A marriage contract is an agreement of persons entering into marriage, or an agreement of spouses, defining the property rights and obligations of spouses in marriage and (or) upon its dissolution (Article 40 of the RF IC). The legislation does not contain an exhaustive list of conditions that must be included in a marriage contract. The parties determine them at their own discretion.

To the main conditions marriage contract The following conditions may apply.

1. Property regime

In relation to property acquired by spouses during marriage, a joint ownership regime has been established (Article 34 of the RF IC). The common property of spouses may include:

• income of each spouse from labor activity, entrepreneurial activity and the results of intellectual activity, pensions, benefits received by them, as well as other monetary payments that do not have a special purpose (amounts of financial assistance, amounts paid in compensation for damage due to loss of ability to work due to injury or other damage to health, etc. .);
• movable and immovable things, securities, shares, deposits, shares in capital acquired at the expense of the common income of the spouses, contributed to credit institutions or other commercial organizations;
• any other property acquired by the spouses during the marriage, regardless of the name of which spouse it was acquired or in the name of which or which of the spouses contributed funds.

By means of a marriage contract, the property regime can be changed in relation to (Article 42 of the RF IC):

• all property of the spouses;
• certain types of property;
• property of each spouse.

A marriage contract can establish:

• joint ownership regime (for example, indicate that only a car will be considered joint property);
• shared ownership regime (indicate that the spouse will own, for example, only 1/3 of the purchased apartment);
• separate property regime (for example, when property acquired by spouses during marriage will be the property of the spouse who acquired or registered it).

You can also determine the property that will be transferred to each of the spouses in the event of divorce (paragraph 3, paragraph 1, article 42 of the RF IC).

Note. A marriage contract can be concluded both in relation to the existing and in relation to the future property of the spouses ( clause 1 art. 42 RF IC).

2. Disposal of the common property of the spouses

With regard to common property, spouses have the right to provide in the contract for types of property that can be disposed of by one spouse only with the prior consent of the other, for example: “ Jewelry one of the spouses has the right to acquire, sell, or pledge only with the prior written consent of the other spouse.”

3. Rights and obligations of spouses regarding mutual maintenance

A marriage contract can provide for the rights and obligations of spouses for mutual maintenance both during the marriage and after its dissolution (Article 42 of the RF IC). For example: “The husband is obliged to provide his wife with monthly maintenance in the amount of 50,000 rubles. per month until the children reach the age of 18.”

4. Procedure for incurring family expenses

There is no exhaustive list of family expenses. In practice, these include, for example, payments for housing and communal services, telephone, Internet services, food, clothing, medicines, and travel packages.

The marriage contract can stipulate the degree of participation of each spouse in family expenses, for example:

• in equal parts;
• partially;
• payment of certain types of expenses (for example, the cost of maintaining a car is paid by the husband, and the cost of vacation and travel is paid by the wife).

5. Duration of the contract

A marriage contract can be concluded for a certain period or indefinitely (Article 42 of the RF IC).

In a marriage contract, you can indicate that the contract terminates from the moment of termination of the marriage, except for the obligations provided for for the period after the termination of the marriage (for example, alimony obligations to support one of the spouses).

6. Notification of creditors about the conclusion, amendment or termination of the marriage contract

If some, including a significant, part of the common property of the spouses under the terms of the marriage contract passes into the ownership of the spouse who is not the debtor under the agreement (for example, a mortgage agreement), the debtor spouse is obliged to notify his creditor of the conclusion, of the change or about the termination of the marriage contract.

If this obligation is not fulfilled, the spouse is liable for his obligations regardless of the content of the marriage contract (Clause 1 of Article 46 of the RF IC).

Our visitors often ask questions about what are the pros and cons of a marriage contract, how to conclude it, and in what cases a marriage contract is invalid. Sooner or later, people entering into a marriage or already in one think about which spouse owns what property and will belong to it in the event of a divorce. By general rule, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 34 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, property acquired by spouses during marriage is their joint property. However, this regime of property of spouses can be changed by concluding a marriage agreement (contract).

