FAMILY DISPUTES

Family Lawyer for Divorce, Children and Property Division

Is a divorce turning into a dispute over property, money or children? We first separate the emotional part of the conflict from the legal questions: who owns the property, which obligations are joint, where the child will live, how the second parent will maintain contact and which claims are actually worth bringing.

We work with the division of apartments, cars, loans, businesses and other assets of spouses, disputes over the child’s place of residence, contact arrangements, child support and agreements between parents. If an agreement is possible, we look for a structure without an unnecessary court process. If not, we prepare a court position.

Review the Family Situation What Is Needed for the Review

WHEN A LAWYER IS NEEDED

What Family Matter Needs to Be Resolved

A divorce by itself can be a simple procedure. Complexity arises when the fate of property, debts, a business and relations with children must be resolved at the same time.

Property Needs to Be Divided

There is an apartment, house, car, money, investments, interests in companies or other property acquired during the marriage.

The Child’s Place of Residence Needs to Be Determined

The parents live separately and cannot agree on the child’s permanent place of residence.

The Other Parent Restricts Contact

It is not possible to agree on meetings, weekends, holidays, calls or involvement in the child’s life.

A Dispute over Child Support Has Arisen

Child support needs to be established, its amount changed, arrears recovered or the procedure for maintaining the child clarified.

There Is a Mortgage, Loans or Other Debts

When dividing property, it is necessary at the same time to understand which obligations relate to the family and how they are connected to particular assets.

The Family Has a Business or Complex Assets

Interests in LLCs, entrepreneurial activity, real estate, loans, securities and the movement of money require a separate analysis rather than a standard “split in half”.

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Nikolay NemkovManaging Partner, Konsultant Law Firm

NIKOLAY NEMKOV ON FAMILY DISPUTES

The Most Expensive Mistake in a Divorce Is Dividing Property Before Its Composition Is Understood

Before claims for division, it is necessary to establish what property exists, when and with what money it was acquired, in whose name it is registered and which obligations are connected to it. Only then does it become clear what is actually the subject of the dispute.

LOGIC OF THE FAMILY DISPUTE

First Determine the Subject of the Conflict. Then Choose What Is Actually Worth Disputing

In family matters it is easy to put everything into one conflict at once: divorce, property, children, child support and mutual claims. Legally these are different questions that require different evidence and sometimes different proceedings.

What Can Already Be Resolved Without Court

We check whether an agreement on property, child support, the child’s place of residence or contact arrangements can be formalized.

What Is Disputed

We separate the genuinely conflicting questions from those on which the parties are in fact already agreed.

What Evidence Is Needed

For property — documents on acquisition and money. For a child — the circumstances of their life and interests. For child support — information relevant to the chosen method of recovery.

What Result Is Needed After Court

We formulate claims so that the decision can actually be enforced, not merely produce a formal victory.

A good family-case strategy reduces the number of conflicts that actually have to be taken to court.

WHAT WE DO

What Our Work as a Family Lawyer Includes

Analysis of the Situation and Documents

We determine the composition of property, obligations, family circumstances and the legal disputes that have already arisen.

Division of Spouses’ Property

We review real estate, cars, money, investments, business interests and other property.

Disputes over Debts

We analyze loans, borrowings, mortgages and the economic purpose of the obligations.

Disputes over Children

We prepare a position on the child’s place of residence and the contact arrangements of the parent living separately.

Child Support

We determine the applicable method of recovering or changing maintenance obligations in light of the particular situation.

Agreements

We prepare a legal structure for arrangements between spouses or parents when the conflict can be resolved without a court decision.

Court Representation

We prepare the claim, objections, evidence and present the client’s position in court.

Enforcement of the Decision

We assess further steps when the decision concerns money, transfer of property or performance of the contact arrangements with the child.

DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE

The Divorce Itself and Its Consequences Are Different Legal Tasks

Sometimes the main question is only the termination of the marriage. But the presence of children, property, debts or financial claims turns the situation into several independent legal questions.

