How much is the state duty for divorce and do you need to pay it again if the decision to separate is valid?

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According to the current legislation of 2021, without going to court, that is, by applying to the registry office departments, divorce is permissible only in cases where the spouses do not have children born in marriage who are minors, and if there is mutual consent. When there are such children, or the initiator of the divorce is only the wife or husband, the divorce is carried out in court, as a rule, by justices of the peace (there is no dispute about common minor children; there is a dispute about joint property not exceeding 50,000 rubles ; there is no dispute about property and there are no children in the marriage, but one of the parties does not agree with the dissolution of the marriage.)

Let's consider all these 3 procedures for divorce in the Russian Federation:

1. MARRIAGE REGISTRY
2. Magistrate's Court
3. District Court
4. How much does divorce cost in 2021?

Divorce at the registry office

The official separation of spouses through the registry office is the fastest and most convenient way to end a marriage. Just 30 days - and both spouses can consider themselves free. However, not everyone can be divorced through the registry office, as there are mandatory conditions, which we will discuss later. A month is required : firstly, the necessary documents are not always ready by the day the application is submitted, and, secondly, often within a month the husband and wife change their decision and withdraw the application. To successfully complete the divorce process through the registry office, spouses need to collect the entire package of relevant documents.

In what cases does the registry office divorce?

According to the canons of Russian legislation, the civil registration department can accept an application for divorce only in two cases :

• if both spouses agree and are ready for a divorce
• if they do not have children together (or they are already adults)

All of the above is true when both spouses appear at the registry office to submit an application. It can be submitted by one of them in the following situations:

• If the second spouse is officially declared dead or missing.
• If you become incapacitated (by court decision).
• If serving a sentence in a correctional colony of any type, provided that it is more than three years.

If the situation does not coincide with any of the cases provided for by law, an application for divorce should be submitted to the courts.

Which registry office should you submit documents for divorce to?

It does not matter at the place of registration of which of the spouses the corresponding application will be submitted (by the way, most often they have a common registration). You can also contact the registry office where the marriage was registered. There is only one condition for accepting the application - voluntary consent to divorce of both spouses . If one of them, for some reason, is not able to personally submit an application, he can transfer it through the second spouse or even send it to the address of the registry office by registered mail. But the signature of the absent person in this case must be certified by a notary or, in the case of serving a sentence in a correctional institution, by its head.

must appear at the divorce . One of them may not come only for a good reason, but their list is strictly limited:

• Serious illness or injury.
• Compulsory service in the armed forces.
• Long business trip.
• Living in a locality with limited transport links.
• Staying in a correctional labor colony.

In any other case, the application will have to be withdrawn and resubmitted when both spouses are ready for this.

What documents need to be prepared?

The corresponding application is filled out - form 8 , if the spouses write it together, or form 9 , if one person writes it alone. The document must indicate the passport details of both participants in the process, date and place of birth, nationality and citizenship. Be sure to add the registered and actual address (if they differ), information about the marriage, and last names after the divorce for each spouse. The date and signatures of the parties are included. The application is assigned a registration number and a corresponding note is made.

Additional documents you will need are copies of passports, a marriage certificate (original) and a receipt for payment of the state fee, which is equal to 650 rubles. It is paid for by both spouses.

If the other party is considered dead or missing , a court decision is added to the list of documents confirming this fact and entering into legal force. For cases where the spouse is in prison, you will need a copy of the verdict. A corresponding decision will also be needed when divorcing an incapacitated spouse.

Spouses' application for divorce at the registry office

When both spouses live in the same city , they can file for divorce at the place of registration of either of them . But there are situations when one of them lives far away - in another locality. In this case , there are several options for filing a divorce application:

• Arriving in person to submit and register the document.
• By sending the application by registered mail.
• Filling out a special form via the Internet.

The latter is possible only by applying to the authorities in your region and provided that those divorcing do not have joint children under the age of 18 , disputed property and mutual material claims against each other. In some cases, the list of additional documents for the divorce application includes a copy of the marriage contract, as well as a property agreement, according to which there are no longer any claims.