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What is a prenuptial agreement (contract)

According to Article 40 of the RF IC, a marriage contract is recognized as an agreement between persons entering into marriage or an agreement between spouses defining their property rights and obligations in marriage and (or) in the event of its dissolution. This, in fact, is the essence of the contract.

A marriage contract can be concluded during the period from the moment of filing an application for marriage registration until its dissolution in the registry office or the court’s decision on divorce. In this case, the agreement concluded before the state registration of the marriage comes into force from the moment of such registration.

Every year in Russia an increasing number of marriage contracts are concluded. Currently, their number has reached 50 thousand per year. And although now such contracts are concluded not only by very wealthy citizens, but also by representatives of the middle class, so far the parties to the contract most often become spouses who are already in the process of divorce. Concluding a prenuptial agreement allows you to avoid lengthy litigation and significant costs for qualified lawyers.

The procedure for concluding a marriage contract

It is necessary to keep in mind that a marriage contract is concluded in writing and must be notarized. Only in this case does it have legal force.

What conditions can be included in a marriage contract?

Since the conclusion of a marriage contract is aimed at changing the legal property regime of the spouses, it is first necessary to determine which regimes can be used instead. In accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 42 of the RF IC, a marriage contract may establish the following property regimes for spouses.

· Joint ownership regime: property is in the possession, use and disposal of spouses without determining shares. The disposal of such property is carried out with the consent of both spouses, regardless of who it is registered in the name of and, accordingly, who makes a particular transaction in relation to this property. Since this regime applies to property acquired during marriage by default, the marriage contract can stipulate, for example, that this regime applies only to part of the property. Another way of using this regime in a marriage contract is to extend it to property that, by law, is the personal property of each spouse. This applies in particular to premarital property. As a general rule, the latter belongs to the spouse to whom it belonged before marriage. In the event of division of jointly owned property, the shares of each spouse will be allocated. Let us note that, by virtue of the norms of the RF IC, the shares are assumed to be equal, unless otherwise established by an agreement between the spouses.

· Shared ownership regime: when each spouse is assigned a specific share of ownership of the property. Ownership and use of such property is carried out by agreement of both spouses. However, each spouse has the right, at his own discretion, to sell, donate, bequeath, pledge his share or dispose of it in any other way, in compliance with the rule on priority right purchase of a share by the second spouse upon its sale to third parties. This regime allows you to take into account the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of specific property. Depending on such contribution, shares in the ownership of property can be determined. It is very important to specify in the marriage contract which property of the spouses is subject to the shared ownership regime and what criterion is used to determine the share of each spouse. Under this regime, there is no requirement to allocate shares in the event of division of marital property.

· Separate property regime: The property is the personal property of one of the spouses. Possession, use and disposal of such property is carried out by the owner-spouse at his discretion without taking into account the opinion of the second spouse. This regime can be extended to all property of spouses, to its individual types (for example, real estate, securities) or to specific property. Most often, separate ownership is established in relation to registered property, namely: real estate, vehicles. Accordingly, the owner of specific property is the spouse in whose name it is registered. But nothing prevents the provision of separate ownership, for example, of bank deposits, securities or luxury goods. Please note that this regime is beneficial for spouses, one of whom has children from a previous marriage, since in the event of the death of the parent-spouse, his children will not be able to claim the property of the second spouse.

The above marriage contract regimes can be applied both to existing property and to property that will be acquired in the future.

We also note that in a marriage contract it is possible to use one of the modes or a combination of them.

Property that is not provided for in the contract will be considered the joint property of the spouses.

In addition to determining the property regime in relation to existing or future property, as well as the composition of the property transferred to each of the spouses in the event of divorce, the following provisions can be included in the marriage contract:

· About the rights and obligations regarding mutual maintenance. The amount of maintenance is determined by the spouse at her own discretion.

· About ways to participate in each other's income. In this case, income means wage, dividends from securities, income from leasing property and other income related to the participation of property in civil circulation, income in kind, for example, harvest, as well as any other income obtained legally. Under the terms of the marriage contract, the income of one of the spouses can be distributed in a certain way, for example, 30% is the personal property of the spouse who received it, and the remaining 70% is transferred to the second spouse for targeted spending on the needs of the family.

