Divorce certificate: how and where to get it, documents, procedure

How does divorce happen through court?

After filing a claim for divorce, the court will be scheduled no earlier than in a month. A summons about the date and place of the divorce process will be sent to both spouses.

There are three options for further results of the development of the trial:

Both spouses do not appear in the courtroom.

Then the court decides to close the case because the plaintiff and defendant have changed their minds about getting a divorce.

One of the spouses or his representative did not appear at the divorce proceedings.

Then the judge finds out the reasons for the party’s absence. In case of any result of explanations, whether there are reasons for non-appearance or not, the first meeting will be postponed for a period determined by the judge. If the absent spouse provides important reasons for his absence, then the time limits will be set taking into account these circumstances.

The court will set a reconciliation period of 1 to 3 months if the absent party does not appear due to disagreement with the divorce and the rights of the children are not violated.

If there are no reasons for failure to appear, then the court may make a decision in absentia.

Both spouses came to court.

In the case of an existing agreement between the spouses, the judge can make a decision in one meeting. This is possible if there are no property disputes, the decision on the place of residence of the children is made mutually and this does not violate the rights of any child. Then the court makes a decision to satisfy the divorce claim.

If there is no agreement between the spouses, then the court finds out the reasons for the divorce and gives a period of up to three months (clause 2 of Article 22) for reconciliation.

If reconciliation does not occur, then the court clarifies all the issues in the case: with whom the children remain, the division of property and the amount of maintenance for the children, if an application for alimony was filed. After which he decides to divorce.

A court hearing may be postponed for reasons of collecting any evidence, documents, or at the request of the parties.

After the claim for divorce is granted, the spouses are considered divorced. The court decision is transferred to the registry office and after 10 days a divorce certificate is issued. It is created in two copies and the spouses independently take it from the authorized person, providing a copy of the decision.

If one of the parties to the case does not agree with the results of the divorce, then during this period he has the right to file a new claim.

Absentee divorce decree

Sometimes in practice there are cases when a decision to divorce is made in absentia. This occurs due to the absence of the defendant at the meeting, who was previously notified of the date, place and time of the meeting, but for some reason did not provide a valid reason for his absence and did not ask to consider the case in his absence. In this case, the process may take place in absentia proceedings.

The law provides special rules for appealing such default decisions. The defendant has 7 days to file an application with the court to overturn the previous decision. This period begins from the moment the defendant is served with a copy of the court decision.

Along with this, there is an appeal procedure: the parties can appeal the decision within 1 month after the expiration of the application to cancel this decision filed by the defendant. Or, if the defendant has already filed a similar request, within 1 month from the date of the court’s decision to refuse to satisfy this request.

A decision made in absentia can be overturned if it is proven to the court that the failure to appear at the hearing is explained by a valid reason, which the defendant could not previously inform the court about. If the defendant provides the necessary evidence, the court will vacate the previous default judgment, after which the trial will resume.

If the defendant spouse does not appear for a new hearing of the case, and he is notified of the place and date of the hearing, the adopted court decision will no longer be considered absentee. Consequently, the defendant will no longer be able to repeatedly request a review of a new decision in the same manner.

Filing a claim

Articles 22, 23 and 24 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation stipulate the rights of the parties and obligations when filing a claim.

The claim is filed at the place of registration of the defendant if the spouses live apart (Article 28 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation) or at the common actual residence of the spouses.

Article 32 of the Code of Civil Procedure states that divorce cases can be conducted at the place of residence of any spouse.

If it is unknown where the defendant lives, then the plaintiff files a claim at his own discretion:

according to the defendant’s last known place of residence;
at the location of the defendant’s property;
if the plaintiff is sick or has minor children, he has the right to file a claim at his place of residence.

Rules for filing a claim

As a general rule, divorce cases are heard by justices of the peace. But if questions arise regarding the determination of the place of residence of their child or the division of property, such a divorce will occur in the district court.

The initiator of the divorce must submit his application to the court at the place of residence of the defendant. If the address of the first is unknown, the claim is filed at the address of the plaintiff. This is also allowed in cases where a young child lives in the same apartment with the plaintiff. After the dissolution of the marriage, the court will establish a place of residence for this child with one of the parents.

