Is it possible to divide property after 3 years after divorce?

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The main issues related to the existence of a family are reflected in the RF IC. This also applies to its collapse. Such an issue as the division of property after a divorce, in addition to family law, is regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and a number of federal laws. The problem of filing lawsuits for the division of common property when several years have passed since the dissolution of the marriage deserves special mention. When solving the problem, first of all you should pay attention to Art. 196 – 200 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and a number of regulatory by-laws.

What property is subject to division?

Knowing your rights and responsibilities will protect you from most conflict situations in the future. But there are some things that cannot be divided during a divorce:

inherited;
present;
purchased before the wedding.

Property of this kind is considered personal and cannot be divided. If you sell a personal item before division, when its status as “personal” and not “common” has not yet been approved, then the second spouse can legally claim half the value of the sold personal item.

Let's consider the situation: before marriage, my father gave his wife a car. She sells it before the official division of the property. The husband has the legal right to obtain through the court payment of half the cost of this car, despite the fact that it was not acquired jointly. Therefore, you should not rush to sell your property, but rather consult with a specialist in this field.

Subject to division:

real estate of all types (houses, apartments, plots, garages);
any monetary assets (business, shares);
transport;
furniture and home appliances (TV, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, etc.);
jewelry and other valuables.

Debt obligations, mortgage and loan payments are also subject to division, regardless of whose name they are issued. In such cases, the court may take into account the nature of the debts - if the loan funds were spent not for the general needs of the family, but for the personal purposes of one of the spouses, then such loans may be excluded from being divided.

What is the statute of limitations?

The limitation period begins from the day when the person interested in resolving the property issue received information about the violation of rights to this property. From this moment on, the statute of limitations begins in this case. Its termination in most civil cases ends after three years .

How can property rights be violated? For example, one of the spouses has the keys to an apartment in which the second spouse has a share, and does not allow the co-owner into it. Puts up for sale a car that is common property, without taking into account the interests of the other half.

The law prescribes circumstances when the period changes up or down. An interested party in the family's property affairs can be not only the spouse, but also representatives of the judicial system, guardianship service employees and other persons.

So, if the statute of limitations has expired, then the court will accept the claim, but when considering the case, it will refuse the plaintiff on the basis of the expiration of his time.

How is the statute of limitations calculated in a divorce?

Many lawyers and judges are often mistaken when calculating the statute of limitations when dividing property by spouses, counting three years from the date of divorce without any conditions and assessment of other circumstances.

This position is fundamentally incorrect, which is confirmed by the conclusions of higher authorities.

Thus, the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, in Resolution No. 15 adopted on November 5, 1998, gave comprehensive explanations on the issue of calculating the limitation period for the division of property. The document states that the starting date should be considered the moment when the spouse learned about the violation of his rights or should have learned about them.

An excerpt from the document is published below.

Example. The B. spouses divorced in January 2010. Until 2021, they lived separately, but in June 2021, the ex-husband decided to divide the apartment and non-residential premises acquired by them during the marriage, but registered in his wife’s name. The reason was the ex-wife’s obstruction in the use of the said property.

In court, the wife demanded that the claim be dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, citing that more than three years had passed since the divorce and during all this time her husband had not deigned to resolve the issue with the property. The court refused the request to apply the statute of limitations when dividing property, referring to the paragraph of the resolution above - the moment of violation of rights arose on the day the creation of obstacles to the ex-husband began. The date of divorce does not matter here.

From what point is the limitation period calculated for the division of property?

The starting point for the limitation period for going to court will be the day when one of the spouses committed an action that prevented the second spouse from exercising his rights to jointly acquired property.

Such actions may include:

creating obstacles to the use of jointly acquired property;
sale or other alienation of common property without the consent of the spouse;
isolation of this property, its concealment in order to prevent the use of such property by the second spouse;
refusal to divide property voluntarily;
other actions of one of the spouses that directly indicate a violation of the rights of the second spouse to use and dispose of jointly acquired property.