Sample application:

Divorce procedure through the registry office

Spouses submit an application in the prescribed form and additional documents to it. Perhaps the registry office employee will ask you to provide other papers if the situation requires it. You are then given a period of thirty days (30 days) to confirm your decision. Many couples manage to change it and decide to give the family a second chance. Then the application is withdrawn and the process is automatically terminated. If this does not happen, the spouses are considered divorced and receive documents confirming this fact. A divorce application may be rejected if the spouse is pregnant.

Submitting an application online

In order not to waste time, it is possible to file for divorce via the World Wide Web. This can be done in two ways:

The first is to fill out a special form on the government services website. But there is a nuance - it will be possible to submit an application only if such a form is available on the website of the very registry office where the participants in the process generally have the right to submit an application.

The second is to find a company that specializes in this area (divorce proceedings) and submit an application there.
We need a company that belongs to the relevant region. You will need to register, enter all the data that is relevant to the case, leave your contact details, fill out a standard application form and confirm that the application was submitted legally. What exactly is needed to confirm your identity will be indicated on the website.

Fill out the form and pay the receipt

In order for the payment of the state fee for divorce to be successful, you need to have information about where and how much to pay. It can be requested at the magistrates' court or at the registry office (depending on where the procedure is formalized) . The maximum possible payment amount may not be that much - only up to 60 thousand rubles, depending on how much the item in the section costs. But such an amount is only possible if divorced spouses divide expensive property. You will also incur significant costs if you hire a lawyer to file a claim.

Any authority will require a receipt before divorcing spouses. It indicates that the payment of the state fee for divorce was made successfully. Therefore, the receipt must be attached to the list of main documents.

It is advisable to obtain the details of the state fee for divorce in the court where you are filing the documents. If these details are taken, you can go to any convenient bank and make a payment. Sometimes money can even be transferred through a terminal.

It is important that the receipt for 2021 contains information about who the payer is (his SNILS, passport details), who receives the duty and bank details. You should also check whether it is indicated how much to pay, the purpose of the payment and whether the date for its payment has been set. To make sure you don't miss anything, use the following sample.

You can get legal assistance regarding state fees for divorce on our website.

Divorce in the Magistrates' Court

Cases when a divorce is carried out in a magistrate’s court are enshrined in legislation (Article 23 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation), if:

1. There is no dispute about common minor children;
2. An existing dispute regarding joint property not exceeding RUB 50,000;
3. There is no dispute about property and there are no children in the marriage, but one of the parties does not agree with the dissolution of the marriage.

Please note that it is better to carry out a divorce before a magistrate - it is much simpler. In the case of a divorce in district court, everything is much more complicated.

Required documents

• statement of claim in proper form
• plaintiff's passport
• certificate confirming marriage registration;
• birth certificates of common children (copies);
• documents confirming the availability of property acquired during the marriage, its value and physical properties;
• receipt of payment of state duty.

Application for divorce to the Magistrates' Court

Plaintiffs submit applications to the magistrate's courts at their place of residence using a special form approved by government decree. It can be easily found on the Runet network.

It's easy to fill out the application. In the top header you must indicate:

• in which particular magistrate's court the claim was filed;
• surname and initials of the judge of the magistrate court;
• full name the plaintiff, where he is registered and actually resides, telephone number, details for communication by e-mail (if available);
• information as for the plaintiff for the defendant.

Next comes the text itself, which should indicate where and when the marriage was concluded, the names and dates of birth of common children, whether their place of residence has been agreed upon after the spouses are divorced and the procedure for their communication with the parent living separately, the amount of alimony and the procedure their payment.

The reasons for divorce are given if the initiative is one-sided, or it is indicated that both parties want to divorce. Indication of the reasons for divorce is necessary because usually the court gives the parties a period for their reconciliation, but if such reasons are particularly serious, preventing even the possibility of reconciliation, it may not be assigned.

In conclusion, the requirements are stated:

• dissolve the marriage;
• divide property;
• oblige the defendant to pay alimony.

It is necessary to list all attachments to the claim, sign the application, decipher the signature, and indicate the date when the claim was drawn up.

How does divorce work and its features?

In a special procedure, divorce is carried out in cases where one of the spouses is recognized as missing, or his legal capacity is officially confirmed, as well as if one of them is sentenced by the court to isolation from society for a period that exceeds three years.

