Marriages are not concluded for a certain period of time, but for life. When people get married, the bride and groom are full of happiness and do not plan to separate. But the end of a marriage can occur regardless of the wishes of the spouses. And like any legal issue, the termination of a marriage implies grounds and legal consequences.
Termination of marriage from the point of view of the Family Code (RF IC)
Termination of marriage is the termination of legal relations between spouses arising from a marriage registered in accordance with the established procedure.
The legal regulation of the termination of marriage is enshrined in articles 16 to 26 of Chapter 4 of the Family Code.
According to Chapter 4 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, marriage is terminated due to the occurrence of certain legal facts. This is the moment when the legal relationship between husband and wife is interrupted.
Ekaterina Guryanova, lawyer
The Family Code establishes that the termination of a marriage can occur not only as a result of divorce
Grounds, reasons and conditions
The grounds for termination of marriage are provided for in Article 16 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation:
- Death of one of the spouses.
- Announcement by the court that the spouse is declared dead.
- Dissolution of marriage (divorce).
When these legal facts occur, the marriage is considered terminated.
The procedure for divorce in the registry office and in court
During the life of both spouses, there is also a possibility that the marriage will stop. Regardless of why the couple decided to separate, divorce occurs under certain conditions and within the framework of the law - by applying to the registry office or court.
For a divorce in the registry office, the consent of both spouses and the absence of common children are required.
Family Code of the Russian Federation
Divorce through the court occurs if there are joint children under 18 years of age or disputes regarding property.
If there are minor children in the family, the spouses will be divorced only in court
If this is a judicial divorce, then within three days after the decision enters into legal force, the court sends an extract from this decision to the registry office where the registration took place.
By the way, the concept of divorce and termination of marriage originates in Roman law. Thus, the loss of citizenship by a Roman could become grounds for divorce. And in order to get a divorce and end the marriage, his wife only had to say the word “divorce” in front of seven witnesses. Moreover, sanctions could be imposed on the offending spouse in the form of deprivation of his property acquired before marriage. And if the marriage was concluded through a wedding ceremony, it could be dissolved and terminated only after making a sacrifice to Jupiter, and priests had to be invited to the ceremony itself.
Boris Nikolaev, Candidate of Historical Sciences
Differences between ending a marriage and dissolution
Divorce is the result of an expression of will. This is possible with the consent of one or both parties. The end of a marriage is a situation that does not always depend on the will of people. For example, in the event of the death of one of the spouses, the other has to put up with the termination, because it is impossible to be in union with a person who is no longer there. But divorce is one of the grounds, therefore these concepts are interconnected; divorce is a special case of the end of a marriage.
Some widows, after the death of their husband, continue to wear a wedding ring on their ring finger for the reason that death is not a divorce: they did not give consent, they did not express their will to do so
Is it possible to end an invalid marriage?
You cannot end a marriage that is not legally registered.
An invalid marriage is an officially registered marriage concluded in violation of conditions and laws. Such a union does not imply a legal relationship, and responsibilities are not assigned to anyone. A marriage can be considered invalid from the moment it is legally recognized as such.
Only a valid marriage concluded in compliance with legal norms can be dissolved. Therefore, the bond of an invalid marriage cannot be terminated.
Interesting fact: some marriages are declared invalid upon the request of both parties. But both people in these couples want to continue the relationship. After the declaration of invalidity, the man and woman remain together and register the marriage.
Danil Feoktistov, member of the All-Russian public organization “Association of Lawyers of Russia”.
Divorce in court
Persons can be divorced through the courts if they have minor children, one party does not want to get a divorce, or simply does not appear at the registry office to sign the application.
The statement of claim must contain not only the facts of the existence of a marital relationship and the data of the parties, but also must indicate the reason for the divorce; the law does not contain an exact list of such reasons. Based on the reasons, the court will make its decision. Therefore, in the absence of the consent of one of the parties, the court may:
- dissolve the marriage by making an appropriate decision;
- refuse divorce;
- postpone the trial for a period of no more than three months.
When both parties agree to a divorce, and an application to the court was filed due to the presence of minor children, due to the avoidance of one of the spouses from filing an application with the registry office for an unknown reason, then during the trial the court will make a decision on divorce without clarifying the reasons for the divorce. to divorce.
The following issues will be considered in the trial:
- about the place of residence of children after divorce;
- about the amount of alimony payments;
- on the division of property.
What documents confirm the termination of a previous marriage?
Which paper will confirm the termination of the marriage depends on why it was terminated. If this was the result of a divorce, the document becomes a divorce certificate, and if this happened due to the death of one of the spouses (or recognition as deceased), a death certificate.
But there are some subtleties. For example, to enter into a new marriage, you can confirm the termination of the previous one by presenting a certificate of registration of the previous marriage, since it contains data on the registration; it does not become a problem for the registry office to clarify the information.
A document confirming the termination of marriage due to the death of a spouse is issued in the form prescribed by law on a special form
Divorce through the registry office
The legislation of the Russian Federation establishes the possibility of divorce through the registry office. This is allowed if the parties do not have common children who have not reached the age of majority, and both agree to divorce. This consent must be expressed in writing from each spouse, in a joint or separate document.