Unfortunately, in practice, not everything turns out to be so simple. If the moment of violation of the spouse’s rights is the sale of joint property, then there will be no problems with calculating the limitation period: the beginning of the period will be the date of sale of the property.

But in cases where there was an oral refusal to divide assets or the creation of obstacles in the use of common assets, the start date for filing a claim will be of an estimated nature. And how it will be assessed depends on the judge’s beliefs and the evidence presented by the parties.

If the established practice is grossly rejected, the court decision, of course, can be appealed - but all this requires time and money.

The lawyers of our site are ready at any time to advise you free of charge on any issues related to the division of jointly acquired property and the statute of limitations for these claims.

It is important to file a claim on time: from the practice of court cases

A claim for division of property against a former spouse can be filed within all three years after the start of the statute of limitations. Another thing is that for a long time this point was subject to different interpretations - from what moment does the countdown begin?

Background

The courts, guided by Art. 199 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which clearly states that the period for resolving all issues of division of property of former spouses ends with a three-year period, often “by definition” the date of divorce was considered the starting point. And this despite the fact that in 1998 the Plenum of the Supreme Court created Resolution No. 15, where in paragraph 19 it was once again explained that the starting point does not have to be the moment of divorce . There are many circumstances where the statute of limitations begins many more years after service of the document terminating the marriage.

What circumstances lead to the issue of property division being raised in court 5, 7, 10, 20 years after the official end of the marriage? So, 3 years have passed since the divorce: division of property with two examples from practice.

An example of a positive decision for a plaintiff

The ex-husband believed that he had a “by default” right to half of the share of the apartment acquired during marriage and registered in his wife’s name. However, when he decided to sell this share seven years after the divorce, he was denied such a right by his former other half.

The court established in this case the limitation period from the day when the plaintiff was denied the right to dispose of property, and not from the date of delivery of the Divorce Certificate.

Example of refusal due to expiration of time for filing a claim

The couple built a house while they were married, which they registered in the name of the husband. After the divorce, the husband sold the house, which became known to the ex-wife. However, she did not then declare her right to ½ of the house. Five years later, the woman decided to file a claim to restore the right to her share through the court, which rejected her on the basis of Art. 38 SK. RF and Art. 199 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In this case, the fact that information about the sale was communicated to the plaintiff was confirmed, thus the statute of limitations was determined to be three and a half years, which is more than the time limit allowed by law.

Important: cases where the statute of limitations was missed due to legal illiteracy or carelessness does not give the court grounds to restore the property rights of the other, violated by one of the spouses.

Thus, violation of the statute of limitations when resolving property issues between former spouses may deprive one of the parties of the right to dispose of property if it delays the filing of the relevant claim.

Methods for dividing property

To receive your due share of property acquired during marriage, you can take several paths. If you have maintained a good relationship with your ex-spouse, it is worth discussing the terms of the division and including them in the appropriate agreement. But in case of conflicts, it is better to seek protection of rights in a judicial authority.

Peaceful division of property

There are only two ways to peacefully divide property acquired during marriage. The simplest one is to take care in advance of drawing up a marriage contract, which will establish the size of the share that goes to each party in the event of a divorce. You can sign a contract both before registering a relationship and during marriage.

After a divorce, it’s too late to think about such an opportunity. However, this does not mean that the issue of division cannot be resolved peacefully. Spouses can draw up a peace agreement, which will reflect the size of the parts of property that will be transferred to the husband and wife after the divorce.

The document is drawn up in simple written form. To give a document legal significance, it is worth additionally notarizing it.

There are many advantages to such an agreement:

The spouses determine the size of the shares allocated to each.
Drawing up and signing a paper takes less time than a trial. This means that you will be able to get your due share much faster.
There is no need to invest funds. To pay legal costs or attorney fees.

An agreement is considered legal if its participants agreed to each established point and signed the paper without outside pressure.

Division of property in court

If you cannot reach an agreement with your spouse, the only way to obtain part of the jointly acquired property is to initiate legal proceedings. A similar right of husband and wife is established in paragraph 3 of Article 38 of the RF IC.

