Divorce through the Magistrates' Court: when required, documents, stages

Divorce through the Magistrates' Court

Not all spouses manage to maintain love, mutual understanding and normal relationships throughout their entire life together. The reason for this is a difference in character, everyday difficulties, financial problems, betrayal of a husband or wife. And no legislation can save a family if one of the parties is against it.

Divorce proceedings are a lengthy procedure that requires certain material costs, time and effort from the parties. If the spouses come to a mutual agreement to separate, they do not have minor children and property claims against each other, they can file a divorce through the registry office. If one of the parties is against it, the spouses have young children and jointly acquired property that needs to be divided, they should go to court. In our article we will talk about divorce proceedings through the magistrates' court, what features and nuances this procedure has.

State fee for filing a divorce claim

For a divorce in court, you will have to pay the fee twice. First, 600 rubles when filing a claim, according to Article No. 333.19 (Part 5, Clause 1) of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). And when the court makes a decision on divorce and it will need to be submitted to the registry office to make changes to the registration books and obtain a divorce certificate, each spouse will have to pay another 650 rubles for paperwork (according to Article No. 333.26 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

For an additional claim for alimony, no fee is charged to the plaintiff. But with the division of property, everything is somewhat more complicated. Such a claim falls into the category of property disputes.

The law does not provide for a fixed fee for property claims. It is calculated individually each time, depending on the “claim price” - the value of the disputed property - according to the regulations of Article No. 333.19 (Part 1, Clause 1) of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

You can read more about the procedure for calculating it in the article “State duty for the division of property during a divorce in 2021”, posted on our portal.

The plaintiff calculates how much to pay independently and pays the required amount according to the details of a specific judicial authority before filing a claim there. If the amount is too large for him, the plaintiff can submit a petition to the court to reduce the amount of the fee (if there are valid reasons specified in Article No. 333.20 (clause 2) of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), for an installment plan or deferment of payment.

Magistrates' Court - grounds for appeal

Spouses who have decided to separate can apply to the magistrate's court in the following cases:

The married couple has minor children. In this case, the husband and wife will not be able to quickly obtain a divorce certificate from the registry office. They need to complete and submit an application for divorce to the magistrate. Provided that all issues relating to the further upbringing and financial support of the child are resolved peacefully, this procedure takes little time.
The spouses do not have children, or the children have already reached the age of majority, but one of the parties does not want to contact the authorized body to file a divorce. In this case, the magistrate will be able not only to consider the divorce case, but also to take into account the stated property claims of the plaintiff. In this case, one condition must be met - property claims must be made in an amount of no more than 50,000 rubles. If the claimed amount in the claim is greater, the magistrate’s court will not consider it, and the applicant will have to appeal to the magistrate’s court.

In order for the divorce procedure to proceed quickly, you should correctly draw up a statement of claim and collect all the necessary documents. If you do not submit all the documents or the application contains errors and inaccuracies, you will be returned for correction and the procedure may drag on indefinitely.

This procedure has its own difficulties and nuances. For example, one of the spouses is serving a sentence in prison, is declared incompetent for medical reasons, or is considered missing. Particular attention should be paid to collecting documents for filing a divorce through the Magistrates' Court with children. In such cases, it is better to contact professionals who specialize in family law cases. Specialists will not only help you correctly draw up an application and collect a package of necessary documents, but will also be able to represent your interests in the magistrate’s court.

At the information stand in the judicial authority you will find all the information regarding the procedure for submitting documents and the application form for divorce to the magistrates' court. Also on specialized websites you can submit a statement of claim for divorce to a magistrate and step-by-step instructions for filling it out.

Statement of objection to the provision of a period for reconciliation with a loved one

What does this have to do with lawyers? Are they going to persuade you?

Maybe she found someone else for herself, but in any case, in court you can say that you don’t agree with the divorce and the judge gives you a period of 2 months for reconciliation,,, well, you know, flowers, champagne and,,,

You won’t be nice by force... destroying relationships is much easier than creating them, and fixing broken ones is even more difficult than creating ones in a clean place... In love, however, as in life, there are no advisers... here you can only rely on your own strengths and intelligence...

