Can a divorce be annulled?

Divorce methods

According to Russian law, divorce is carried out in the registry office or in court.

Documents are submitted to the first instance in the following cases:

• mutual consent to divorce;
• absence of minor children and property disputes;
• the presence of one of the spouses in a colony, if the sentence is more than 3 years;
• recognition by the court of a spouse as missing or incompetent.

The divorce procedure in court occurs in a situation where:

• spouses have minor children;
• the spouses have not reached agreement on the further procedure for raising children and their place of residence;
• there are property disputes combined with a divorce claim;
• one of the spouses does not consent to the divorce.

Divorce through a magistrate's court is possible if the spouses have no disputes about with whom the child or several children will live, the amount of alimony, and the value of the jointly acquired property declared for division does not exceed 50,000 rubles. In all other cases, the divorce process takes place in the district court.

The parties receive copies of the court decision on termination of marital obligations 1 month after the court hearing and can submit the said decision to the registry office for registration.

How long does it take to appeal a court decision?

Sometimes people ask whether they can appeal a divorce at any time. Due to ignorance, some couples divorcing a marriage believe that the dissolution of the marriage occurs on the day the court makes a decision. This is the wrong idea. Let's consider what the deadline for appealing a divorce is. Based on Art. 25 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the date of divorce is the day when the court decision came into force. And this happens a month after the court decision is made. Accordingly, you can appeal a court decision on divorce within this month.

How to cancel a divorce?

Emotions play a big role in the decision to divorce, so in some cases, after a certain time, the spouses change it and no longer want to get a divorce.

Unfortunately, difficulties may arise with the cancellation of a divorce that took place through the registry office; in court, the spouses have the right to withdraw their application before considering the case on the merits.

Important! The easiest way to “get everything back” is to re-register the marriage after the divorce process has taken place.

Is it possible to cancel the registry office's decision on divorce?

When filing an application for divorce with the registry office, spouses are usually given one month for reconciliation. The marital obligations between them will continue if they do not report to the institution after this period of time. The application is considered extinguished and the petition for divorce is annulled.

If the divorce does take place and the relevant changes are made to the civil registry office, then the divorce cannot be annulled.

Those wishing to restore their marital relationship will have to apply again to the registry office for marriage. The details of this action (date, record number, etc.) will be new.

Is it possible to cancel a court decision on divorce?

If the claim for divorce has just been accepted by the court, the plaintiff may withdraw it before the case is considered on the merits. To do this, he needs to submit an application to the court office, indicating the reasons for abandoning the claim. In this case, the plaintiff does not have to worry about financial or legal consequences.

It is important to know that if the spouses nevertheless decide to divorce, then only one spouse will be able to initiate this process. The second has the right to agree or disagree with the submitted claim during the court hearing.

If the plaintiff decides to abandon the claim during the trial, he can directly state this orally to the judge or by filing a written petition.

His statement will be entered into the minutes of the court hearing, and the proceedings will be terminated due to the fact that the plaintiff abandoned the claim.

This has the following consequences:

• the proceedings are terminated;
• repeated filing of the same claim and on the same grounds is not allowed.

Example. Plaintiff A. filed for divorce, indicating that her husband does not work and does not want to support his family. During the trial, the plaintiff withdrew the statement of claim and she renounced the demands, and a month later she again filed the same statement of claim. The court refused to accept the claim, since repeated appeal to the court by the same parties and on the same grounds is unacceptable. The updated claim, in which the plaintiff indicated that her husband beat her and confirmed this fact with evidence, was accepted by the court for proceedings.

If the spouses were given a certain time for reconciliation and it took place, then they have the right to make a statement about this at the court hearing. They can also file a petition to terminate court proceedings, both during the trial itself and before it begins.

Is it possible to overturn a court decision on divorce?

When the termination has taken place and certificates of termination of registration have been received, the spouses become ex-spouses and there will be no other ways to restore the family other than submitting new applications to the registry office.

Whether it is possible to appeal a court decision on divorce depends on the specific circumstances and the moment when the decision to preserve the family was made:

1. Within 5 days from the date of submission of the application to the court, while the judge decides whether to accept the appeal for consideration. You just need to come to the office and pick up the application.
2. Before the magistrate makes a final decision, while waiting for a court hearing or during a probationary period (it can last up to 3 months).
3. After the trial by filing an appeal against the court's divorce decision before it enters into force. To apply, you will need to provide compelling reasons why the decision should be reversed.
4. After the divorce, when the period for appealing a divorce has expired. It will be necessary to prove that the deadline was missed due to reasons beyond the person’s control.

At each stage of the divorce process, it remains possible to annul the divorce, but the specifics of the procedure should be taken into account depending on whether the judge has made a decision and whether the appeal period has expired.

A certificate of termination of registration of a married couple in the registry office is issued after the court decision has already entered into force. Only those who can prove that missing the deadline for filing an appeal is due to objective reasons will be able to return their family status. Refusal to obtain a confirming certificate from the registry office cannot legally be considered a reason to consider the family preserved.

