In our article we will try to explain in as much detail as possible how to correctly draw up an application for divorce and where to file it.

Where to apply: to the registry office or to the court?

An application for divorce is submitted to any of the three indicated authorities.

A statement of claim for divorce filed in a court of general jurisdiction is similar in form to that written to a magistrate, but it must describe in detail the essence of the dispute that has arisen between the spouses. Usually, when filing such an application, plaintiffs turn to the services of lawyers who will help take into account all the intricacies of these difficult cases. There is no need to write in a statement about your feelings and all the claims against your spouse who has become disgusted. The court is only interested in the facts.

A little bit of statistics

According to statistics, every second marriage now breaks up. Ten years ago, every third one fell apart.

After submitting your application

If you filed an application with the registry office, then the consideration takes one month, after which you need to come again at the appointed time and receive a divorce document.

If you go to court, then if there are any violations, the court will be able to refuse to accept your application, return it, or leave it without action. The applicant will be notified in writing of any of these decisions.

If the claim for divorce is drawn up and filed correctly, the judge will issue a ruling to accept it for proceedings.

After this, there is a stage of preparation for the court hearing, during which all the circumstances of the case are studied in detail and the participants in the process are summoned to court. At the court hearing, the judge finds out whether there are sufficient grounds for divorce and whether further cohabitation of the spouses is actually impossible. If one of the spouses continues to oppose the divorce, the judge allows up to three months for their possible reconciliation, after which he schedules a second hearing. If reconciliation does not occur, the court issues a decree dissolving the marriage.

Getting a divorce without your spouse's consent is a little more difficult than with mutual consent, but it is possible.

If either spouse disagrees with the court decision, it can be appealed to a higher court.

Once the court decision has entered into force, you need to contact the civil registry office and obtain a document on divorce.

What documents will they ask?

During a divorce, the civil registry office will require each spouse to:

• application of a certain sample;
• passport;
• marriage certificate;
• metrics of children (if they were born from this marriage);
• receipt for payment of state duty.

If the application is submitted by one spouse in the presence of the above circumstances, then you will need to additionally attach:

• a court decision declaring a spouse incompetent or missing;
• court verdict convicting the husband.

If an application for divorce is filed in court, then the following are additionally required:

• a statement of claim for the division of joint property and determination of the place of residence of joint children;
• power of attorney, if the interests of those divorcing in court are protected by their representatives;
• a receipt for payment of an additional state fee if, in parallel with the divorce, issues about common property and children are being resolved.

How to pick up an application

To pick up an application from the registry office, both spouses just need to go there and write another one, indicating the reasons for changing the decision. If only by that time the month period had not passed, after which the marriage would be considered terminated.

You can withdraw a divorce application from the court at any stage, but it is advisable to do this before the judge accepts it for proceedings.

If you still have questions about the procedure for filing for divorce, you can ask them in the comments.

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Sometimes a misfortune like divorce happens in a family. People decide from now on to go their own way through life and plan to end family relationships. And here the question arises: where should you file for divorce? In our article, we will look at how to go through such an emotionally complex procedure, what documents are needed for this, and where to file a divorce if you have a child.

It doesn't matter where you live. In order to answer the question of where to file for divorce in Moscow or any other city, you must first establish the reasons why you decided to divorce and the conditions accompanying this. The marriage will be dissolved on the terms established by family law. Relations related to the divorce process are clearly regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation, in accordance with the terms of which it is possible to file a divorce at the will of one of the spouses, as well as by mutual consent. The guardian of a spouse declared incompetent also has the right to demand a divorce. Regarding divorce, there are also a number of restrictions under which the husband does not have the right to insist on it:

1. During the wife’s pregnancy.
2. Within 1 year from the birth of the child.

Where should I file for divorce? Current legislation establishes only two possible places:

1. It is possible to register a divorce at the registry office.
2. Divorce can be filed in court.

There are a number of restrictions on this and that, which we will discuss in more detail below.

Divorce proceedings in the registry office

The question of where to file for divorce is decided depending on the situation. It is possible to dissolve a marriage in the registry office; this process is much simpler and faster than in court.

It is possible to formalize the termination of family relations in the registry office in several cases:

1. If the parties have a mutual desire to dissolve the marriage and there are no claims of any kind against each other.
2. If the parties have no children under the age of 18.

There are situations when you can get a divorce at the registry office if you have small children together. This is possible in the following cases:

1. One of the spouses is declared incompetent.
2. One of the parties to the marriage relationship has been declared missing.
3. One of the couple is convicted, and the punishment is imprisonment for a term of more than three years.