Can I contact a family psychologist? Of course, our mentality is not built into it, but it is an option. Moreover, since in 13 years you (sorry) still haven’t learned to communicate with your wife (if grievances have been accumulating for 13 years, it means they have not been discussed or resolved), then maybe a psychologist will help you learn to cope with such situations. In your case, all methods are good since the case is already in court. Good luck!

USEFUL INFORMATION: Tax deduction when purchasing an apartment using maternity capital

If you have behaved like this for 13 years, then this is already a clinic. She's just tired of you. And I’m not even able to earn money.

How to apply for reconciliation in case of divorce if your wife is against it?

What kind of reconciliation can there be if the wife is against it?

ask for forgiveness, correct yourself and make peace) even if she is wrong

In my opinion, there is no need to write for the fitting, the judge will ask and that’s all. They will give you a deadline, at the end of this period you will come, if you make peace, you don’t have to come.

Application for divorce to a magistrate

The application form for divorce to the Magistrates' Court contains the following information:

Full name of the court where the claim is filed.
Last name, first name, patronymic, place of registration of the applicant.
Mobile phone number and email address for feedback.
Personal information of the defendant.
If the interests of the plaintiff or defendant are represented by a lawyer, you must indicate all the information available about him.
Number and date of the marriage certificate.
The civil registry office where the marriage of the spouses was registered.
Record number of the marriage registration act in the registry office.
Date of divorce.
Reasons for divorce between husband and wife.
Information about minor children.
Children's birth certificate data.
Information about joint property that is subject to division.
List of documents attached to the statement of claim.
Date of application.
Signature of the applicant or the person representing his interests.

Also, the magistrate should attach to the divorce application form:

Original receipt for payment of state duty.
Original and copy of marriage certificate.
Copies of children's birth certificates.
A copy of the filed claim.

If the spouses registered their marriage in another state, a translation of the marriage certificate with an apostille must be attached to the above documents. Apostille is an international standardized form of filling out information about the legality of a document for use in another country.

There are several templates for filing a claim, because each married couple may experience different situations when dissolving a marriage. In any court you can find a sample application for divorce to the magistrates' court with children or property disputes.

Petition for reconciliation of the parties in a divorce - sample

When drawing up a document, it is advisable to refer, for example, or view the form. This can be done in several ways, including contacting the court secretariat.

For your reference, a sample petition for reconciliation is as follows:

В__________(name of court)

From full name plaintiff

Application for termination of proceedings in connection with the abandonment of the claim

The court is proceeding with case No._______ regarding a claim against _________ (full name of the defendant) in the case of _______ (essence of the case) in connection with _________ (specify the reason - reconciliation of the parties). According to Art. 173 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation I ask:

Proceedings in the case _________ are terminated.

Consequences of refusal according to Art. 221 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation is known to me.

Date_______________ Signature______________

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Divorce if there are no children together

Even if the spouses do not have joint children, under the age of majority and joint property, it will still not be possible to file a divorce in a few days. This procedure takes at least one month; it is necessary for the magistrate’s court decision on divorce to enter into legal force.

To ensure that the divorce procedure does not drag on for a long time, you should take the preparation of the application and the collection of documents very seriously. If errors or inaccuracies are found, the documents will be returned to you for revision. In this situation, it is better to hire a competent lawyer who will quickly help resolve all issues.

In addition, according to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the magistrate may postpone the hearing and give time to the spouses for reconciliation.

Divorce procedure through the Magistrates' Court if there are children

If the spouses have peacefully agreed and decided how they will jointly raise and support their common children, dissolution of the marriage through the court takes several months.

But when there are certain disagreements between the parents and unresolved issues remain, the timing of the divorce is difficult to predict; the process can last up to six months. Often, serious disagreements arise between former spouses regarding the residence of minor children. In this case, the court, together with the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, may order an examination, which should determine the financial condition and living conditions of each of the parents. In addition, sometimes the children’s opinion is taken into account with which parent they want to stay with. Therefore, spouses with children during divorce proceedings will have to attend court hearings at least three times.

Proper execution and submission of documents is of no small importance. An incorrectly filled out application form for divorce in the Magistrates' Court with children can negatively affect the entire legal process. That is why in such controversial issues it is advisable to contact experienced lawyers.

Arbitrage practice

Under favorable circumstances, divorce proceedings in court take from 2 months. If there are controversial issues, the decision-making period may take up to six months.