It has already been said above that an alimony agreement can be concluded between divorcing spouses. But the final decision on them, in relation to both the amount and order of payment, is made by the court, since it is necessary to take into account the financial condition of each of the parties, the condition of their dependents other than common children, individuals, and a whole range of other factors significant to the case.

The magistrate shall notify the parties by summons of the date and time If during a court hearing demands are suddenly made, the resolution of which is not within the competence of the magistrate, the latter transfers the case to the city or district court. In this case, the statement of claim will have to be rewritten taking into account the new requirements, and the state fee will have to be paid again.

How much does a divorce in Magistrates Court cost? The state duty is 600 rubles. (Clause 5 of Article 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). After the court decision on divorce is made, another 1,300 rubles must be paid. (650 from each of the former spouses, clause 2 of Article 333.26 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) for filing a divorce in the registry office - after this a certificate of divorce will be issued.

In case of divorce at the request of one party (husband or wife), the state duty is 350 rubles (Article 333.26, paragraph 2, paragraph 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). This divorce option is possible if the applicant’s spouse:

• imprisoned for more than 3 years;
• declared incompetent;
• declared missing.

The magistrate is authorized to hear a divorce case in the absence of one of the parties. To do this, it is necessary to submit a corresponding request and indicate the reasons, which must be sufficiently valid. In its place, any party has the right to send its own representative , and not necessarily a professional lawyer. If one of the spouses is incapacitated, which must be officially confirmed, the participation of his representative in the case is mandatory.

If a claim for divorce is recognized by the defendant, a decision on the case is made at the very first court hearing, but usually the consideration of the case is postponed, the spouses are notified, and they are given a period of 1-3 months . Once reconciliation has taken place, the case is terminated.

The failure of the defendant to appear is not an obstacle to making a decision on the case - when it becomes three times, the last court hearing takes place in his absence, and if it is established that the defendant does not appear in the magistrate’s court without good reason, the claims are satisfied in full. In any case, the decision on the divorce case must be made 3 months from the date the specific claim was received by the court.

After the court makes a decision, copies of it are served or sent to both divorced spouses. They present them to the local registry office, where each of them receives a divorce certificate.

Results

So, the size and procedure for calculating the state duty are influenced by the following factors:

1. divorce procedure: administrative (in the registry office) or judicial;
2. resolution of related disputes and disagreements (about jointly acquired property, about the collection of alimony, about place of residence or raising children);
3. the value of jointly acquired property.

Taking into account all the factors, it is difficult to name the exact amount of the state duty - it can vary from 350 rubles to several thousand or even tens of thousands of rubles.

In addition to the state fee, additional costs may arise during the divorce process - transport, postal (for sending documents to the registry office or the court at the place of consideration of the case), notary (for certification of powers of attorney or concluding agreements), administrative (for obtaining additional certificates or duplicates).

So for some, the total cost of the divorce will be limited by the amount of the state fee, while for others it will not be possible to avoid attracting additional financial resources to pay the expenses listed above.

If that treasured divorce certificate is worth it, don't let the price of divorce stop you.

Divorce in district court and other nuances of divorce

We will tell you about divorce in the district court from the spouse’s side. Almost everything is similar for the female side. And so, judicial proceedings make it possible to solve the problem of divorce in cases where the wife does not give her consent to the official severance of the relationship, or makes demands regarding joint children or common property.

As a general rule, divorce is carried out before a magistrate. However, if there is a dispute about the division of joint property, about determining the place of residence of children, about the conditions of keeping and raising children, the divorce process is carried out in a district court.

In such situations, the court does not set itself the task of preserving the marriage, although the spouses are given a period of reflection. It is more important to understand the reason for the parties’ persistence and choose the most acceptable solution that would suit both parties to the proceeding. For example, with regard to determining the main place of residence of minors, the judicial authority must take into account the positions of the spouses and the interests of the children. Claims for the division of property acquired during marriage can be considered both as separate claims and as part of claims for divorce. In such situations, the key points in determining the share of each spouse are : legal grounds (provisions of the Family Code), as well as the interests of the children.

When can you not divorce without your wife's consent?