According to the provisions of the current legislation, a marriage subject to dissolution by the registry office is dissolved within a month from the date of receipt of such a request.

Divorce at the registry office. List of documents

In order to get a divorce at the registry office, you need to submit the following documents:

1. Passports of both spouses. The originals are presented.
2. Application for termination of marital relations. Submitted using the form provided by the Civil Registry Office staff.
3. Pay the state fee. It should be noted that in 2016 it increased significantly compared to 2014 and now amounts to 650 rubles. It is necessary to note the fact that in case of a mutual application for divorce, both spouses are obliged to pay it.
4. When filing a divorce through the registry office at the request of one of the spouses, the cost of the state fee is set at 350 rubles.

It should be noted that in this case, not only the divorce process itself is paid for, but also the issuance of a new certificate. That is, in this case you do not need to pay any more duties. Until 2015, filing an application and then issuing a divorce certificate were paid separately.

Each civil registry office has separate payment details, so you must apply for a receipt in advance.

Where to file for divorce if you have a child

The procedure for divorce if a couple has a child or even several children is somewhat different. This rule applies if they are under 18 years of age. It will be possible to terminate family relationships only through a judicial procedure.
A marriage can be dissolved through court in the following cases:

1. If you have a child. Divorce is carried out when the facts are established, as well as from the words of the applicants that living together is impossible, a common household is not maintained. In this case, the court has the right to set a period for reconciliation of the spouses equal to three months and postpone the court hearing.

2. If one of the spouses does not give his consent to the divorce. In this case, the court must establish the facts that the further life of the spouses is impossible, a joint household is not maintained.
3. One of the spouses avoids the divorce process, which could be formalized in the registry office.

In all cases, the marriage is dissolved once it is determined that reconciliation is not possible.

List of documents for divorce in court

In order to dissolve a marriage in court, you must prepare the following papers:
1. Applicant's passport. The original and a copy are presented.
2. Original marriage certificate. It is confiscated by the court in case of divorce.
3. If you have small children, copies of their birth certificates.
4. State duty. Today its size is 650 rubles. You can pay it at any bank branch. At the same time, if the check is drawn up in black ink, it must be certified with the blue seal of the bank that made the payment, and if the check is printed in blue or lilac ink, there is no need for certification in this case.

The specified documents in two copies for each of the parties to the case (as required by the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation) are submitted to the court. In this case, the court itself sends a package of documents to the defendant with a summons to schedule a court hearing.
As a rule, the consideration of a case is carried out in two stages - preparation for trial and the trial itself.

Where to submit documents

When filing a divorce through the registry office, you can contact the authority at the place of residence of the spouses, and if their registration addresses are different, then at the place of residence of one of them to choose from.

Claims for divorce are considered by magistrates without the presence of property claims on the part of the spouses:

1. At the place of residence of the party who will be the defendant in the case.
2. At the place of residence of the plaintiff, if he lives together with a small child.

If there is a property or other dispute between spouses, such cases should be considered in district courts. The dispute over the division of property will be resolved in court at the location of such property. When resolving the question of where to file for divorce, first of all you need to decide what requirements you have for your ex-spouse, how and with whom the children will live, what is the procedure for paying alimony, and only on this basis decide which court will have jurisdiction over your case.

If the marriage was terminated by the registry office, further disputes between the parties are subject to consideration in court.

In case of divorce through the registry office, the marriage is terminated immediately after an entry is made about its termination, as well as a stamp is affixed to the spouses’ passports.

If you have a court decision in your hands, then you need to wait until it comes into force, which is a month after it is issued, and only then contact the registry office for the issuance of a certificate of termination of marriage and affixing a seal.

In this article, we tried to answer in detail the question of where to file for divorce. By studying this information, you can significantly reduce the time that will be spent on such an unpleasant procedure as divorce. And also understand where to file for divorce if there is a child, and in which case this procedure is greatly simplified.

When does a divorce go through court? These cases are specified in Article 21 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation:

• have minor children (common, natural or adopted);
• the husband or wife refuses to end the marriage;
• one of the spouses refuses to submit an application or does not appear at the registry office.

How does divorce happen through court?

Who has the right to a judicial divorce?

1. Any of the spouses.
2. Guardian of the spouse if the court has declared the spouse incompetent.
3. 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.

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).

Reasons for divorce in court

Divorce by court is considered possible when the court clearly establishes: the family has broken up and further life together for the spouses is not possible (Article 22 of the Family Code).

