Property, Housing, and Alimony – What Can Be Included in a Marriage Contract
Experts from the Kyiv Interregional Department of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine remind that a marriage contract is not a sign of distrust between spouses, but a form of responsible approach to family life, mutual respect, and timely resolution of important property issues.
According to Articles 92-103 of the Family Code of Ukraine, a marriage contract can be concluded both by persons who have submitted an application for state registration of marriage and by spouses who are already married.
Such a contract allows defining the property rights and obligations of the parties, agreeing on the procedure for using property, its division, and regulating other property matters.
A marriage contract provides the opportunity to:
- determine the legal regime of the spouses' property;
- establish the procedure for dividing property, including in case of divorce;
- define the rules for using housing;
- fix the property rights and obligations of spouses as parents;
- regulate the issue of financial support of one of the spouses.
At the same time, the legislation sets a number of restrictions. According to Article 93 of the Family Code of Ukraine, a marriage contract cannot:
- regulate personal relations between spouses or between parents and children;
- reduce the rights of the child;
- place one of the spouses in an extremely disadvantageous financial position;
- transfer ownership of property, the right to which is subject to state registration, including real estate.
The Ministry of Justice also emphasizes that according to Article 94 of the Family Code of Ukraine, a marriage contract must be concluded in writing and notarized.
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