· On the procedure for each spouse to bear family expenses. We can talk about any family expenses: paying utility bills and property taxes, purchasing food, paying for treatment, education, etc.

· Other provisions relating to property relations between spouses. For example, the conditions for a spouse to use residential premises owned by the second spouse.

What conditions cannot be included in a marriage contract?

According to clause 3 of Article 42 of the RF IC, a marriage contract cannot limit the legal capacity or legal capacity of spouses, their right to go to court to protect their rights; regulate personal non-property relations between spouses, the rights and obligations of spouses in relation to children; provide for provisions limiting the right of a disabled, needy spouse to receive maintenance; contain other conditions that place one of the spouses in an extremely unfavorable position or contradict the basic principles of family law.

Considering popular questions regarding the terms of a marriage contract, it should be clarified that, based on the above, clauses on marital fidelity and household responsibilities cannot be included in the contract, for example, that the husband undertakes to take out the garbage and the wife to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. It is also impossible to establish a reward for the birth of a child. However, by virtue of clause 2 of Article 4 2 of the RF IC, the rights and obligations provided for in a marriage contract may be limited to certain periods or made dependent on the occurrence or non-occurrence of certain conditions. Thus, it can be stated, for example, that in the event of the birth of a child, the regime of separate property of spouses changes to the regime of joint property.

The marriage contract cannot regulate the issue of children's residence in the event of parental divorce. The rights and responsibilities of parents in relation to children can only be specified in an agreement on children.

It should also be noted that under the terms of the marriage contract, all the property of the spouses cannot become the sole property of one of them. In this case, we will be talking about the extremely disadvantageous position of the second spouse. Since such an agreement is a civil transaction, such a circumstance will be grounds for invalidating the marriage contract.

Is it possible to change or terminate a marriage contract?

At any time until the marriage is dissolved, the spouses have the right to enter into an agreement to amend or terminate the contract.

If the spouses want to change the text of the marriage contract or terminate it, such an agreement must also be concluded in writing and certified by a notary.

The marriage contract automatically terminates upon the termination of the marriage, with the exception of those provisions that are provided for in the event of its termination.

What else do you need to know

· Marriage contract and civil marriage

The question often arises about the possibility of concluding a marriage contract between common-law spouses. Let us note that in the legislation there is no such thing as “civil marriage”. In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 10 of the RF IC, marriage is concluded in the civil registry office. According to paragraph 2 of this article, the rights and obligations of spouses arise from the date of state registration of marriage with the civil registry office. Thus, according to Russian law, only official marriage is recognized. Since the marriage contract is concluded between spouses or persons who submitted an application for marriage registration, which is expressly stated in Art. 40 of the RF IC, the conclusion of such an agreement between common-law spouses is impossible. To change their property relations, such spouses can enter into any other civil law agreement: purchase and sale, exchange, donation, etc.

· Marriage contract and property division agreement

The RF IC provides for another way to change the property relations of spouses - an agreement on the division of property. What's the difference? Firstly, a separation agreement can only be concluded between spouses, while a marriage contract can be concluded before the official registration of the marriage. Secondly, the subject of the division agreement is exclusively the property already acquired by the spouses, and the subject of the marriage contract is also property acquired in the future. Thirdly, clauses on the property responsibilities of the parties cannot be included in the division agreement.

· Invalidity of the marriage contract

A marriage contract may be declared invalid by the court in whole or in part on the grounds provided for by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation for the invalidity of transactions.

If you have any additional questions questions related to the preparation of a marriage contract, you can ask our lawyers using the website.

Thank you

The article provides information about the conclusion of a marriage contract between spouses relating to their property, as well as the essence and sample of a marriage contract. Considered important point as the right to a marriage contract. An approximate example of a marriage contract is given.

General information for concluding a marriage contract between spouses

A prenuptial agreement is an agreement between the persons entering into marriage or the spouses. This document defines their rights and obligations regarding property in the event that the marriage is dissolved.

The most common conclusion of a prenuptial agreement is still in foreign countries. But at the same time, every year future Russian newlyweds enter into this contract more and more often.