The Family Code does not stipulate the reasons for divorce.

The most common reasons include: infidelity of spouses, gambling addiction, alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual dissatisfaction, divergence of life interests, disagreements on financial issues, non-compliance with the terms of the marriage contract.

Spouse against divorce

If couple agree divorce through the court, then the court dissolves such a marriage without finding out the reasons for the divorce (this is stipulated in Article 23 of the Family Code).

If the plaintiff does not tell the court the reasons divorce, the court may temporarily stop the claim. 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, 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.

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 from the court and (or) designate with which parent the child should subsequently remain, and how and to whom child support 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 features of divorce with children in.

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 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.

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.

Cost of divorce through court

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Article 333.19, clause 5) stipulates. At the beginning of 2018, it is 650 rubles.

Both spouses pay this amount if:

• there is their consent to break up the marriage, there are no children (minors), there are no property disputes;
• divorce is carried out in court.

All families are born in the registry office. A beautiful wedding dress, flowers, happy smiles on the faces of the bride, groom and their guests, sincere faith in a cloudless future together... Sad as it may be, the family life of some married couples ends in the same government institution where it began. How to file a divorce in the registry office, bypassing long court proceedings? This question worries many people whose marriage has not stood the test of time.

Grounds and documentation for divorce through the registry office

To carry out a divorce through the registry office, not much is required from the husband and wife: mutual consent to divorce and the absence of common children who have not reached the age of majority. This norm, enshrined in paragraph 1 of Art. 19 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, allows young spouses who did not have time to have children to file a divorce peacefully, in the shortest possible time and without unnecessary financial costs. However, if a married couple has a baby by the time the decision to separate is made, or if one of the spouses refuses to file for divorce, it will not be possible to dissolve the marriage at the registry office. In these cases, the husband and wife will have to divorce through the courts. An important nuance: if a couple does not have minor children in common, then the registry office will issue them a divorce without any problems.

To divorce, the spouses need to appear together at the registry office, which is located at the place of their residence (if by the time the decision to terminate the family relationship was made, the husband and wife began to live separately, then at the place of residence of one of them), and write a general statement in which they ask government agency to dissolve their marriage. If for some reason one spouse is unable to visit the registry office to submit an application, then he must draw up a document outside the registry office and have it certified by a notary office. In the application, the married couple indicates the personal data of both parties (full name, date of birth, home address, citizenship), number and series of the certificate of registration of their marriage. It is also necessary to indicate what surname the wife will bear after the termination of the marriage (she can give herself the surname of her spouse or return the one she bore before the wedding). The husband and wife must attach to the divorce application:

1. Copies of your passports.
2. The original certificate confirming the registration of their marriage.
3. A receipt confirming payment of the state fee for divorce. The state duty in 2019 is 650 rubles, it must be paid to both parties at the nearest branch of Sberbank of Russia.

Features of the procedure for ending a marriage

A month after submitting the documents, the spouses must appear at the registry office for. The registration procedure does not involve long hearings or attempts to reconcile the couple in order to save their family union. If on the appointed day both spouses come to the government agency to which they submitted the application, they are divorced without further ado. Upon the dissolution of the marriage, the registry office employees will make a corresponding entry in the civil registration book, and a stamp confirming the termination of the marriage will be affixed to the passports of the former spouses. It should be noted that civil registry office employees do not resolve disputes regarding the division of property, which often arise among separating spouses. If the husband and wife cannot share their acquired wealth peacefully, then they will have to solve this problem in court. If the parties do not appear for the divorce at the specified time, it will be considered that they have reconciled and the procedure for terminating the marriage will not take place.

There are often situations when one party, for objective reasons, is not able to visit the registry office on the appointed day. Such a reason could be disability, being in a hospital for treatment, a business trip, military service far from home, etc. Family legislation of the Russian Federation in such cases provides for the procedure for filing a divorce in the presence of only one spouse. In order for the divorce to take place, the absent spouse must submit his written consent to the divorce to the registry office or send his legal representative to the government agency. If this requirement is met, the husband and wife will be divorced in the presence of only one party.

Divorce in the registry office on a unilateral initiative

Russian family law provides for situations when a divorce is filed through the registry office without the consent of the second spouse and regardless of whether the couple has common children under 18 years of age or not.

In paragraph 2 of Art. 19 of the Family Code clearly states situations when divorce in the registry office can be carried out unilaterally.