Property is divided between the ex-husband and wife in equal parts. In some cases, shares may increase or decrease, for example, due to the presence of minor children remaining in the care of one of the parents. Taking into account their shares, the part transferred to the representative designated by the court will be greater than that provided to the opponent.

What is included in the division of property during a divorce?

After the divorce there will be a division of jointly acquired property, namely:

All income of the spouses (from business, deposits).
Jewelry acquired during marriage.
Shares, securities.
Present.
Property purchased during marriage: apartments, dachas, houses, plots.
Financial encumbrances (debts, arrears, loans, mortgages) arising during marriage.

When dividing property during a divorce, the car will also be involved in the process.

Will not be subject to division:

Property received by one party as a gift.
Property acquired through inheritance.
Property acquired with funds owned before marriage.
Payments that have a specific purpose.
Property legally registered in the name of the minor(s) or adopted child(ren).
Things of a personal nature.

The above points refer to situations where there is no marriage contract, there is no clear division of ownership rights, or shared ownership of common property is not agreed upon.

The legislation determines the division of joint property in equal shares. The Family Code, which is applicable to civil marriage, has two options:

according to the marriage contract (settlement agreement for the division of property during divorce);
law.

Is it possible to divide property after 3 years after divorce?

Taking into account this rule, the former spouse can file for division of property after three years have passed since the divorce: after 5, 10 or even 15 years. The period depends on the date when his property rights were violated. This position has been developed by the practice of the highest courts, as stated in paragraph 19 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated November 5, 1998 No. 15.

What is a violation of law?

For example, one of the spouses has the keys to an apartment where he is a shared owner, but the second spouse does not allow him into this living space. From the day when the incident first occurred, the period for protecting the right by filing a lawsuit in court begins.

If the former spouse missed the three-year period from the moment his right was violated, he may lose the opportunity to divide jointly acquired property through the court. This will happen when the plaintiff files an application, and at any stage of the trial (before the decision is announced), the defendant claims that the statute of limitations has passed and attaches relevant evidence. The judge will have no choice but to refuse to satisfy the plaintiff’s demands, even if they are justified.

Time to submit documents

Following the general rule, the expiration of the limitation period is an obstacle to recourse to the judicial authorities. But when dividing the joint property of an ex-husband and wife, there are some exceptions when a claim document can be filed. In such cases, the concept of delay will not apply, and time will not be considered lost.

In general, the time interval to submit an application for division of acquired property is limited to 3 years. But the Supreme Court rulings provide some clarification on this topic.

Important: If one of the parties violates the property rights of the other party, then the calculation of the claim interval begins not from the date of divorce, but from the moment when the injured person learned of the violation of his rights. This fact must be supported by evidence from the victim.

When the ex-husband and wife continue to live together in common living space (for example, in an apartment acquired during marriage), the period for division of jointly acquired property will begin to count from the date when one of the spouses is unable to exercise their rights in relation to real estate. For example:

when the second spouse is prohibited from entering the apartment;
if disagreements arise between divorced persons about the rules of residence in the territory of this housing;
when carrying out a purchase and sale transaction without the knowledge of one of the parties, etc.

Also, the time interval for filing a claim is calculated regardless of when the marriage was dissolved.

The application of the limitation period in court is possible on the basis of an application by one of the parties, which was filed before the court decision.

A claim for property division (if the property value does not exceed 50 thousand rubles) is filed in the magistrate’s court at the place of residence of the responding party.

If the price of the issue is higher, the document is submitted to the district judicial authority. The application is accompanied by a package of documentation necessary for consideration of the case and a receipt for payment of the state fee (the amount is calculated individually in each specific case).

The statement of claim shall indicate all the circumstances under which the fact of violation of property rights was established: a list of jointly acquired assets indicating their value and date of acquisition. Evidence must also be provided of the purchase of the property using joint funds while the spouses were married.