It is worth noting that such a concept as concluding a marriage contract does not imply registering a marriage in the shortest possible time. No legislative acts regulate the time after which, after concluding a marriage contract, an application for marriage must be submitted.

In other words, drawing up a marriage contract may be relevant not only for persons entering into marriage in the near future, but also for citizens who are just planning to register their relationship for an indefinite period.

If a marriage contract is concluded between spouses after the marriage has been registered (it does not matter how long ago the marriage was registered), then it will come into force from the moment of conclusion.

A prerequisite for the entry into force of a marriage contract is the state registration of the marriage between the persons who entered into it. That is, regarding citizens living together, but who have not registered their relationship with the registry office, this agreement will not be valid. This fact is explained by the fact that cohabitation (the so-called “civil marriage”), despite running a joint household, is not a reason for the emergence of new rights and obligations regulated Family Code Russian Federation.

That is why, if the parties do not plan to enter into an official marriage at any time, then drawing up a marriage contract does not make sense. This can be described as a waste of time and money.

According to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, a marriage contract must be concluded exclusively in writing and certified by a notary.
The notary is obliged to explain the semantic meaning of the agreement and the legal consequences of its conclusion. This is necessary so that, as a result of an illiterate and irrationally drawn up contract, the persons entering into it do not suffer an unintentional loss.

Rules and conditions for concluding a marriage contract

Mandatory conditions for drawing up a marriage contract:

1) The text of the document must be clearly and clearly written.

2) All dates and dates that relate to the content of the document must be indicated verbally at least once.

3) Last names, first names and patronymics, as well as the address and place of residence of citizens must be indicated without abbreviations.

4) The agreement is sealed with the signatures of the citizens who concluded it.

All these terms and conditions are intended to eliminate the possibility of different interpretations of the contents of this document.

Sometimes there may be reasons as a result of which one of the parties cannot sign a marriage contract with their own hands. These include:

• Illiteracy.
• Disease.
• Other physical disabilities, as well as other valid reasons.

In this case, at the request of that party, the contract may be signed by another person. However, the signature of this authorized person must be certified by a notary. Moreover, it is also necessary to indicate the reasons and conditions as a result of which the contract was not signed by the drafter with his own hand.

All citizens have the right to have a marriage contract certified by a notary. It does not matter whether he is engaged in private practice or works in the state notary system.

A notarization is a certification inscription placed on a contract.

A prenuptial agreement in Russia is a type of bilateral transaction.

And therefore, the rules in force in relation to the above-mentioned transactions also apply to him.

Failure to comply with the notarial form of the marriage contract entails the recognition of the marriage contract as invalid.

And an invalid marriage contract is just a useless document that has no legal force.

According to Article 40 of the Family Code of Russia, a marriage contract can be concluded by both citizens who only wish to get married and legal spouses.

Persons who are legally capable of marrying have the right to conclude a marriage contract. That is why it is permissible to conclude a marriage contract between persons under the age of marriage, namely 18 years.

In this case, if the age of marriage has not yet been reached, but permission from the relevant authority to enter into marriage has been received, then with the written consent of the parents (guardians), this person has the right to sign a marriage contract. This rule applies to concluding a marriage contract before registering a marriage with the registry office.

And since, after marriage, a minor spouse acquires full civil legal capacity, he will be able to conclude a marriage contract of the spouses independently without the written and oral permission of parents or guardians.

According to the case, if the marriage contract was concluded under the influence of threats, violence or deception, or as a result of a combination of extremely difficult circumstances, which the second party took advantage of, thus finding benefit for itself to the detriment of the second party, then in this case the rule on the invalidity of the transaction will be applied and it will be recognized as enslaving. And as a result of this decision, the marriage contract will be declared invalid.

A prenuptial agreement can be valid throughout the marriage,

and can also be terminated at any time by mutual agreement of the spouses.

A marriage contract may provide for conditions, depending on the occurrence or non-occurrence of which any new rights and obligations will arise. Such conditions include, for example, the birth of a child.
A marriage contract can be concluded for a certain period or be indefinite.