It is worth noting that the husband’s desire to divorce is not always enough for the court to make a positive decision. For example, a judicial authority has the right to refuse to satisfy a man’s wishes to divorce his wife if there are the following grounds:

• if at the time of going to court the wife is carrying a child together;
• if the spouse is on leave to care for a common child less than a year old. This restriction remains in effect for a year even in the event of a stillbirth or the death of a newborn.

The procedure for applying to the court

To divorce your wife without her consent, you must contact the appropriate magistrates' court at the place of residence of both spouses or one of them. The application indicates required for such claims, as well as the grounds that forced the husband to divorce, for example, refusal to voluntarily terminate the marital relationship through the registry office, the impossibility of further cohabitation due to non-participation in the common life of one of the spouses and other reasons. In addition, in the main part of the claim, you can indicate information and circumstances that are important, from the applicant’s point of view.

The statement of claim, when filing an application with the district court, is also drawn up in 2 copies with the following documents attached:

• marriage certificates;
• copies of the plaintiff’s identity document;
• birth certificates of a common child (children);
• other documents relevant to the resolution of the case.

Sample statement of claim for divorce with division of property:

Making a decision

If the husband’s demands are limited only to the demand for divorce, and the wife, who previously did not want to get a divorce, changes her mind in court and agrees to the divorce, the process will not last long.

Otherwise, the spouses are given time to think about the situation and make a decision. The maximum period given to spouses for reflection is three months. After the expiration of the period for reconciliation, the court will make a final decision on the case.

Since modern legislation provides complete freedom of choice to married couples, there are no grounds for refusing to satisfy the plaintiff’s demands, other than those provided by law.

Moreover, deliberate failure to appear in the courtroom to consider a divorce case is considered not as a reason for refusing to satisfy the requirements, but as a manifestation of disrespect for the court and a complete lack of interest of the defendant in the outcome of the case.

In cases where both parties to the case fail to appear at the court hearing without providing information about their whereabouts and valid reasons for failure to appear, the civil case is subject to termination . Then, in order to resume the divorce procedure, the plaintiff will have to file the claim again.

Spouse's rights

Even in cases where a positive decision is made in the case, the ex-husband should not forget about the wife’s right to appeal the court decision within the period established by procedural legislation.

In addition, there is always the possibility that a woman, previously declared missing, will suddenly appear and apply to the judicial authority with a claim to cancel the divorce decree. Such situations, of course, are rare and unlikely, but more unusual events happen in life.

Without going to court, that is, by applying to the registry office departments, divorce is possible only in cases where the spouses do not have children born in marriage who are minors, and if there is mutual consent . When there are such children, or the initiator of the divorce is only the wife or husband, the divorce is carried out in court, as a rule, by justices of the peace.

How much does divorce cost?

Through the registry office

The amount of divorce through the registry office is 650 rubles (each party pays)

The divorce fee through the registry office of 350 rubles by one spouse in the following cases:

• the second spouse was declared missing by the court;
• the second spouse was declared incompetent by the court;
• the second husband was sentenced to imprisonment for the crime he committed (for a term of more than three years).

Through the court

If spouses divorce with the help of the court, the state duty will be 600 rubles (clause 5, clause 1, article 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

How much does a divorce certificate cost?

If the divorce is through the registry office, you do not need . However, if the divorce is carried out through the court, then each spouse will have to pay a fee of 650 rubles for issuing a certificate.

What confirms the fact of payment of the state duty?

In the generally accepted sense, a cash payment is evidenced by a receipt issued by the bank teller.

In addition to the receipt, the following documents can be used:

• payment order with a note from a bank or other financial organization confirming the non-cash payment;
• extract from the State Information System on state and municipal payments - GIS NMP (see clause 2, part 1, article 7 of the Federal Law of July 27, 2010 No. 210-FZ “On the organization of the provision of state and municipal services”).

State bodies, including courts and civil registry offices, do not have the right to demand from applicants documents confirming the fact of payment of the state fee. Their presentation is a right, not an obligation, of applicants. If a payment document is not attached to the application, the authorized body is obliged to establish the fact of payment using a certificate from the GIS GMP. The creation and administration of GIS is the responsibility of the Federal Treasury.