Let's look at an example from practice: A woman filed a claim for termination on 07/01/2018, there are no common children. The husband refuses to divorce, citing the desire to save the family. The plaintiff insists on her demands. The meeting is scheduled for July 15, 2018. After hearing the parties and their objections, the court issued a ruling ordering reconciliation for 2 months. The next hearing is scheduled for September 15, 2018.

At the repeated meeting, the plaintiff insisted on the requirements, explaining this by the impossibility of living together with the defendant. Based on Art. 22 of the RF IC, on the same day the court issued a verdict declaring the marriage dissolved. The document comes into force on October 15, 2018.

On September 20, 2018, the defendant filed an appeal against the decision. The appeal was considered on October 25, 2018, the verdict was left unchanged by the higher authority.

Thus, the total duration of the proceedings was almost 4 months:

when filing an appeal, the decision comes into force from the moment the ruling is made;
The appeal ruling becomes valid on the day of adoption.

If the appellate authority had sent the case for retrial, the procedure would have been significantly delayed.

Stages of divorce through the magistrates' court

The entire divorce procedure between spouses goes through several mandatory stages:

The plaintiff files a claim in the magistrate's court. This is the first and mandatory stage at which you need to competently draw up a claim. Particular attention should be paid to filling out the divorce application form to the magistrate with children. An incorrectly completed document will not be accepted by the court for consideration. To avoid such incidents, contact family lawyers. Specialists will take care of this issue on their own, quickly draw up and collect a package of necessary documents.
The judicial authority accepts the statement of claim for consideration and sets the date and time of the first hearing.
The first court hearing takes place. At this stage, the judge reviews the submitted documents and materials and checks whether the rights of minor children are violated. At the first meeting, the magistrate may give the spouses time for reconciliation if it is possible to save the marriage.
Second, third court hearings. They can take place if at the first meeting there are unresolved issues between the parents regarding the residence, upbringing and maintenance of young children.
A court decision is made. It usually takes about five working days to prepare.
The decision of the magistrate's court comes into force. Legislative acts allot about 30 days from the date of determination and ruling of the judicial act to carry out this procedure.
The plaintiff and defendant receive copies of the court decision and can apply to the registry office to obtain a divorce certificate.

Is there a time limit for reconciling spouses and to what extent?

Depending on the circumstances of the case, the court has the right, at the request of the spouse or on its own initiative, to postpone the hearing of the case several times, so that in total the period of time provided to the spouses for reconciliation does not exceed the three-month period established by law. In real trials, as always, a sea of questions arises. 1. Will the judge necessarily give a period for reconciliation if the husband (or wife) asked for it? Can he refuse? This is at the discretion of the judge, but in 9 cases out of 10 (if not more) such a period is given.

It is impossible to predict this. I have had cases more than once, for example, when a judge goes on vacation in a week - he immediately, without thinking or listening to the plaintiff, postpones the case for 3 months, and that’s it. Or, during the vacation period, the judge is replaced by another judge - he is reluctant to consider other people’s cases and has no time, he simply postpones them all. Depending on the circumstances of the case, the court has the right, at the request of the spouse or on its own initiative, to postpone the hearing of the case several times, so that in total the period provided to the spouses for reconciliation does not exceed the three-month period established by law. Previously, this period established by Art. 33 KoBS RSFSR, was six months. Such a reduction of the term by the legislator should be considered as a positive trend and consistent with the principle of freedom and voluntariness of a marriage between a man and a woman, enshrined in Art. 1 RF IC. In this case, the specified three-month period is the maximum. Judicial practice follows the path of a reasonable reduction of this period in cases where reconciliation between spouses is impossible and they themselves ask for its reduction, and the reasons given by them will be recognized by the court as valid.

If you really don’t want to come to court, then write an application for consideration in your absence - just one line, and immediately hand it over to the judge (at the meeting where the deadline for reconciliation was announced), and the case will not “stalle.”

What if the defendant does not come after the deadline? Here, more specifically, the court will issue a divorce judgment in absentia. It is essentially the same, only it takes longer to take effect.