Conditions that cannot be included in a marriage contract:

1) A marriage contract cannot limit the legal capacity of the spouses. For example, even if the contract specifies the amount that the husband will give to his wife for maintenance, he does not have the right to require her to engage exclusively in managing household without the possibility of going to work, since these actions of his will contradict the current legislation of the Russian Federation, in particular Article 1 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

2) A marriage contract should not deprive the right to go to court for protection. For example, a contract condition according to which one of the parties refuses to go to court to protect property rights is contrary to the law. And therefore this fact will not be an obstacle to the injured party going to court.

3) A marriage contract cannot concern the personal rights and obligations of spouses in relation to their children.

4) A marriage contract cannot become a regulator of personal non-property relations between the parties. This is due to the fact that enforcement of these conditions is practically impossible.

The terms of the marriage contract that violate at least one of all the above requirements will be declared invalid (void).

The law also establishes other requirements, compliance with which is mandatory when concluding a marriage contract.

For example, contributions made by spouses from property acquired during the marriage in the name of their common minor children will be considered to belong to these children. Therefore, they will not be taken into account when dividing the common property of the spouses and cannot be the subject of a marriage contract.

Since during the life of the parents the child does not have the right of ownership of their property, and the parents do not have the right to the child’s property, then when drawing up a marriage contract, the property of the children should be distinguished from the property of the spouses.

In a marriage contract, spouses have the right:

1. Establish ways for each party to share in the income.
2. Establish a regime of shared, separate and joint ownership of all common property, parts of it, or the property of each spouse.
3. Establish the shares of each spouse in the property belonging to them.
4. Determine the property that will be given to each spouse upon divorce.
5. Establish a procedure for bearing family expenses in relation to each spouse, as well as any other provisions that relate to the property interests of the parties, do not infringe on each other’s rights and do not contradict the law.

Invalidity of the marriage contract

According to clause 1 of Article 44 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, a marriage contract can be declared invalid on the grounds provided for by civil law in relation to invalid transactions. A marriage contract may be declared invalid in whole or in part.

According to civil law, a transaction is recognized as valid if the following conditions are met:

• The contents of the transaction are legal.
• The parties to the transaction are legally capable of entering into this transaction.
• The will of the participants corresponds to their actual will.
• In cases provided for by law, the established form of the transaction is observed.

All of the above conditions for the validity of transactions apply to a marriage contract. And if at least one of these conditions is not met, the transaction will be considered illegal.

A marriage contract may be declared invalid by a court decision (voidable transaction) or regardless of the court decision (void transaction).
But still, if disputes arise between the parties regarding the nullity of the marriage contract, the interested party will need to go to court.

Grounds that allow you to challenge the invalidity of a marriage contract:

1) The marriage contract was concluded with a person who does not understand the significance of his own actions or cannot manage them. Even if this person is recognized as legally competent. For example, one of the spouses at the time of signing the contract was sick, was intoxicated, or suffered a nervous shock.

2) The marriage contract was concluded under the influence of a material misconception. For example, one of the parties was left in the dark about certain circumstances that are of significant importance to it.

3) The marriage contract was concluded under the influence of threats, deception, violence, or as a result of a combination of difficult circumstances on extremely unfavorable conditions. Moreover, it does not matter from whom exactly the threats, deception or violence came. This can be either the second party or third parties acting in the interests of this party.

Deception in this case will be deliberate misrepresentation for the purpose of concluding a marriage contract. This could be any active action or inaction. In the first case, there is reporting of false information, and in the second, there is silence about facts that may affect the procedure for concluding a marriage contract.

Violence will be recognized as causing harm to the participant in the transaction or to people close to him. This can be both physical and moral suffering, the purpose of which is to force a person to enter into a marriage contract.

A threat is recognized as an unlawful mental influence on the will of a citizen through statements about causing moral or physical harm to him or his loved ones if he refuses to sign a marriage contract.

4) The marriage contract was concluded with a person (without the consent of his guardian) who is limited in legal capacity by a court decision due to drug or alcohol abuse.

In this case, the marriage contract may be declared invalid by a court decision due to a claim by the trustee.