To get a divorce in court, you need to prepare certain documents. The statement of claim must comply with the established rules. The person filing the claim will be the plaintiff, and the other spouse will be the defendant.

When writing an application, you must provide information about both parties, their residential address and the reason for the termination of the marriage. These documents should be accompanied by copies of the following documents:

certificate issued upon marriage;
child's birth certificate;
information about wages if alimony is collected from the defendant;
duty payment receipts;
notarized consent to the defendant’s divorce, if any.

Who has the right to a judicial divorce?

Any of the spouses.
Guardian of the spouse if the court has declared the spouse incompetent.
Prosecutor. He can file a claim when required based on the interests of an incapacitated or missing person.

According to the Law “On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation”, the prosecutor can act as a plaintiff in a civil case, since he protects the rights of people.

The husband cannot file a claim without the consent of his wife if she is pregnant or less than a year has passed since giving birth, even if the child was stillborn or died before the age of one (Article 17 of the Family Code).

Such exceptions were made in order to preserve the health and nerves of the mother and child, since legal burdens negatively affect their well-being.

Replacement timing

The legislation establishes deadlines for mandatory replacement after a last name change only for the following documents:

passport;
health insurance policy;
SNILS;
pension certificate (if available).

All these documents must be replaced within 30 days from the date of receipt of the certificate from the registry office. Otherwise you will have to pay a fine.

A driver's license is special - there is no deadline for replacing it, but you do not have the right to drive a car with an old license after changing your last name, so it also needs to be changed as soon as possible. After receiving a new certificate, you need to reissue the MTPL, as the policy also becomes invalid.

The remaining documents subject to mandatory replacement can be replaced within an unlimited period. However, they cease to be valid from the date of the last name change, so they must be replaced as soon as possible. If you have already submitted an application to replace them, but have not yet received a new document, then in order to use them you will have to constantly carry with you the original or a notarized copy of the divorce certificate.

Now let’s look at which documents do not need to be changed during a divorce.

Which judge should I contact?

There are magistrate and federal judges. Each category is competent to conduct the process only under certain conditions. The categories differ in form and status. With federal judges having stricter professional demands, these servants of Themis are considered more competent in cases.

If both spouses agree to divorce and they have no disputes about the children, you need to go to a magistrate. If spouses argue about children or about property, then they need to go to the district court with a claim, cases are heard there by federal judges (Articles 23-24 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Procedure

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Divorce litigation takes place in several stages:

Submitting an application and a package of related documents.
Acceptance or rejection of the application and scheduling of the first hearing. The hearing date is set no earlier than one month after submission. The parties are notified by summons of the date of the hearing.
Conducting the first meeting. The judge examines all the materials of the case and also gives an opportunity for reconciliation.
Conducting the main meeting. The judge listens to the plaintiff's demands, the defendant's opinion, and examines the evidence provided.
Making a decision. Based on the heard demands and opinions of each party, the judge makes a decision on the divorce process. If the parties have already been given a period to resolve the conflict, but the intention to divorce has not changed, the judge satisfies the plaintiff’s request. If there are minor children, a decision is made on the place of residence, issues of education and maintenance.
Entry into force of the decision. After a decision is made on the claim, you are given a month to appeal. After 30 days the decision comes into force.
Former spouses receive copies of the court decision.
The parties receive a divorce certificate from the registry office.

List of documents

In order for the court to accept the application and hold a hearing on the divorce process, it is important to correctly draw up the claim and bring all the necessary documents. The statement of claim to the court is drawn up in writing in accordance with Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

The application, submitted in triplicate (for the court, the defendant, the plaintiff), must be accompanied by the documents specified in the claim.

Standard package includes:

Receipt for payment of state duty (original);
Plaintiff's passport (original);
Marriage certificate (original);
Birth certificates of children (original or certified copy);
Extract from the house register;
Marriage contract (if any);
Agreement on children (if any);
Property division agreement (if any);
A written agreement for the defendant’s divorce, certified by a notary;
Characteristics from the place of work and certificate of income of both parties;
List of property to be divided;
The amount of alimony and its justification;
A notarized power of attorney, if the interests of one of the parties will be represented by someone else.