This outcome of family life becomes possible if one of the spouses:

• officially declared missing;
• is incapacitated;
• is serving a prison sentence of three years or more.

How to file a divorce through the registry office in the above situations? The party wishing to obtain freedom must personally submit such papers to the mentioned government agency.

If the spouses no longer want to live as one family, they have the right to dissolve their marriage union in court. Any disputes about the division of things acquired during marriage, the payment of funds for young children, disputes about who the children will continue to live with after the completion of the divorce process require going to court for a divorce.

If the spouses do not have small children and they do not have claims against each other regarding the division of common property, they can file for divorce through the registry office. Contacting the civil registry office eliminates many difficulties and allows you to get a divorce in the shortest possible time.

Directly at the registry office, they will be presented with a sample application, told about what documents need to be collected, and given all the necessary forms and forms. There they will be notified of the required payments. Examples of such payments are given on the information board. In particular, these include state fees for divorce.

The procedure for divorce in the registry office

According to current legislation, an application for divorce at the registry office will be considered only if both spouses agree to officially dissolve the relationship, they have no minor children and no claims regarding the division of valuable property acquired during the marriage.

In some situations, an application for divorce can be submitted to the registry office, even if the second spouse does not agree to this. For example, the registry office will accept an application for divorce from one spouse if the second is officially declared incompetent, is listed as missing, or is serving a criminal sentence and the term of this sentence exceeds 3 years.

An application for divorce is submitted and considered by the registry office in the manner approved by current legislation. The spouse or spouses must collect the necessary documents and forms, submit an application, pay the state fee and wait for the decision.

It should also be noted that if an application for divorce is filed with the civil registry office, the spouses will need to wait 1 month. This period is given to them for reconciliation. If during the allotted month the man and woman do not change their minds about separating, they will need to re-visit the registry office and confirm their application. If they do not appear at the registry office, the application will be automatically rejected.

How is divorce carried out on a common application?

In accordance with the norms of the current legislation, it is possible to submit documents and get a divorce through the civil registry office at the joint request, provided that three main requirements are met:

To confirm mutual consent to carry out the divorce process at the registry office, the spouses need to submit a written application, prepare the necessary documents and forms and submit all this to the civil registry officer.

If the husband or wife does not have the opportunity to visit the registry office for valid reasons (considered valid by law), then he has the legal right to draw up a separate application and have it certified by a notary. The reasons are completely different. The most common are long business trips, serious illness, and being in an area too far from the registry office.

Those persons who have joint children under the age of eighteen will not be able to formalize a divorce without going to court.

If the children are not common, then this will not be an obstacle to consideration of the application. For example, if a woman has a child from her previous marriage and he is a minor, it will not hurt to get a divorce. It is also important to know that if a man and woman are raising jointly adopted minor children, they will not be able to get a divorce through the registry office.

To register the dissolution of a marriage through the civil registry office, they need to contact either the body located at the place of registration, or the body that registered their marriage. The list of required documents may change; please clarify this issue individually. Typically it includes the following:

1. Passports of men and women.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. Document confirming payment of the duty.

To dissolve a marriage, at least one of the spouses must be present at the civil registry office on the day of registration. The union will not be dissolved in the presence of representatives of both spouses at once and in the absence of at least the husband or wife.

Features of divorce at the request of one spouse

The law allows, in exceptional cases and those listed in the relevant provisions, divorce at the request of one husband or only the wife. In such conditions, whether they are raising young children together and whether there are property disputes is not taken into account by law. Such exceptional cases include situations in which:

To file a divorce in the registry office, the spouse who has expressed such a desire must contact the place of registration of their marriage or the registry office at the place of registration. Before applying, you need to collect the following documents (the list may change, if possible, check it in advance):

1. Passport.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. Statement of desire to get a divorce.
4. A check from the bank confirming payment of the duty.
5. A court decision confirming that the second spouse is incompetent, missing or sentenced to imprisonment for 3 years or more.

In addition, the spouse who wants to divorce must provide information about the location of the institution responsible for the execution of the punishment, or the place of registration of the guardian of a person declared incompetent, or the manager of the personal property of a missing citizen. Information is provided according to specific circumstances.

After accepting documents from a spouse who has expressed a desire to divorce, the civil registry office is obliged to notify the guardian of the person declared incompetent, or the convicted spouse, or the person managing the personal property of the missing spouse that the second spouse has filed an application and other documents for dissolution of the marriage union. It is also necessary to indicate the day on which the official registration of the dissolution of the marriage will be carried out.