According to paragraph 2 of Art. 44 of the Family Code provides a special basis for declaring a marriage contract fully or partially invalid at the request of one of the spouses if the terms of the contract place this spouse in an extremely unfavorable position (including property).

A marriage contract is a serious document. So that it has legal force and is effective tool in the financial and property spheres of family life, it must be drawn up in accordance with certain conditions.

Conditions for the validity of a marriage contract

The main legal provisions on a marriage contract are established by Articles 40-46 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. Based on these legal norms, the following conditions for concluding a marriage contract can be derived:

1. Parties to the marriage contract. A marriage contract can be concluded between a husband and wife who are legally married, or between a man and a woman intending to enter into a legal marriage.
2. The moment of conclusion and entry into force of a marriage contract. The contract can be concluded either before marriage or during marriage. But not after the divorce! The marriage contract comes into force at the moment of signing and notarization of the contract, if it is concluded in marriage. If the agreement is concluded before marriage, it will enter into legal force at the time of registration of the marriage.
3. Form of marriage contract. Mandatory - written form and notarization of the document.
4. Contents of the marriage contract. A marriage contract can exclusively regulate the property legal relations of spouses (future spouses). Some family and personal legal relations are not subject to regulation by a marriage contract! Violation of this condition entails the invalidity of the document.
5. Rules for changing or terminating a marriage contract. The conclusion of a marriage contract occurs on the basis of mutual consent. Therefore, it can only be changed or terminated by mutual agreement. Unilateral refusal to fulfill the terms of the contract is not permitted.

The above provisions are the basic conditions under which a marriage contract can be concluded and valid. Failure to comply with any of the above conditions entails the recognition of the marriage contract as invalid.

What basic conditions can be included in a prenuptial agreement?

Above we discussed the conditions for concluding a marriage contract. That is, about the requirements that the law imposes on the subject composition, the timing of the conclusion and entry into force of the agreement, and the form and content of the agreement.

Now we will discuss what conditions of a marriage contract can be determined by spouses to regulate their financial and property relations.

Theoretical aspect

From the point of view of the theory of concluding civil contracts, there are two types of conditions:

1. suspensive;
2. cancelable.

If the spouses have determined that rights and obligations arise depending on a certain circumstance, the contract is concluded under a suspensive condition. For example, if one of the spouses purchases real estate on credit (a suspensive condition), the second spouse is obliged to participate in the repayment of the loan and has the right to own real estate in proportion to the paid part of the loan (the emergence of rights and obligations).

If the rights and obligations of the spouses are terminated due to a certain circumstance, the contract is concluded under a severable condition. For example, if a spouse loses the right to own real estate and does not have the obligation to make regular loan payments, if due to objective reasons (illness, moving, lack of work) he cannot participate in loan repayments.

In addition to circumstances, the emergence of rights and obligations may be associated with the arrival of a certain date or expiration.

The basic conditions of the marriage contract are provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 42 of the Family Code. This:

• Determination of the property regime of spouses (common joint, separate, shared);
• Property that is the subject of a marriage contract (both existing and future);
• Participation of spouses in family income and expenses;
• Rights and obligations regarding mutual maintenance of spouses;
• Division of property during divorce.

In addition to the above conditions, other conditions may be determined by the spouses if they regulate property legal relations, do not contradict the law and do not violate the rights and freedoms of the spouses. For example, planning purchases, including on credit.

A marriage contract, as one of the types of civil law contracts, may contain conditions traditional for all documents of this kind, for example, the duration of the contract, rules for termination and amendment, liability for failure to fulfill the terms of the contract.

Let's take a closer look at each of the terms of the marriage contract.

Property regime

The law determines the joint regime of property acquired by spouses during marriage. But this is why a marriage contract is concluded, in order to independently determine the ownership regime (general joint, shared, separate). Moreover, a certain regime can be applied both to all existing property and to each individual part of it. For example…

• the spouses decided to apply the joint ownership regime only to property that was acquired before the conclusion of the marriage contract (for example, an apartment donated by parents for the wedding);
• the regime of shared ownership of spouses was applied to property acquired on credit, since each spouse bears a certain share of the loan obligation (for example, the wife pays ⅓ of the loan, and the husband bears the remaining ⅔);
• The spouses applied the separate property regime to all property that will be acquired in the future. It will belong to the spouse with whose funds it will be purchased and in whose name it is registered.