If there is a risk of selling common property, you should contact the judicial authorities to seize this property in order to preserve it. This action is regulated by Article 140 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

The statute of limitations for jointly acquired property in this case will begin from the date indicated in the application.

What are the chances of dividing property after 3 years?

If there is a good reason due to which the citizen could not initiate litigation under the section earlier. The court may accept a statement of claim for the division of the spouses' common property. Force majeure usually includes:

serious illness of the applicant or his close relative;
long-term absence from residence, for example, due to a business trip;
concealment of part of the property by the former spouse;
participation in other legal proceedings initiated earlier.

To restore the statute of limitations, you need to file a statement of claim with the court. A case of division can be initiated only if the answer is positive.

What can a wife (husband) claim when dividing property after divorce?

The shares of spouses depend on the method of division of jointly acquired property. If the ex-husband and wife do not have mutual claims and are able to come to an agreement, they can enter into a voluntary agreement and have it certified by a notary. It indicates a list of things that goes to each spouse after a divorce and the size of the shares.

If the spouses cannot peacefully resolve the issue of division of property, the court will decide it, applying the norms of the RF IC and the RF Civil Code. Thus, Article 38 of the Family Code establishes the following points regarding the division of marital property:

At the request of the husband and wife, the court has the right to determine specific property objects that become the property of each of them. But if one of them receives a property whose value exceeds the size of his share, the other spouse receives compensation in the form of money or property.
The court, based on the arguments of the participants in the process, has the right to recognize property acquired during marriage as the property of the one who bought it. This rule applies when the spouses live separately and the actual family relationship between the man and the woman has ceased before the official dissolution of the marriage.
Personal belongings purchased for joint minor children are not subject to division. These include clothing and shoes, school and sports supplies, musical instruments, children's books, etc. They are transferred without compensation to the spouse with whom the children live.
Contributions made in the name of children are retained by them in the same amount.

During the division, the court proceeds from the principle of equality of the parties, therefore, in most cases, each of them receives exactly half of the total property.

One of the spouses may be dissatisfied with this decision, especially if he improved a specific thing at his own expense (for example, repairs to real estate or a car), which was subsequently divided in half. Therefore, it is recommended to compromise through an agreement.

Filing a claim

In a situation in which, after the divorce process, you did not immediately complete the division of property, in legal theory and practical experience there are two judgments regarding the time of limitation for the division of common property:

The terms are calculated from the date of divorce.
The period for filing a claim should be counted from the moment when discrimination occurred against the right of one of the divorced spouses to own joint property.

In accordance with the seventh paragraph of Article 38 of the RF IC, the “claims” of the ex-husband and wife can be brought forward within a period of 3 years. This period begins not from the date of receipt of the certificate confirming the divorce, but from the moment at which the rights of one of the parties were violated.

When to file a claim

If you seek advice from lawyers about when it is possible and best to file a claim for the division of marital property, you will hear a huge number of opinions. Someone will say that the statute of limitations on the division of jointly acquired property is almost never limited to three years. Because divorce is not grounds for termination of property rights. And after the divorce, the former spouses can use it at their own discretion without the need for mandatory division.

Rules for dividing property three years after divorce.

Other lawyers will say that it will be difficult for the plaintiff to prove that he did not know about the infringement of his rights before. Therefore, you need to try to meet the deadline of 3 years after the divorce. This not only increases the chance that the claim will not be denied, but also increases the likelihood of a favorable outcome of the case. After all, over time, the evidence base is lost if there are controversial issues regarding property. The property itself is deteriorating and is simply not worth the money it was previously worth. This is especially true when dividing a car.

How it happens

In the first case, the division of property will take place without court, in the second through court:

No trial. The following contractual options have legal force:
agreement on the division of jointly acquired property. The document is drawn up by a notary before a divorce by many separating couples (a settlement agreement on the division of property during a divorce).
Through the court. In cases where a couple cannot reach an agreement or is impossible for various reasons, a legal option for dividing property is used.