Cancellation of a divorce decision through an appeal

After the court makes a decision on divorce, the spouses can appeal it. Within a month, they must file an appeal, in which they indicate the grounds for canceling the divorce decision.

There can be any grounds, the main thing is to get the complaint accepted and the case referred to appeal. In a higher court, the parties can enter into a settlement agreement, or the plaintiff can abandon the claim. Art. 326.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation provides such a right to the parties.

Based on this, the appellate court will cancel the previously adopted divorce decision.

Important! The appeal is filed to the same court that rendered the verdict. It will then be sent to a higher court. If the case was heard in the magistrate's court, the appeal is sent to the district court. Moreover, if the magistrate poses any obstacles, the applicant has the right to file a complaint directly with the district judge - it will be transferred to the magistrate to prepare the case for appeal.

Writing an appeal is not an easy task. In order for the complaint to be accepted by the court, it is necessary to avoid errors and any inaccuracies, ensuring that the document is drawn up in strict accordance with the legal requirements for the completeness of the contents of the complaint.

The complaint must indicate:

• full name of the court;
• last name, first name, patronymic of the plaintiff and defendant, as well as other information: their residential addresses, telephone numbers;
• name - “appeal”;
• the essence of the complaint (in this subsection you must write what should serve as the basis for canceling the court’s decision);
• demand to the court to cancel the decision, dismiss the case;
• date and signature of the applicant.

Sample appeal for divorce

The following documents must be attached to the appeal letter:

• copies of the claim (2 copies);
• a copy of the court decision;
• receipt of paid state duty (150 rubles, i.e. 50% of the amount of the duty for a non-property claim);
• other documents substantiating the requirements.

Important! If the plaintiff abandons the claim, the court is unlikely to carefully study the arguments of the complaint and promptly terminate the proceedings.

If a lot of time has passed since the decision was made and the period cannot be restored, then annulment of the divorce in court will be an impossible task. The easiest way for spouses will be to register their marriage again.

How to appeal a court decision on divorce?

To do this, it is necessary to send a corresponding application to the same court that issued the verdict. The appeal is sent by the court office to a higher authority. It is also possible to apply directly to a higher court if the clerk's office prevents the registration of the appeal.

Additionally, you can file a corresponding complaint against office staff for exceeding official authority. If, as a result of their actions, the period for filing an appeal expires, then it can only be restored on the basis of a decision in the case of abuse of power.

What documents need to be submitted?

It is necessary to provide a complete list of documents, which includes the following:

• the appeal itself;
• 2 copies of the statement of claim;
• a copy of the court decision;
• receipt of payment of the state duty, which is 150 rubles;
• evidence base.

The more papers submitted as evidence, the higher the likelihood of a favorable outcome when the case is reviewed.

If the applicant is a foreign citizen, then an additional notarized translation of the passport will be required. If it is impossible to appear in person, a power of attorney is issued to another person. He can bring the necessary papers to the court office. The power of attorney is certified by a notary; it must indicate what exactly the person chosen can do for the principal.

Sample appeal against a magistrate's decision on divorce

This document must be drawn up according to the sample. It is recommended that you contact a legal practitioner to draft it in accordance with current requirements. However, you can try to do everything yourself. To do this, just use the sample that is available on the Internet.

This should be in the appeal:

• the name of the court where the complaint is filed;
• Full names of the parties, places of their registration and contact information;
• title "Appeal";
• essence of the claim;
• demand to the court (to review a separate paragraph, terminate legal proceedings, cancel the decision, and so on);
• legal justification of the requirements;
• a list of attached documents;
• date and signature.

Expert opinion

Maria Lokshina

Family law expert since 2010

The biggest problem is the legal substantiation of the requirements. In fact, here it is necessary to refer to Articles 112 or 321 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which give the right to file an appeal.

Procedure for considering an appeal case

Once the complaint is registered, a hearing date is set. You are required to appear before the hearing to hear the case. If there are no parties, the meeting is adjourned. The maximum number of transfers in civil cases cannot exceed 3 times.

The personal presence of the parties is not a mandatory requirement, so the case is considered in absentia for the third time. If the complaint contains a request to consider the case without the presence of the applicant, then the court is based only on the available facts.

During the meeting, the decision of the court of first instance, the evidence base and the testimony of the parties are studied. Based on this, a verdict is made to change or maintain the sentence.

If one of the parties is again not satisfied with the decision, then it is possible to file a cassation appeal to a higher authority. The Supreme Court is the highest authority in civil proceedings. His decision cannot be disputed. So, having reached it, it is necessary to recognize the existing decision or write to the ECHR.

However, there is a high probability of rejection of such a complaint, since it is quite difficult to correctly draw up a claim in the ECHR. It is necessary to contact international lawyers who have excellent knowledge of private international law.

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