Property

According to paragraph 1 of Article 42 of the RF IC, a marriage contract is concluded in relation to property that the spouses already have or to property that is expected to appear in the future.

The property of the spouses, which is the subject of a marriage contract, includes:

• each spouse's income(income from labor, entrepreneurial, intellectual activity, pension and social benefits, other non-targeted cash payments);
• property acquired by spouses(movable and immovable property, cash deposits, securities, shares in the capital of enterprises and organizations);

It is important that the marriage contract contains a detailed list of all available property with distinctive characteristics (name, make and model, registration number, cadastral number) and details of title documents.

Disposal of property

Spouses can provide rules for the disposal (sale, exchange, donation, collateral) of common property. For example, any transactions can only be carried out with the consent of the second spouse.

Rights and obligations regarding mutual maintenance

Family law regulates the grounds for the emergence of the right to maintenance and the rules for its provision. However, spouses may stipulate other or additional grounds for the emergence of rights, indicate other responsibilities and provide for more rights. For example, you can indicate that the husband is obliged to provide his wife with maintenance in the amount of 10,000 rubles monthly until the children reach adulthood.

Family income and expenses

If the sources of income in each family are approximately the same (salary, income from business activities, pension or benefit, scholarship), then expenses in different families can differ significantly.

Basically, spouses bear expenses such as renting a home, paying for utilities, communication services, buying food, clothing and shoes, paying for treatment and buying medicine, paying for education, paying for recreation and entertainment.

In a prenuptial agreement, you can determine the participation of each spouse in family expenses, for example...

• equally;
• in equal or different (proportional to income) shares;
• separately (each spouse bears a certain type of expenses)

Contract time

You can conclude a marriage contract either for a certain period or for an indefinite period. The expiration of the contract may be determined by a specific date or the occurrence of circumstances (for example, divorce). Some conditions of the marriage contract remain valid even after its expiration.

Notification of creditors about the conclusion, amendment, or termination of a marriage contract

If spouses have creditors (for example, a bank), and therefore have obligations to creditors, the spouses are obliged to notify them of the conclusion, amendment, or termination of a marriage contract if its terms affect the interests of the creditor.

For example, if, under the terms of a marriage contract, property that is the subject of a loan agreement (for example, a mortgage apartment) becomes the property of one of the spouses, the creditor should be informed about this. Otherwise, the spouse will fulfill his obligations to the creditor regardless of the terms of the marriage contract.

The procedure for making changes to the contract, terminating the contract

Nothing is eternal and unchanging. Spouses who have recently reached an agreement and entered into an agreement on certain conditions, after a certain time they may realize the need to change these conditions. No problem! They can make changes to the contract or even terminate the contract at any time by putting this agreement in writing and notarizing it.

But unilateral refusal to fulfill the contract is impossible. If the spouse has good reasons for not adhering to the terms of the agreement, not using the rights and not fulfilling the obligations stipulated in the agreement, he will have to go to court. If the court considers the reasons valid, the arguments convincing, the grounds legitimate, it may declare the contract invalid, oblige the spouses to make changes to the contract or terminate it.

A marriage contract is a voluntary agreement between persons planning to register a marriage or spouses, which establishes the property rights and obligations of the parties to the marriage, as well as their competence in the event of divorce in the future.

Legal regulation of the issue of concluding a marriage contract

The concept of a marriage contract is clearly defined in Family Code RF. In addition to a special set of laws, the conditions and requirements for the agreement are enshrined in the Civil and Economic Codes.

Purposes of concluding a marriage contract

Obviously, the agreement is intended to regulate and consolidate the property rights and obligations of spouses during marriage, as well as upon its dissolution, in order to eliminate or at least minimize the reasons for spouses to go to court on issues of division of property.

In addition, the current family legislation cannot be called thorough, therefore, by concluding a marriage contract, the parties improve legal norms in relation to a specific situation. As a rule, the provisions of a prenuptial agreement are more effective in protecting the property rights of spouses and children than legal regulations.