We invite you to read: Collection of alimony based on a court order ||
A court order for the recovery of marital alimony The application is filed at the place of residence of the defendant, but there are exceptions to the rules when the claim is filed at the place of residence of the plaintiff (initiator of the divorce):

The child lives on the same territory as the plaintiff;
The plaintiff has health problems that prevent him from filing an application at the defendant’s place of residence;
The spouse is missing or is serving a sentence in prison;
The claim consists of a demand for material payments from the defendant.
In addition to these rules, there is contractual jurisdiction. This means that spouses can independently decide on the place of divorce.

The claim can be submitted in person or by mail.

The first option for submitting an application is faster and more reliable. In person, the claim can be brought directly to the judge, or through a court expedition.

Before filing an application, you can first visit the judge to clarify issues of interest.

At the reception it is not always possible to talk with the judge himself. Sometimes the reception is conducted by a secretary or assistant, and this is not prohibited by law. However, the judge is considering the claim and can already at this moment announce the date of the first hearing. But this does not always happen due to workload and a large number of unconsidered applications.

If your application is accepted, it must be marked with an acceptance mark, which is placed on the expedition of the court.

The decision to accept the application must be made within 5 days. If information about the acceptance/refusal of your application does not appear within 10 days, you can contact the judge directly to clarify the issue. If the application has already been accepted, you must request a subpoena with a date.

In divorce proceedings, the judge asks about many points in order to identify the reason, find reasons for reconciliation of the parties, and also make a decision on the issues raised by the plaintiff (the mandatory list is determined by Article 24 of the RF IC).

What are the reasons for divorce?

This is the first question that is always asked in legal proceedings. If the desire to divorce is not sufficiently justified (quarrel, misunderstanding), then the judge gives time for the parties to reconcile. If the grounds are justified (domestic violence, living apart from each other, etc.), then the judge makes a decision on the day of the first hearing.

Does the second spouse agree or disagree to divorce?

When resolving this issue, the judge finds out the opinion of everyone. If both agree to divorce, then the claim is granted. If the desire to divorce is one-sided, then the spouses may be given time for reconciliation.

Where will the children live?

It is advisable for spouses to discuss the issue in advance, otherwise the judge will decide the fate of the children based on legislative acts. If there is no agreement, the judge asks additional questions:

Who can provide the child with more comfortable conditions;
Whose income is higher?
What is the desire of the child himself if he is 10 years old;
Which parent is able to pay more attention to the child, etc.

More often than not, the law is on the mother’s side, especially if the child is still very young. But even if the child remains to live with his mother, equal participation of both parents in upbringing is possible.

What will be the amount and procedure for paying child support?

Depending on who the child ends up living with, the other parent is required to financially support the child. Parents can agree on the amount of payments and the method of transfer independently, recording all the points in the agreement. If the spouses could not reach a common opinion, then the issue goes to the judge.

How will the joint property of the spouses be divided?

The issue can be considered after the divorce. The judge will require checks, receipts, contracts, bank statements confirming the acquisition of property at the time of marriage. Based on the documents and accompanying circumstances, a decision on division is made.

It is impossible to predict exactly how long the divorce process will take. Proceedings last from two months to one and a half years.

If the decision is made at the first hearing, then the period will be 2 months: 1 month from writing the application to the first hearing and 30 days for entry into force. This period is the minimum for a divorce through the court.
If one party is against divorce, the process will take up to 5 months. A month for consideration, three months for reconciliation of the parties and another 30 days for entry into force.
If the case is aggravated by questions about the future lives of children or questions about the division of property, then the period for divorce can drag on for up to one and a half years.

To speed up a divorce if there are questions about children and property, it is necessary to draw up a written agreement where the spouses describe all joint decisions on these issues.

The amount of state fees for divorce through the court is regulated by clause 5, part 1, art. 333.19 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The fee for filing a claim in 2021 is 600 rubles.

