Marriage in the Russian Federation: conditions and procedure for registration

Registration of family relations as a formalized procedure is based on three main conditions: voluntariness of marriage for each of the parties; reaching marriageable age and the absence of reasons preventing the conclusion of a marriage. Failure to comply with at least one of these principles will be grounds for refusal of registration or for declaring it invalid.

Mutual voluntary consent

The conditions for marriage in Russia are regulated by Art. 12 of the RF IC and apply equally to both newlyweds. Mutual consent to register a marriage relationship is declared by a man and a woman by filling out and signing a joint application for the creation of a family .

This condition is characterized by the following principles:

reciprocity - the decision and consent must be expressed by both applicants, while expressing an opinion for the second newlywed is not allowed;
voluntariness - the expression of will to marry must be free and independent of the opinions and influence of outsiders;
consent – the parties must take an active, legally significant action in the form of a jointly signed statement.

These principles are declared by the parties in a joint document, while the legislation adheres to the rule of integrity of both participants in the procedure. The expression of mutual consent can only theoretically be verified at the stage of submitting documents to the registry office and rarely acts as a reason for refusing marriage.

Legislative regulation and the concept of marriage

The provisions of a special document - the Family Code of the Russian Federation - are devoted to the regulation of issues of marriage and legal relations that arise after its conclusion.

In particular, this is section 2 of this document, which includes information regarding the formation and termination of this union.

The legislation of the Russian Federation does not contain a clear concept of marriage - it is given by lawyers, scientists and philosophers in various literature. The most common interpretation of this concept is to define it as a union between a man and a woman, which is characterized by a number of characteristics.

In particular, these signs include:

Freedom of choice and voluntariness. These characteristics are not only the hallmarks of marriage, but also prerequisites for its conclusion. Without compliance with them, even an officially registered union may be considered illegal.
Legal registration (that is, the entry of marriage records into certain documents of government agencies or religious organizations). The legislative literature emphasizes that it is the official consolidation of marriage that gives rise to conjugal rights and obligations for the parties. As for its other forms (in particular, cohabitation), family law practically does not apply to them.
The emergence of certain rights and responsibilities. They can be either property or personal, but they are always mutual. In particular, they relate to general rights to all property acquired during marriage, responsibilities for the upbringing and maintenance of their children, as well as one of their spouses, if there are legal grounds for this.

It is worth noting that the parties can establish additional rights and obligations, as well as possible restrictions, not only within the framework of current legislation, but also with the help of a special document - a marriage contract.

It can be concluded both before the union is formalized and after that.

Another important feature is the difference in gender among those citizens who marry. That is, this union is possible only between a man and a woman. And even in countries where the official creation of families between same-sex couples is allowed, this union is not considered marriage. It may have other names (for example, family partnership) and be similar to it in a number of ways, but legally it will still be a different form of relationship.

Marriage age

The procedure for determining the age of marriage is fixed in Art. 13 of the RF IC and is valid for both newlyweds. This rule of law regulates the following principles specific to the marriageable age of applicants:

The standard age of marriage is 18 ;
Reducing the age giving the right to enter into family relationships to 16 years is allowed if there are good reasons by decision of local authorities;
Reducing the specified age below 16 years is possible only in exceptional cases regulated by regional legislation.

Verification of compliance with the marriage age condition is carried out at the stage of receiving the application by analyzing the submitted documents.

More information on how to lower the age of marriage can be found here>>>

Alimony relations

In addition to property and non-property rights, after marriage, spouses acquire a mutual obligation to provide material support to each other, which has a legal nature. In case of evasion of alimony payment, the spouse in need of financial support has the right to apply to the judicial authorities to collect it. Alimony is collected from the spouse who has the necessary means for this in the following cases:

disability of the needy spouse;
pregnancy and birth of a common child (within 3 years from the date of birth);
when one of the spouses cares for a common disabled child of the 1st group since childhood.

Alimony is payable monthly in a certain amount of money. You can read about how to collect alimony in the article “Ex-husband does not pay alimony.”

Medical examination of persons entering into marriage

The procedure for concluding a marriage in the family law of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of a medical examination of the parties at the stage of submitting an application to the registry office. The legal grounds for the appointment and conduct of this procedure are regulated in Art. 15 IC RF.

The examination can be carried out taking into account the following principles:

voluntary consent to a medical examination of citizens registering family relationships;
all procedures are carried out free of charge;
examinations can only be carried out by state or municipal medical institutions;
all medical procedures are carried out at the place of residence of the newlyweds;
the results of the examination fall under the definition of medical confidentiality and are subject to disclosure only with the consent of the person in respect of whom the medical procedures were performed.

Clause 3 of Art. 15 of the RF IC regulates the right of one of the spouses to file a claim in court to declare the marriage invalid if the partner concealed the confirmed fact of a sexually transmitted disease or HIV infection.

