A civil marriage is equivalent to an official one. Law.

Family relations are regulated in the Russian Federation by a separate legal act - the Family Code. He defines the concept of family, explains rights and responsibilities, and clarifies controversial issues. However, this document does not in any way secure marriages that are not officially registered. Previously, a proposal was made to change the Family Code. These amendments, first of all, stated: civil marriage is equal to official marriage. What were the results of considering these innovations, and how in 2022 the relationship between a man and a woman who does not rush to the registry office to get stamps for their passports is regulated, we will consider in the article.

Background

Previously, there were two types of family relationships:

• church marriage is a ceremony through which a man and a woman are officially considered a family. For centuries, the church played a dominant role along with the monarch;
• civil marriage - registration in registers and receipt of a document about it.

Today the church is separated from the state, it is considered secular, which means whether to get married or not is a voluntary choice of citizens. Our country is multinational, different faiths are represented in it, and the wedding ceremony is not the only way to legitimize relationships on a spiritual level.

Therefore, gradually the concepts changed. A civil marriage began to be called a marriage that was not registered with a special body. It is also called cohabitation. Registered relationships are called official marriage. It is this form of family that is considered today the only one protected by law and, as a result, the most convenient.

Legal consequences of marriage

The main consequences of registering a marriage:

1. It does not matter in whose name the property is registered and who paid for it, it will be considered jointly acquired. And will be divided equally in case of divorce. Unless other rules are provided for in the marriage contract.
2. Children born in marriage and three hundred days after its dissolution will be considered common, that is, the spouse will be recorded as the father of the child. To challenge this fact, a judicial procedure will be required.
3. Material support.
4. The spouse belongs to the first line of heirs.

Alimony can be demanded from his spouse (and ex) by the person who:

• Is disabled and in need;
• Provides care for a common child until he reaches the age of three and a pregnant wife;
• Provides care for a disabled child until he or she reaches the age of 18;
• Reached retirement age.

The difference between official marriage and cohabitation in the 21st century

In the Soviet Union, the word “cohabitation” had a disparaging connotation: this form of family was not welcomed, as it did not correspond to ideology. The official family was considered a reliable unit of society, a guarantor of the stability of the entire state.

The modern view is far from those ideological guidelines. There are fewer and fewer frameworks and conventions, more and more freedom and personal choice. And while other states are deciding what to do with non-traditional couples and whether to allow such marriages, in Russia the issue of giving people living in unregistered relationships the rights of a full-fledged official family has become especially acute.

Peaceful division of property

It is possible to divide an apartment and other property after a break in civil relations, as well as establish the amount of alimony peacefully . This is the simplest method and is used when cohabitants are on good terms and are ready to cooperate, and the apartment is their common property. As a rule, it is possible to agree verbally, but in order for the agreements to have more weight, it is advisable to consolidate them with the help of a settlement agreement. The agreement describes in detail all the steps of dividing the property and is certified by a notary.

Benefits of cohabitation

Despite the huge number of privileges that the state provides to registered families, many couples still believe that going to the registry office is an unnecessary procedure. Why:

1. Most marriages break up in the first few years of life because it turns out that people were in a hurry to start a family. They didn’t get to know each other enough and couldn’t put up with their suddenly revealed character traits. Previously, no attention was paid to this: those who entered into an alliance before God were doomed to “grind in” and find compromises. Today this is not considered mandatory, because it is as easy to dissolve a marriage as it is to enter into one. Many people think that they will always have time to legitimize the relationship later, when they are sure of each other;
2. a stamp in a passport is considered a restriction of freedom, and not everyone is ready to put up with this, at least psychologically. Cohabitation is convenient, mutually beneficial, but at the same time everyone, albeit nominally, retains the right to personal life;
3. A very common view is that a stamp in a passport does not change anything, which means it is not needed. If in Soviet times much attention was paid to the thought “what will people say?”, today it is customary not to take other people’s opinions into account;
4. life in official freedom has a number of privileges. For example, a single mother has the right to some benefits that will be given to her regardless of the fact that in fact she does not live alone and runs a common household with a man whom she considers her husband.