What is the deadline for reconciliation? Almost nothing. But there are also incidents. For example, a husband demands a divorce, the deadline for reconciliation has passed, and during this period the wife gave birth to a child from another man. Here, according to the rules for establishing paternity, the husband (and not the biological father) will be recorded as the father, and there is a risk of collecting alimony. Or the division of the spouses’ common debts: while the marriage lasts, the other spouse can accumulate debts (for example, against receipts from friends), and then try to collect half of the debts from the ex-spouse.

How much does divorce proceedings cost?

The cost of the divorce procedure depends on many factors:

The amount of state duty that must be paid before filing a claim.
Services of lawyers and attorneys. In this case, each specialist sets his own prices for the provision of services.

Lawyer services include:

Legally competent drafting of a statement of claim.
Collection of documents necessary for the court hearing.
Representing the client's interests in court.

Restoring a lost court decision

A duplicate of the lost decision in the form of a certified copy can be obtained from the archives of the court that accepted it upon application from a party to the proceedings. How to do it:

Find out the details of the judicial authority and independently draw up an application for the issuance of a copy with a seal. You can use the example presented above.
Submit an application, a copy of your passport and a marriage certificate in person or through Russian Post.
Applications for the restoration of lost documents are considered within 30 days.

A duplicate is sent to the citizen’s address indicated in the application.

Features of the divorce procedure

According to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, spouses with minor children cannot divorce through the registry office; they need to go to court at the place of residence of the defendant. A statement of claim and a package of necessary documents are submitted to the court.

Documents are submitted to the magistrate's court in the following cases:

There are no controversial issues between the parents regarding the residence and maintenance of the children; the issue of alimony was resolved by a peaceful agreement.
The spouses settled all property issues on their own, and the division of joint property took place by agreement.

If parents have made the difficult decision to divorce through the courts and they have minor children together, the procedure should proceed peacefully and without scandals. In case of misunderstanding between the parties or conflict situations arise, the case will be transferred for consideration to the district court.

Not all citizens are legally literate and know how to correctly draw up a statement of claim. It is better to seek help from family law specialists. They have extensive experience in such cases, the lawyer will not only advise you on all issues of interest, but will help you competently draw up a claim and collect the necessary package of documents. If you wish to draw up and submit documents yourself, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the sample statement of claim in advance.

Tip 3 on how to file for divorce

First, you can try to correct the situation. And solve the problem that caused the divorce petition. This could be the financial side of the issue or the revival of relationships. Only after the deadline for filing objections has expired does the magistrate refer the complaint and civil case to the district court.

At the trial, which takes place to consider all the facts of the case, family members must be prepared to answer the questions posed, as well as ask them.

At a court hearing, any person wants to feel confident, so that anxiety does not confuse thoughts and allows them to be adequately expressed.

What problems can be solved through the magistrate's court?

At the first meeting, after reviewing the submitted materials and listening to both sides, the magistrate can determine the following points:

Who will the minor children stay and live with?
How will the children communicate with the other parent in the future?
Alimony payments - their amount and terms of transfer.

In some cases, spouses enter into a settlement agreement with a notary, where they resolve all issues related to the upbringing and financial support of children. Then the judge no longer considers these issues at the hearings.

If you apply for alimony through the court, experts advise paying special attention to the correct execution of the statement of claim. If the claim is completed with errors or inaccuracies, it will be returned to you and a court hearing will not be scheduled. And the payment of child support will be ordered by the judge only when considering a divorce case.

An obligatory point in the divorce process is the payment of state fees. Without the original receipts, you will not be able to file documents with the court. The legislation of the Russian Federation does not prohibit the applicant from submitting a request to defer payment of the state duty.

Duration of the conciliation period

The legislation specifies a maximum of 3 months for reflection and implementation of the possibility of reconciliation. However, the period may be shorter at the discretion of the judge and be 1 month. In practice, you will never know exactly how much time will be given for reconciliation and whether it will be provided at all. A judge, guided by different criteria, may act differently. However, in practice, in the vast majority of cases it stands out.

Some spouses need to extend this period to take advantage of the maximum opportunity to restore the relationship. However, the judge can only grant up to 3 months, and if one of the spouses does not appear at the hearing three times, he will automatically dissolve the marriage.

You can artificially prolong time due to illness or other valid reasons. To do this, it is necessary to provide documentary evidence to the court and the period will not be extended.