Documents to be submitted:

Statement of claim for division of property of each party.
A certificate or copy certified by a notary of marriage (you can submit a document on divorce or marriage).
Documents that have legal force and confirm the existence of material wealth acquired jointly during marriage.
Ownership rights to apartment(s), dacha(s), car(s).
Receipts, checks confirming the purchase during marriage.
Extract from the house register, copy of personal account.
All other documents for jointly acquired property in respect of which no agreement has been reached and subject to division.

Restoring a missed statute of limitations

But there are other situations in cases involving the division of property after a divorce. Such cases in which a party is aware of a violation of its rights, but does not file claims within the period established by law. And in this case, not all is lost if the party is able to prove the presence of significant reasons that prevented the filing of the application.

The court will restore the statute of limitations provided:

the presence of a serious illness that prevents you from going to court;
personal significant circumstances. This could be service in the Armed Forces, serving a sentence, long-term business trip, etc.;
significant changes in the family (the need to care for a seriously ill relative, the birth or adoption of a child, etc.).

The judge can also be accommodating if it turns out that the plaintiff does not speak Russian perfectly and does not know the basics of Russian legislation. For a reason to be taken into account as valid, it must occur during the entire limitation period or at least in the last 6 months of this period.

Before dividing the marital property, the plaintiff must file an application with the court, stating all the reasons. It is necessary to have a supporting document (certificate from the hospital, birth certificate of the child, etc.).

Grounds and procedure for reinstating the statute of limitations

In order for the court to restore the statute of limitations, the plaintiff must prove the valid reason for missing it. This category is not clearly defined in the law, and therefore is evaluative.

As a guide, Article 205 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides an approximate list of grounds that the courts consider valid reasons. These include:

serious disease;
state of helplessness;
illiteracy, etc.

An additional condition defined by the same article is that a valid reason must arise within 6 months preceding the date of filing the claim.

Since this list is unlimited, the validity of a particular reason is determined by the court based on the circumstances of a particular case. The plaintiff has the right to present any evidence that, in his opinion, substantiates the validity of the grounds for missing the deadline. If the court considers his arguments convincing, it decides to restore the period of time in question, otherwise the applicant will face a denial of the claim.

To begin the process of reinstating the statute of limitations, you must submit an application. It indicates the reason and grounds why the former spouse considered it valid. The application form can be downloaded online

A claim to restore the deadline is filed in the same court where the application for division of property is being considered (that is, at the defendant’s residence address); if filed in another court, it will be returned due to lack of jurisdiction.

It is recommended that the application for reinstatement of the deadline be accompanied by documents confirming the valid reason for the absence (certificates, medical report, plane tickets, travel allowances, etc.). Thanks to written evidence, the court will decide to restore the period to protect the plaintiff’s rights.

Former spouses can count on receiving their part of the property even after the expiration of a three-year period from the date of official separation. But it is recommended not to delay this process and, during a divorce, to make several demands at once: for the dissolution of the marriage, for the division of jointly acquired property and, if necessary, for the collection of alimony for children.

How to restore the deadline

If the deadline is considered missed, it is possible to restore it if there were good reasons for the missed deadline. Russian legislation lists the reasons why a husband or wife could not go to court in time to protect their rights:

serious impairment of health for a long period of time;
a state when one of the parties could not consciously perform actions and deeds;
illiteracy, etc.

Thus, the law does not establish restrictions on the list of valid reasons. In some situations, such grounds may include other circumstances that the court considers important.

If the plaintiff is late in filing a claim for what he believes is a valid reason, he is given the opportunity to prove its merits in court. This will result in a requirement to restore the missed period.

But it should be borne in mind that the grounds can be recognized as valid only if they occurred in the last six months of the claim period (Article 205 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Expert opinion

Novikov Konstantin Yakovlevich

Lawyer with 8 years of experience. Specialization: family law. Extensive experience in protecting legal interests. Evgeniy

During the hearing, the judge will decide whether the reason for absence is valid. If this fact is not established, then consideration of the case will be refused and it will be terminated.