If there are children

A child in a civil marriage also becomes a problem when the spouses decide to separate. As a rule, in order for a child to qualify for child support, as in the case of an official relationship between parents, paternity must be confirmed. Then the child will be given the following rights:

• Child support will be supported by child support;
• The child is allowed to communicate with his parents;
• The child will have the official right to live with any parent in the same place (house, apartment);
• Enter into an inheritance after the death of a parent;
• Express your opinion on the topic of which parent wants to live with and more, and the parent will be able to protect the interests of the child.

In other words, a child born in a civil marriage without confirmation of paternity may not even receive alimony after the parents divorce. But civil marriage still does not exclude alimony, although to obtain it you will have to go through a special procedure.

Disadvantages of cohabitation

Until 2022 - while cohabitation was not at all legalized in the Family Code - in the event of a breakup or the death of one of the spouses, many problems arose:

1. it is extremely difficult to prove in court the right to part of the jointly acquired property;
2. the surviving spouse was not entitled to half the share in the inheritance from the deceased if the relationship was not official;
3. registering a newborn also took a little longer than for members of an official family. If the marriage is registered, in order to obtain a birth certificate, it was enough for one of the spouses to appear at the registry office and bring a marriage certificate. Cohabitants had to go to the registry office together: the husband must fill out a paper agreeing to recognize the child as his own. Otherwise, a dash will be placed in the “father” column on the birth certificate;
4. psychological aspect: stereotypes about cohabitation, although becoming more illusory, still exist. Disdain and a feeling of “frivolity” can still be felt when it comes to this form of family. In addition, spouses who are not burdened with a “stamp” often separate over the slightest conflicts, since it is very simple: just pack your things and move out. There is no need for them to start an official divorce procedure, which means there is no incentive to sit down and just talk and try to save the relationship.

If the psychological aspect lies entirely with the citizens themselves, then the lack of social guarantees, difficulties with registering property and the shameful filling out of additional papers for a child are an acute problem that needs to be solved at the legislative level. There is already movement on this issue.

What is recognized as jointly acquired property?

When a civil marriage ends, the division of property is one of the most troublesome events. But first, let’s figure out what can be classified as common property received in the process of common residence.

• Real estate of various types (apartment, house);
• Allotments of land;
• Movable property;
• Tools such as agricultural machinery or musical instruments;
• Jewelry;
• Other material benefits received during the period of cohabitation (bonuses, lottery winnings)

But in cohabitation, common-law spouses can acquire individual property, which includes:

• Property that spouses acquired before entering into cohabitation or after they stopped living together (including an apartment);
• Apartments that were purchased with a person’s personal savings or with the help of a loan issued in his name;
• Items that are intended exclusively for personal use (jewelry does not count);
• Intellectual property, regulated through copyright;
• Property that was given to one of the cohabitants or was inherited by him.

Property included in the second list cannot be divided even after an official relationship, since only one of the cohabitants has the right to it.

Family Relations and Cohabitation Law 2022

1. “Actual marital relations” is the new law’s name for a family form in which spouses live together, but have not recorded this in the registry office documents. This may be called:

• spouses who have lived together for 5 years or more;
• have no children or have a joint child over two years old.

1. Actual marital relations can be entered into by:

• persons over 18 years of age;
• on a voluntary basis;
• not related;
• not officially married to third parties.

If there are violations of one of these points, the court does not recognize the union as a de facto marital relationship.

1. Spouses are allowed to enter into a prenuptial agreement even if they are officially unmarried. In case of disputes over property during separation, the prenuptial agreement will have legal force. In other cases, if the de facto marital relationship is broken, the property will be divided in half, as in the case of the dissolution of an official marriage.
2. To divide property during separation, you need to go to court (unless, of course, the former common-law spouses have disagreements). In court you will have to prove the fact of cohabitation. This will help you do this:

• testimony of neighbors, relatives, friends, colleagues;
• joint photo and video materials accumulated during their time together;
• checks and receipts confirming family purchases, housekeeping, etc.

