Separate problematic issues of divorce in conditions of war

Abstract

A pandemic, a war, an unstable economic situation - all this leaves its mark on the relationship of married couples. Some overcome crises together and stay married, while others choose divorce for themselves.Applications for divorce from Ukrainians are pouring in from all sides. But the number of official divorces last year halved compared to 2021. For example, in March-December 2022, 11,511 fewer families broke up than in the same period of 2021. This is reported by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.Depending on the circumstances, Ukrainian legislation provides that a marriage is terminated as a result of its dissolution, in accordance with Article 104 of the Civil Code of Ukraine.Martial law is not an obstacle to dissolution of marriage, since marital relations are based on voluntariness. Therefore, despite the state of war in Ukraine, the right to terminate a marriage cannot be limited. The same rules and norms apply as they were until February 24, 2022. It is important that divorce proceedings go through the court in those cases where there are minor children, where it is necessary to divide property or if one of the parties does not want a divorce. If there are no children, there is nothing to divide, and the spouses agree to divorce, it is possible to divorce without a court – simply by submitting an application to the State Register of Civil Service (or Tsnap). But even such a «simple» divorce in the conditions of war can turn into problems.Before the full-scale war, the issue of divorce, if one of the spouses was in the occupied territory, was resolved as follows: one of the spouses came to the nearest city in the territory controlled by Ukraine and made a notarized application to the RAC to dissolve the marriage. Then he would pass this statement on to the other spouse and return home.If the law allows a couple to divorce only through court proceedings, the first thing to do is to determine the court to which you can apply.As a general rule, a lawsuit for divorce is filed in the court at the registered place of residence of the defendant