We first determine what needs to be resolved together with the dissolution of the marriage and what is more sensible to formalize separately.

Marriage

Whether it is necessary only to legally terminate the family relationship.

Property

Whether there is a dispute over ownership and the value of assets.

Children

Whether there are disagreements over place of residence or contact.

Money

Whether maintenance or other property claims arise.

It is not necessary to turn a simple divorce into a large court proceeding only because other questions exist between the spouses.

SPOUSES’ PROPERTY

Registration of Property in the Name of One Spouse Does Not by Itself Answer Who Owns It

Under the legal property regime, what matters is not only the person named as owner in the register or contract, but also the time, basis and source of acquisition of the property.

Before division we check:

when the property was acquired;
with what funds it was acquired;
whether there were personal funds of one of the spouses;
whether a marriage contract exists;
whether the property was divided earlier;
whether there are agreements between the spouses;
which debts are connected to the asset;
whether the property was alienated before the dispute arose.

We first compile a full list of assets and the sources of their acquisition. Only then do we determine what is actually subject to division.

PERIOD AFTER DIVORCE

Three Years after Divorce Is Not an Automatic Bar to Property Division

A three-year limitation period applies to claims by former spouses for division of common property. But its running is tied not simply to the date of dissolution of the marriage, but to the moment when the spouse learned or should have learned of the violation of their right.

Therefore the question “we divorced more than three years ago — is it already too late?” cannot be resolved by the calendar alone. It is necessary to establish when the dispute over the right to the property arose and when the violation became known.

The date of the divorce and the start of the limitation period are not always the same date.

NOT EVERYTHING IS DIVIDED THE SAME WAY

Property in Marriage May Have a Different Legal Regime

For each significant asset it is necessary to establish separately the basis of its acquisition. The very fact that the marriage existed at a certain period is important but not the only circumstance.

Acquired During the Marriage

We check the source of the money, the contract and the circumstances of the purchase.

Owned Before the Marriage

We establish the history of the right and subsequent changes to the property.

Received Gratuitously

We analyze the basis for the transfer of the property and the documents.

Common Funds Were Invested in the Property

We check the nature and extent of the investments and how they affected the asset.

The legal regime of property is determined by its history, not only by today’s entry in the real estate register or the vehicle registration certificate.

APARTMENT AND LOAN

Dividing an Apartment with a Mortgage Is Simultaneously a Dispute over an Asset and an Obligation

Where there is a mortgage loan, the apartment cannot be analyzed separately from the obligation connected to it. It is necessary to establish who acquired the property, how the initial payment was made, who performed the loan and which claims are made between the spouses.

Apartment

The legal regime of the property and the spouses’ shares.

Initial Payment

The source of the funds may have independent significance.

Remaining Loan

We check the current obligation and the parties to the loan agreement.

Payments After Separation

We analyze who continued to perform the obligation after the joint life ceased.

A judicial division of property between spouses does not by itself mean an automatic change to the loan agreement with the bank.

WHEN THE FAMILY HAS A COMPANY

A Business Cannot Be Divided the Same Way as a Car or Money in an Account

If a business was created or acquired during the marriage, the family dispute intersects with corporate law. It is necessary to understand separately the property value of the asset and the corporate rights of the company participant.

Interest in an LLC

We check the basis and time of acquisition of the interest.

Value of the Business

The nominal value of the interest and its real economic value are different indicators.

Corporate Documents

The charter and documents of the company may matter for the practical implementation of the claims.

Cash Flows

Loans, dividends and other transactions require a separate analysis.

Company Assets

The property of a legal entity is not automatically the personal property of its participant.

Management of the Business

A family property conflict should not replace corporate procedures.

In a dispute over a business, we first separate the spouses’ property from the property of the company itself.

NOT ONLY ASSETS

A Loan Taken Out During the Marriage Does Not Always Automatically Become a Common Debt of the Spouses

For a property dispute, what matters are the circumstances of the origin of the obligation, the use of the funds received and the connection of the debt to the interests of the family.