After receiving applications from spouses, they are given a month to consider their decision. After this period has expired, the divorce is registered and the parties can come for a certificate.
Such a divorce procedure does not exclude further disputes about property or the residence of children, which will already be resolved through court proceedings.
From what moment are family relationships considered terminated?
The date of termination of marriage in the case of divorce is considered to be the day on which the dissolution was registered by the registry office. It is a mistake to believe that this moment comes with filing an application for divorce, because the spouses are given another month in case of reconciliation.
If this was due to death, the date of termination automatically becomes the date of death.
Death registration is carried out in the civil registry office at the place where the deceased lived, or at the place of death, or at the place of burial of the deceased on the basis of a medical death certificate, according to an application for registration of death. Registration of death by a court decision establishing the fact of death or a court decision declaring a citizen dead is carried out in the registry office at the location of the court that made the decision.
Unified list of administrative procedures
If the termination occurred on the basis of a court decision, the moment of termination of the marriage is considered to be the date of entry into force of this decision.
The divorce certificate indicates the date of its termination
For example, on September 1, 2015, on legal grounds, civilian Karamzina filed an application to the court to declare her husband dead. The trial lasted 1 year. The court made its decision on September 1, 2021, and this decision entered into legal force a month later. Thus, October 1, 2016 officially became the moment of termination of the marriage.
Melnikov Dmitry Alexandrovich, family psychologist
Grounds for ending a marriage
- 1. A marriage ends due to death or due to a court declaring one of the spouses dead.
- 2. A marriage can be terminated by dissolution at the request of one or both spouses, as well as at the request of the guardian of the spouse recognized by the court as incompetent.
- 1. The commented article contains an exhaustive list of grounds for termination of marriage.
First, a marriage ends if one of the spouses dies.
Secondly, if he is declared dead.
Thirdly, if the marriage between the spouses is dissolved.
In the first case, the termination of the marriage is confirmed by a death certificate, in the second - by a court decision that has entered into legal force declaring a person dead (or also by a death certificate, which is issued by the registry office on the basis of the specified court decision), in the third - by a certificate of divorce.
Thus, in the event of the death of one of the spouses (or declaring him dead), there is no need to formalize the termination of the marriage with any special document - the marriage is considered terminated either from the moment of death or from the date of entry into force of the specified judicial act.
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If a person who went missing under circumstances that threatened his life (giving reason to assume his death from an accident) is declared dead, the court may recognize the date of his presumed death as the day of death. Then this particular day is indicated in the court decision (Article 45 of the Civil Code).
2. Based on Art. 45 of the Civil Code, a person can be declared dead when at his place of residence there is no information about his whereabouts for five years, and if he went missing under circumstances that threatened death or suggest his death from an accident - within six months from the moment such circumstances occur. A serviceman or other citizen who goes missing in connection with military actions can be declared dead only after two years have passed from the date of the end of these actions.
If a citizen, also in court, is recognized as missing, the marriage with him can only be terminated by dissolution through the registry office. However, situations are possible when a person declared dead is actually alive, and the one whom the court declared missing has returned. In such a case, what will happen to the terminated (divorced) marriage? These situations are regulated by law as follows.
The appearance of a person recognized as missing or declared dead entails the cancellation of the relevant court acts by a new court decision (Article 44.46 of the Civil Code). If the latter cancels the decision by which the citizen was declared dead, then the registry office will cancel the record of his death.
Within the meaning of Art. 26 of the Family Code, the appearance of a citizen and, accordingly, the cancellation of the decision on his unknown absence or death does not automatically restore the terminated marriage. To do this you need:
- • joint application of the spouses;
- • absence of another marriage.
It follows that the appearance of a spouse recognized as missing (declared dead) does not cast doubt on the validity of the marriage, which was concluded after the relevant court decisions were made. In other words, if by the time the person appears, his spouse is in a new marriage, restoration of the previous marriage is excluded.
3. On divorce in the registry office, see comment. to Art. 19, and in court - see comment. to Art. 21-23; see also Resolution No. 15 of November 5, 1998.
Legal consequences
Simultaneously with the termination of the marriage, the legal relations of the former spouses also cease. There are some exceptions:
- legal relations continue if alimony is paid;
- legal relations can continue if there are property points of contact.
If the union is terminated on the basis of divorce (through the court), the division of the property did not take place, and there is no agreement on division, then in some cases the former spouses continue to use the property together. For example, if real estate was acquired during marriage, and the former family is the shared owner, then without dividing this property, the spouses can continue to own this property on a shared basis.
With a divorce, both parents are not released from the responsibility to participate in the upbringing and maintenance of children.
In the event of the death of one of the spouses (or judicial recognition as deceased), the living spouse may participate in the inheritance issue. But if a divorce occurs, then after the death of the former spouse, the second has no rights to inheritance.
Video: the concept of ending a marriage in family law
The dissolution of a marriage is the official end of the relationship between spouses. The grounds for this are divorce, death or recognition of one of them as dead. The supporting documents in such cases will be a divorce certificate, a death certificate and a court decision, respectively. The moment of termination of marriage is considered to be the moment of registration of the divorce, the death of the spouse and the date of entry into force of the court decision.
Vitaly Sazonov
Lawyer, author of articles on legal topics. Education: state educational institution of higher professional education "Moscow State Open University".