According to Art. 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, when filing a claim for division of property, an additional fee is charged. The amount depends on the value of the property specified in the application:

Within 20,000 rubles - 4% of the cost, but not less than 400 rubles;
From 20,001 rub. up to 100,000 rub. — 800 rub. 3% of the amount over 20 thousand;
From 100,001 rub. up to 200,000 rub. — 3200 rub. 2% of the amount over 100 thousand;
From 200,001 rub. up to 1 million rubles — 5200 rubles 1% of the amount, over 200 thousand;
Over 1 million - 13,200 rubles. 0.5% of the excess amount, but not more than 60 thousand.

In addition, it is necessary to take into account the cost of legal services that may be required in the divorce process.

After a court decision on divorce is made, the spouses receive a certificate from the registry office, the cost is 650 rubles for each.

Spouse against divorce

If a couple agrees to divorce through the court, then the court dissolves the marriage without clarifying the reasons for the divorce (this is stipulated in Article 23 of the Family Code).

If the plaintiff does not inform the court of the reasons for the breakdown of the marital relationship, the court may temporarily stop the lawsuit. But do not refuse, but only offer reconciliation, and give three months for this (Article 22 of the UK). If the spouses have resolved the conflict, the proceedings are stopped. In this case, any of the spouses can again file a claim, then the court returns to the consideration of the case and makes a decision.

If one of the couple is against it , the plaintiff must describe in detail the reasons that forced him to go for divorce, tell why the marriage broke up, and what exactly prevents it from being restored. The court, having studied the materials, decides whether the couple’s life together is possible in the future.

Evidence in such a case may include the committed offenses of the party (ill-treatment, violence, insults):

witnesses (the plaintiff must apply to call witnesses);
written evidence (certificates from the emergency room about beatings, police records) - they are included in the case.

In any case, the divorce will end in a positive decision. The only difference will be in the timing. If there is agreement of both parties, then the divorce will be obtained at the first hearing; if there is no agreement, several meetings will be held.

Grounds for divorce

It should be borne in mind that divorces through the courts in our country very often drag on. Getting a divorce will be much easier if you seek help from a divorce lawyer in advance.

According to statistics, about 95% of divorce cases in the courts end in a positive court decision. Typically, spouses divorcing a marriage indicate in the claim the formal reasons for the termination of the marriage. The Russian Family Code is structured in such a way that a married couple has the right to divorce at the request of one of them. Family law is not based on the principle of fault of one of the couple. Thus, the formulation of the reason does not affect the result. And in the most difficult situation, divorce in court will be just a matter of time. A professional lawyer will help save this time, as well as the nerves and strength of both parties spent during the proceedings.

It should be understood that the marriage union will still be dissolved if one of the couple declares that he no longer wants to live in marriage and further marital relations infringe on his rights. Questions about the division of property and disputes about children do not prevent divorce. These circumstances only slightly complicate the divorce procedure.

How to divide children and property

Such issues are considered in parallel with the divorce process. During the process, one or both parties may demand that the court conduct a division of property and (or) indicate with which parent the child should subsequently remain, and how and to whom alimony will be paid.

If there is agreement on such issues or the spouses want to resolve these issues later, they can write in the lawsuit that they have no disputes or describe in detail to the court the essence of the agreements reached.

You can read more about the specifics of divorce with children in this article.

Divorce through MFC or through State Services

Divorce through the MFC is actually no different from the divorce procedure in the registry office; applicants will need to provide a similar package of documents and write an application in accordance with the stated requirements. A different procedure is used for divorce using the State Services portal, since the paperwork is completed online.

Important! In order to apply for divorce through the State Services portal, the husband and wife must have a UKEP (electronic signature), otherwise they will not be able to contact the registry office. Obtaining a signature is a lengthy procedure, so it will be much easier to visit the registry office in person.

The portal provides two categories of services related to divorce in the registry office:

Divorce based on a court decision. The application is submitted online to reduce the processing time for the application. The one-month rule does not apply; spouses have the right to expect to receive a certificate within the shortest possible period of time.
Divorce by consent of the spouses without common children and disputes about the preservation of marital relations. The general procedure for completing an application with the provision of established documents is used.

With the help of State Services, you cannot apply for divorce unilaterally, except in cases where the unilateral procedure is determined by a court decision.