1. Inheritance disputes remain a stumbling block. Most notaries draw up paperwork based only on official documents. However, through the court it is possible to achieve justice even in this matter and change the order of distribution of the property of the deceased spouse, even if the relationship was not official.
2. The registration of newborns has remained unchanged: information about the father can only be entered on the basis of some document, and if there is no marriage certificate, an application is required.

Statement of claim for division of property

To begin dividing property or establishing alimony, you need to write a corresponding application. Moreover, you can use several alternative versions of such statements:

1. In the first case, you should write an application for recognition of the right to a share of the property. It is used if the property is registered in the name of one person, but the second common-law spouse also invested his money in this property.
2. The second case is when the spouse claims unjust enrichment. Such a statement is worth writing if it can be proven that one of the spouses transferred their money to the other.

When you have chosen the type of claim document, you need to indicate a certain set of information about common-law spouses. For example, who is the plaintiff, the name of the application, on what grounds it is being submitted, attached documents, request, etc. An application for division of property should look like this.

Responsibilities of spouses in de facto marital relations

Essentially, the 2022 law did not change anything regarding family responsibilities. It’s just that now they are assigned to unregistered couples:

• run a joint household;
• provide children with material wealth, educate them and create comfortable childhood conditions;
• pay alimony in the event of a breakup.

Important! Responsibilities for maintaining children are imposed on the father only if he recognized the child and signed the paternity papers, which means he is included in the birth certificate. This can be done either immediately after birth or later.

Age required for marriage registration

The generally accepted “age of marriage” is 18 years. This is also the age of full legal capacity.

However, you can get married at the age of 16. But to do this, you must apply for permission from the local government, confirming the presence of valid reasons.

The most common reasons for lowering the marriageable age:

• Expecting a common child;
• Or his birth;
• Already established family relationships.

It is worth noting that parental approval for minors is not required.

In some constituent entities of the Russian Federation, it is possible to get married before the age of 16.

But for this you will need to submit an application to the central executive body addressed to the Governor. This can be done both by those wishing to get married and by their parents. But if there is a conflict between them, then this application will be considered only after the approval of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities.

For example, in Moscow and the region, the governor will give permission for registration provided that the bride is pregnant, has a common child, and also if there is a threat to the life of any of the future spouses.

The minimum age at which the registry office will accept an application is not established by law. But, based on the fact that the list of required documents includes a citizen’s passport, we can conclude that this threshold is 14 years.

Young people who get married before reaching the age of 18 become absolutely capable (emancipation occurs) and do not lose this status even after the divorce.

Registration procedure

The marriage procedure is regulated by Article 11 of the Family Code. Marriage is concluded after submitting an application to the registry office .

Future spouses have the right to choose the date and time of the marriage procedure no earlier than 1, but no later than 12 months from the date of filing the application (Part 1 of Article 11 of the Family Code).

The waiting period may be reduced (or registration may take place on the same day) due to special circumstances. For example, during pregnancy, birth of a child.

The application form is unified and looks like this:

*click on the picture to open it full size in a new window

An application for marriage registration can be submitted in several ways :

1. personally (together) by visiting the registry office;
2. personally through the MFC branch (multifunctional center). In this and the previous option, you must have your passports and a receipt for payment of the state duty (350 rubles - when paying at a bank or MFC terminal, 245 rubles - when paying through the State Services portal);
3. remotely on the Internet portal “Gosuslugi” (the bride and groom must have a confirmed entry on this portal). How to register for State Services is described in detail in another article on our blog.

Algorithm for submitting an application through State Services: go to the portal, log in.

Next, follow the link: https://www.gosuslugi.ru/10081/1/form and fill out the electronic application form, following the service prompts. The service provision interface is very simple and understandable.

Note: all personal data transferred to State Services during registration will appear in the form automatically.

The procedure for registering marriage relations is carried out only in the personal presence of the parties . Marriage by proxy is not permitted.