Joint values after divorce can be divided without involving the authorities. But if controversial issues arise when dividing property between the ex-husband and wife, an application is submitted to the court to resolve this issue.

The law provides for a time limit for filing such a claim. But there are some exceptions to the rules due to which this period can be restored.

The recognition of the grounds for omission of a claim as valid is carried out in court; the plaintiff must support his opinion with documentary evidence.

Attention! Due to recent changes in legislation, the legal information in this article may be out of date! Our lawyer can advise you free of charge - write your question in the form below:

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Marriage refers not only to living together, but also to running a household. Household relationships lead to the purchase of real estate, common items, as well as the accumulation of funds in common accounts.

In this regard, it is quite logical that after an official divorce, spouses have a problem regarding the division of all property acquired in the family.

From a legal point of view, this process has a number of various features. However, the main circumstance when considering a case in court is the limitation period for filing a claim established by current legislation.

During the entire period, one of the former spouses has the right to send an application to the court in order to distribute the property into equal parts.

When the statute of limitations for division of property is suspended

The law establishes a number of circumstances that suspend the period for filing a claim. Despite the fact that the chances of their occurrence are extremely low in relation to cases of division of marital property, it is still worth knowing about them.

Circumstances leading to suspension of the limitation period:

Force majeure or extraordinary circumstances: natural disasters, military actions and other circumstances that the plaintiff and other parties to the dispute are unable to prevent;
Suspension of the law regulating controversial legal relations;
The presence of a party to the case in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in cases where these forces are transferred to martial law.

As in the case of reinstatement, the above circumstances are taken into account only when they occurred within the six-month period before the end of the limitation period.

Lawyers strongly recommend resolving the issue of property division immediately after a divorce or even simultaneously with the dissolution of a marriage. This will avoid unpleasant surprises in the future and will also prevent the second spouse from wasting or otherwise hiding the jointly acquired property.

What judicial practice shows

The court's decision will depend primarily on whether the reason given by the plaintiff for the delay in filing the petition is truly valid. If the court considers the indicated circumstances significant, then the statute of limitations will be extended, as happened when considering in July 2011 a case on the division of property of spouses, in which the Presidium of the Rostov Regional Court issued Resolution No. 44g-23. The plaintiff's request to restore the statute of limitations was recognized as legitimate.

However, the court may recognize the stated reasons as insignificant and refuse to initiate proceedings on the division of property. In this case, the plaintiff will not be able to receive a share of the property or monetary compensation.

An example of a positive decision for a plaintiff

Ms. Karpova filed a claim with the Bobrovsky District Court of the Voronezh Region for the division of a three-room apartment, which was acquired in marriage with Mr. Karpov. During the hearing, it was established that Ms. Karpova, together with her husband, purchased an apartment during marriage and registered it in her husband’s name. After the divorce, the husband moved to another city. Didn't pay child support. After 4.5 years, the ex-husband returned and demanded that he give up 2 rooms in the apartment for living.

The court decided to divide the apartment in equal shares between the spouses and to assign alimony payments for children in the amount of 25% of the defendant’s income.

Example of refusal due to expiration of time for filing a claim

Citizen Fedchun filed a claim with the Sergiev Posad City Court for the division of a house located in the Khotkovo settlement. The claim stated that the plaintiff purchased a house with her husband during her marriage. After the divorce, the plaintiff created a new family and moved to live with her new husband, but at the same time remained to live in Khotkovo. After 3.5 years after the divorce, the plaintiff decided to buy an apartment, so she applied for the division of joint property acquired with her first spouse. The consideration of Ms. Fedchun’s case was denied because the court did not find any violation of the plaintiff’s rights, because she knew that only her ex-husband used the house, ran the household, carried out its repairs, and had not previously interfered with the division.

If there is a need to divide property after a divorce, then it is advisable for the spouses not to delay resolving this issue. The sooner the process takes place, the greater the chances of a painless resolution of the situation.

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