Features of concluding a marriage contract

Like any other legally significant agreement, a marriage contract and its execution have the following features:

• the agreement can be concluded both before the state registration of the marriage and after it, without establishing a time frame or other time restrictions. It is important to take into account that the marriage contract concluded by the bride and groom before marriage comes into force from the date of state registration of the marriage;
• The agreement is intended to regulate only the property (material) relationship of the couple. Its conditions cannot relate to the intimate life of the parties or, for example, regulate the issue of raising common children. If the practice of connection is used abroad privacy and civil legal relations when drawing up the provisions of a marriage contract, then, according to Russian legislation, the purpose of developing a contract is to prevent property disputes when divorce proceedings, but not interference in the personal lives of the parties;
• the settlement of material relations between counterparties can be applied both to the current well-being of the spouses (or the bride and groom) and to their future property. For example, spouses can already decide today the fate of a car or an apartment that they plan to buy in the future.

Conditions for concluding a marriage contract

To conclude a marriage contract, you need to adhere to the basic principles of legality and fairness, as well as some rules for concluding contracts of a material nature, which are:

• voluntariness. The agreement will be valid only if its signing was preceded by mutual consent of the parties;
• notarial form. Russian legislation requires that all agreements regulating property relations between certain persons be notarized (signed in the presence of a notary) and a marriage contract is no exception.

Standard provisions of a marriage contract

Typically, persons who decide to enter into a marriage contract immediately turn to a notary for help, since every notary owns a standard form of this agreement.

So, what can a notary propose to include in the contract as part of a preliminary consultation:

• introduce a regime of common shared ownership of property. For example, if one of the future or existing spouses acquired some property with personal funds, by common agreement the other party can also be included as the owner of these material goods. Such a regime may provide for unequal shares and, by agreement, depend in direct proportion on the investment of each spouse in the process of material support for the family;
• regulate and consolidate the rights and obligations of the parties regarding mutual maintenance and maintenance of children, moreover, the agreement may contain additional obligations for the maintenance of even an able-bodied spouse for the entire period of marriage, as well as after its dissolution, which is not provided for (however, and is not prohibited) by the norms of the current family law legislation;
• consolidate ways for spouses to participate in providing for the family. That is, the agreement may stipulate that the husband is obliged to give a certain part of his salary to his wife, which she, in turn, must spend exclusively on the needs of the family;
• establish the procedure for bearing expenses of spouses. For example, within the framework of an agreement, it is possible to assign the obligation to support a daughter to the father, and to provide for the son to the mother, or vice versa;
• determine the property estate that will go to each spouse after the divorce. It is important to understand the importance of specifying this point, since its consolidation eliminates the grounds for family disputes in court.

These provisions are general and determine the scope of possibilities of the parties to the marriage contract. To draw up a specific agreement, taking into account the individual characteristics of each family, it is best for counterparties to seek the help of an experienced family law attorney.

Conditions that cannot be included in the provisions of a marriage contract

Despite the extensive rights of the parties in forming the provisions of the marriage contract, there are still a number of restrictions. Thus, the following clauses cannot be included in a marriage contract:

• limiting the civil rights and obligations of spouses (their legal capacity). For example, it is impossible to consolidate the demand of one spouse to remove the second from registration in a shared apartment in the event of a divorce - thus, the citizen’s right to housing is limited;
• limiting the legal capacity of the parties to the contract - one of the parties cannot be deprived of the right to go to court;
• regulating non-property relations. These are provisions concerning the upbringing of common children, everyday life, and intimate relationships. For example, within the framework of a marriage contract, it is impossible to oblige a spouse to change her surname to her premarital name in the event of a divorce;
• putting one of the parties in an unfavorable financial situation. It is unacceptable that, according to the terms of the contract, in the event of a divorce, one of the spouses is left with nothing at all;
• limiting the rights of spouses to receive alimony for child support or personal support in case of incapacity;
• contain any other terms that are contrary to applicable law.

Drawing up a marriage contract in violation of current legislation entails its recognition as invalid in court.

The agreement can be changed or terminated by mutual decision of the spouses at any time.