Who Concluded the Contract

We determine the formal borrower and other parties to the obligation.

When the Debt Arose

We compare the date with the period of the marital relationship.

What the Money Was Spent On

We check the actual purpose of the funds.

Who Made the Payments

We analyze performance of the obligation during the marriage and after the joint life ceased.

The existence of a loan during the marriage is the beginning of the analysis, not a ready conclusion about its division between the spouses.

WHERE THE CHILD WILL LIVE

The Court Considers the Child’s Interests, Not a Competition between Parents

If the parents live separately, they may agree on the child’s place of residence. If they cannot agree, the dispute is resolved with regard to the child’s interests and the circumstances of their life.

The following may matter to the position:

the child’s age;
attachment to each of the parents;
the actually established order of life;
conditions of upbringing and development;
the parents’ work schedules;
the child’s relations with other family members;
each parent’s ability to meet the child’s everyday needs;
other circumstances of the particular family.

When a court considers a dispute connected with the upbringing of a child, the guardianship and trusteeship authority is involved. It examines the living conditions of the child and of the persons claiming the right to bring up the child, and presents the court with an inspection report and a conclusion on the merits of the dispute.

The conclusion of the guardianship authority matters to the case but does not replace the court’s assessment of the remaining evidence and circumstances.

Before court it is important to show not why the other parent is “bad”, but why the proposed model of residence meets the child’s interests.

THE PARENT LIVES SEPARATELY

The Phrase “They Don’t Let Me See the Child” Must Turn into an Enforceable Contact Arrangement

If the parents cannot agree, it is necessary to formulate a specific model of contact that takes into account the child’s age, routine and the real capabilities of the parents.

Days

On which days contact is intended.

Time

How the meeting begins and ends.

Weekends and Holidays

Whether a separate arrangement is needed for special periods.

School Holidays

How longer contact is organized.

Handover of the Child

Where and how the meetings and return take place.

Remote Contact

Whether calls and other forms of communication need to be regulated separately.

The more precisely the arrangement is formulated, the fewer future disputes arise already at the enforcement stage.

MAINTENANCE OF THE CHILD

A Child Support Dispute Is Not Only a Question of the Amount of the Payment

Depending on the circumstances, the payer’s income, its stability, the child’s needs, existing obligations and the chosen method of determining maintenance all matter.

Establishing Child Support

We determine the appropriate legal mechanism in light of the particular situation.

Changing the Amount

We check whether circumstances exist for reconsidering the previously established maintenance.

Arrears

We analyze the calculation and the documents of enforcement proceedings.

Agreement

If the parents have agreed, the maintenance obligations can be formalized legally without the usual dispute over recovery.

The goal is not to name the maximum amount in the claim, but to form a claim that matches the circumstances and can be enforced.

NOT EVERY CONFLICT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO A DECISION

If the Parties Can Agree, an Agreement Is Sometimes More Valuable Than a Court Victory

A family court proceeding fixes the conflict in legal form. But when the parties are able to agree on property, money or relations with children, a contractual structure can produce a more manageable result.

Division of Property

An agreement allows the fate of particular assets to be determined in advance.

Child Support

Obligations can be settled by agreement in the form provided by law.

Children

The parents can agree on the place of residence and the actual order of interaction.

Comprehensive Arrangement

Sometimes several interconnected questions are sensibly settled at the same time.

Negotiation makes sense not for a compromise at any cost, but when the agreement gives the client a predictable and enforceable result.

IN ADVANCE, NOT AFTER THE CONFLICT

The Property Regime of the Spouses Can Be Changed by Agreement

A marriage contract allows the spouses to change the legal property regime and determine rules for existing and future assets within the limits provided by law.

An agreement on division of property solves a different task — it distributes the property already acquired by the spouses.

Marriage Contract

Defines the property regime of the spouses within the agreed limits.

Agreement on Division

Distributes specific jointly acquired property between the parties.

These documents cannot be used as interchangeable templates. We first determine the goal, then choose the legal structure.

