documents on family ties, passport, taxpayer identification number, bank account details, and documents confirming the status of a family member or dependent. In case of living as one family without marriage or being a dependent, relevant court decisions are additionally submitted.

It is at the stage of collecting and verifying documents that families most often face refusals due to lack of confirmation of the status of a family member, dependent, or actual family relations.

Read also about how to collect evidence for state compensation in cases of declaring a serviceman deceased.

Civil marriage has become the main cause of disputes

Most disputes today arise due to actual marital relations without official marriage registration. After the start of the full-scale war, many couples did not have time to register their marriage due to service, mobilization, or the death of the serviceman, so civil partners are forced to prove the fact of living as one family through the court.

As previously reported by "Judicial and Legal Newspaper," the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court in case No. 560/17953/21 dated January 18, 2024, determined that cases establishing the fact of living as one family should be considered in civil proceedings.

At the same time, in case No. 686/11265/24, the Supreme Court noted that a dispute specifically about the right to one-time financial assistance belongs to administrative jurisdiction.

Thus, the Supreme Court effectively distinguished two categories of disputes: establishing a legal fact — civil jurisdiction, and disputes about payments — administrative jurisdiction.

In such cases, courts assess shared household, budget, mutual rights and obligations, duration of the relationship, as well as evidence of cohabitation — photos, correspondence, bank transfers, testimonies, and documents on residence.

A separate problem remains conflicts between the official wife and the actual partner of the deceased serviceman. As reported by "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", in 2024 the Cabinet of Ministers allowed civil partners to receive assistance upon the presence of a court decision confirming living as one family.

Disputes regarding dependents and adult children

Another large category of disputes concerns dependents. The Supreme Court emphasizes that the mere fact of family ties does not confirm dependent status — it is necessary to prove actual financial support by the deceased serviceman.

For example, in case No. 314/190/24, the sister of the deceased serviceman requested to establish the fact of being supported by him to receive assistance and pension, but the courts concluded that receipts of money transfers and witness testimonies were insufficient to confirm systematic support.

At the same time, in case No. 120/11536/25, the courts concluded that after amendments to Article 16-1 of the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families," adult children of the deceased serviceman have the right to one-time financial assistance regardless of dependent status.

General issues: why the system is overloaded with disputes

Current procedures are mostly oriented towards the classic model of an official family, while the war has created many situations where family relations existed in fact but were not legally formalized. Because of this, courts today effectively perform the function of confirming family status, which was previously ensured by civil registry offices or formal documents.

An additional problem is the lack of a unified mechanism for verifying evidence of an actual family. As a result, similar cases may end with different decisions depending on the region, court composition, or approach of a particular authority.

Another problem is the inconsistent evaluation of documents by different state bodies. Because of this, even with obvious family ties, families often receive refusals and are forced to separately prove dependent status in court.

In fact, the war forces the Ukrainian judicial system to form a new understanding of family, family ties, and the right to social protection, based not only on formal documents but also on real family relations.

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