To submit an application using the State Services portal, interested parties must complete the following steps:

Register on the portal or log in to your account.
Go to the “Services” section, and then click on the “Family and Children” item.
At the bottom of the page there will be a link “All services”, you need to click on it and then select “Change family composition”.
Find “Divorce” in the menu that opens, then in the list you need to select the category of divorce services.
The applicant must select “Get Service.”
Some of the information will be filled in according to your account data, and some will need to be entered yourself.
On the website you can pay the state duty at a discount, so the payment amount will not be 650 rubles, but 455.
The applicant selects the civil registry office where the application is sent and waits for its registration.

After registering the application, information about the status of the application and the time when the applicant can contact the registry office for a physical copy of the divorce certificate will appear in the personal account.

Reconciliation and refusal to divorce

The defendant has the right to petition to postpone the case for a while to give the husband and wife the opportunity to save their family. The court is cooperative and usually gives a period to resolve the conflict (up to three months).

When the judge himself decides to resort to this procedure (the plaintiff, for example, does not speak very confidently at the hearing), then this period can be reduced only if both the plaintiff and the defendant make this request to the court.

Naturally, the conciliation period delays the matter. Even if the plaintiff considers such a procedure unnecessary, there is a positive point for him: it will be more difficult to challenge the decision in the case in a higher court.

The plaintiff has the right to refuse a divorce. It is valid until the court has retired to the deliberation room. The case ends with a settlement agreement, which can include provisions regarding children and property.

Refusal of the claim does not mean that the marriage cannot be dissolved later. If the spouses' relationship deteriorates, they can sue again. The divorce case is terminated (and the marriage, accordingly, is preserved) if, after the expiration of the period that the judge set aside for reconciliation, the plaintiff does not come to the meeting.

Is a marriage certificate confiscated after a divorce at the registry office?

The initial document when submitting an application to the registry office for divorce, of course, is a certificate of state registration of marriage.
Moreover, it must be provided in its original form. You can make notarized copies just in case. If the document has been lost, then it is possible to obtain a duplicate of it and submit it to the relevant authorities.

Former spouses are interested in the question of whether this certificate is taken away after the divorce is completed, or whether it remains in the hands of the spouses with a special mark made.

So, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, namely Article 33, Part 4 of the Law “On Civil Registration”, a marriage certificate is given to applicants after the corresponding stamp confirming the completion of the divorce is placed on the back of this document.

It is worth noting that it is not the specific marriage certificate that the applicants submitted that is issued, but a certificate or extract indicating that the marriage was registered and later dissolved.

The presented marriage certificate remains in the archives of the registry office. In exchange for this document, another is issued, which is called a divorce certificate. It is issued by the registry office employees to both parties.

Deadlines for filing a divorce

On average, the divorce process will require two to four court hearings (if one party is against the divorce). If the parties agree, a decision is usually made at the first meeting.

The minimum period for filing a divorce is a month and 11 days. If the decision came into force earlier than this period, it will be illegal.

The average time for registration when spouses agree to divorce is one and a half months and 1.5-3 months if someone does not agree, sometimes more than 3 months.

Circumstances that affect the processing time:

norms of Family Law (divorce is carried out no earlier than a month from the filing of the claim);
norms of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation (provide a period for appealing a court decision before it enters into force);
the workload of the court and the degree of efficiency of the mail, which notifies the parties;
complaints about the illegality of judicial actions (may increase the registration period by another 2 months);
correction of errors and clerical errors (increase the processing time by 1-3 weeks);
inaction of any party.

From what time is a marriage considered dissolved?

In accordance with the norms of family law, the moment of termination of marriage relations differs during a divorce in the registry office and in court:

In case of divorce through the registry office, the date of divorce is the day the parties receive the certificate . At the same time, a stamp indicating the termination of family relations is placed in the passports of the former spouses. This usually occurs one month after the date of filing for divorce.
If the divorce took place through the court, then the date of the end of the marriage is the day the court decision enters into legal force . The spouses' passports will be stamped by civil registry office employees on the day the certificate is received, but the moment of divorce will be the date the court decision comes into force.

The mark in the passport looks like this:

The moment the marriage ends is important because from this date:

to complete transactions cease , and they do not need to obtain each other’s consent;
the parties have the right to enter into a new marital relationship , but only if they have a divorce certificate received from the registry office.