WHAT MATTERS

A Family Dispute Is Also Won by Documents and Facts

Property Documents

Real estate register extracts, contracts, documents on cars, interests and other assets.

Bank Documents

Payments, initial deposits, transfers and the movement of funds.

Loan Documents

Agreements and information on performance of the obligations.

Documents about the Child

Materials connected with the child’s residence, education, health and actual life — if they relate to the dispute.

Correspondence

May confirm the parties’ arrangements and the actual development of the conflict.

Other Evidence

The list depends on the particular claim and the circumstances of the case.

We do not collect evidence “just in case”. We first determine the legally significant circumstances and then confirm precisely those.

Konsultant Law Firm

The firm has been practicing since 2007. We handle litigation and complex legal matters for businesses in Krasnoyarsk, Moscow and other regions of Russia.

Since 2007

in legal practice

1,000+

court proceedings

Across Russia

Krasnoyarsk • Moscow • other regions

PRACTICAL APPROACH

In a Family Dispute It Is Important to Understand in Advance the Price of Each Claim

One can argue about every thing, every payment and every episode of contact with the child. But the number of claims does not make the position stronger. Sometimes a secondary conflict only increases the duration of the process and the costs of the parties.

Therefore, before court we separate the principal questions from those on which it is economically and practically more sensible to agree.

The goal of a family lawyer is not to make the conflict as large as possible. The goal is to protect what really matters to the client.

HOW TO START

How the Work Begins

01You Describe the Situation

Who is or was married, whether there are children, property, debts and which questions have already become disputed.

02We Split the Conflict into Legal Tasks

We determine separately the questions of property, children, child support and other claims.

03We Review the Documents and Options for a Solution

We assess where an agreement is possible and where court protection is required.

04We Implement the Strategy

We prepare a negotiation position, agreements, a claim, objections and other necessary documents and support the further process.

MANAGING PARTNER

Konsultant Law Firm Lawyers

Managing Partner, Konsultant Law Firm

Nikolay Nemkov

More than 20 years of practice in complex property and corporate disputes. Practicing insolvency practitioner.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Questions about Family Law

Is all property divided in half in a divorce?

There is no universal rule by which any asset is automatically divided only because the spouses were married. It is first necessary to determine the legal regime of the property, the circumstances of its acquisition, existing agreements and other legally significant facts.

Does it matter in whose name the apartment is registered?

Yes, ownership documents matter, but registration of the apartment only in the name of one spouse does not by itself always determine its regime. It is necessary to establish the time and basis of acquisition and the source of the funds.

Can property be divided without a divorce?

Yes. The law allows the division of the common property of spouses both during the marriage and after its dissolution.

More than three years have passed since the divorce. Can the property no longer be divided?

Not necessarily. A three-year limitation period applies to claims by former spouses for division of common property, but its running is not determined automatically from the date of the divorce. It is necessary to establish when the spouse learned or should have learned of the violation of their right.

Can property division be agreed without court?

Yes. The common property of spouses can be divided by agreement. The law provides for notarial certification of an agreement on division of jointly acquired property.

Who will the child stay with after the divorce?

The parents can determine the child’s place of residence by agreement. If there is no agreement, the dispute is resolved by the court on the basis of the child’s interests and taking into account the circumstances of the particular family.

Can a contact arrangement for the father or mother with the child be established?

Yes. If the parents cannot agree, the question can be resolved in the order established by law. For a court decision it is important to propose a specific and practically enforceable schedule taking into account the child’s interests.

Are the spouses’ loans divided?

The existence of a loan taken out during the marriage does not by itself answer the question of its distribution between the spouses. It is necessary to analyze the circumstances of the origin of the obligation and the use of the funds received.

What happens to a business in a divorce?

It is first necessary to determine the spouse’s property rights to the interest or another asset connected with the business. The property of the company itself does not automatically become the joint property of the spouses.

Which documents should be sent for the first review?

A brief chronology of the situation and documents on the disputed question: on property, loans, business, previously concluded agreements and court documents. If the dispute concerns a child, indicate the actually established order of residence and contact.