The results of the examination are not subject to indication in the application form for the creation of a family union and are not communicated to officials of the civil registry office. The results of the survey may acquire legal significance in the event of a lawsuit to invalidate the procedure for registering family relations.

Why is cohabitation called marriage?

Why then is a family union without registration called civil?

For several centuries of Russian history, those who decided to enter into a sacred marriage united their hearts in the church. And this marriage was considered legal, since a solemn wedding ceremony was performed, and a record corresponding to the event appeared in the church register.

By the way, church registers appeared back in 1722 by order of Emperor Peter I, who introduced mandatory birth registration among the Orthodox people.

The metric book was compiled for one year and consisted of three sections intended to record acts of birth, baptism, marriage and death.

Those couples who did not want (or for some reason could not) enter into a religious marriage were left to live without legal registration of marital relations. In such a case, they used the wording “civil marriage”, which carries only an emotional meaning.

Such “civil” relationships did not establish any legal consequences, for example, the right of ownership when dividing property if for some reason the couple decided to end the cohabitation, or the right of inheritance in the event of the death of a cohabitant.

Shortly after the revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks adopted a decree “On civil marriage, on children and on maintaining books of deeds,” which stated that “the Russian Republic will henceforth recognize only civil marriages.”

From now on, the church union began to be characterized as a “private matter of the spouses” and lost its legal force.

That is, in the Russian Empire, the procedure for registering marriage was of a religious (church) nature. However, already in Soviet Russia, as a result of the separation of church and state, marriage began to be called civil (secular), in contrast to the previous “church, canonical”.

Features for emancipated persons

Full legal capacity begins at the age of 18. An emancipated person (a citizen over 16 years of age recognized by the court as fully capable) has the right to marry without any restrictions.

There is another interesting feature. When entering into marriage before the age of 18, a citizen is recognized as fully capable, without completing the emancipation procedure (Article 21 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Moreover, after the dissolution of the union, even if the person is under 18, he remains legally competent unless the court finds otherwise.

At the same time, a person, even if married and recognized as fully capable, does not bear criminal liability for crimes for which it is not provided for due to age (up to 16 years), and also cannot be drafted into the army until he reaches 18 years of age.

What is the difference between a civil marriage and an official marriage?

The concept of “civil marriage” can be considered as an officially registered relationship in the registry office (from a legal point of view) and as cohabitation (most often used in everyday life).
But if we talk about it as cohabitation, then the main difference from officially registered relationships is the absence of legal consequences. Essentially, a civil marriage (like cohabitation) is when a couple moves in and starts living together. No official events, name changes or other procedures follow. Most often this option is used in the following cases:

lovers decide to take a closer look at each other;
some of them are not free;
one of the couple does not want to officially register the relationship.

The reasons really are different - if this is a remarriage, then the man or woman may not want to repeat the previous failed relationship and divorce. There are often situations when a man offers a woman only cohabitation, and not marriage, but she is afraid of losing him and agrees.

An official marriage is registered exclusively at the registry office. Usually, the newlyweds organize a celebration (wedding), although from a legal point of view this is not necessary. Once a husband and wife receive a marriage license, they must be prepared for the associated legal consequences.

Rights of cohabitants when dividing property

“Civil marriage” is not protected by law. Such partners have no property rights and obligations. In the event of a breakdown in relations, the division of property is regulated by the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Joint property

Unlike a marriage registered in the registry office, property acquired by a couple during the period of cohabitation without registration is not community property and is not subject to equal division.
In the event of the breakdown of such a relationship, each partner has an undeniable right to individual ownership of the property acquired by him personally. If any property was acquired jointly, it is not divided in half, but in proportion to the contribution of each party. Moreover, to divide such property, each member of the union must prove the fact of a joint purchase and the amount of their investment.

Division of common shared property of cohabitants

Current Russian legislation does not imply that any property acquired jointly automatically acquires the status of shared ownership.
Cohabitants must independently register shares in this or that property and register it in the manner prescribed by law. As a rule, the size of the share of each property owner is determined in proportion to the contribution to its acquisition, proven by checks, receipts or receipts, and on the basis of an agreement in writing. The subsequent division of such property occurs in accordance with the provisions of Art. 252 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Article 252 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation “Division of property in shared ownership and allocation of a share from it”

Division of unregistered property

If the property acquired during the couple’s cohabitation was not registered as shared ownership, then the cohabitants can divide it by concluding a peace agreement.
If it was not possible to reach a compromise, then you can try to defend your share in the joint property in court. To achieve a positive result in court, you will need to prove the following facts:

Joint residence and housekeeping;
Availability of a joint budget;
Acquisition of divisible property using common funds (bank statements, payment documents, etc.).

The result of such proceedings depends on whether the partner can prove the fact of his contribution to the purchase. As judicial practice shows, former cohabitants often fail to divide the property acquired during the relationship.

Family rights and responsibilities of spouses

The rights and obligations of spouses are divided into personal and property

Personal non-property rights:

Right to equality.
A husband and wife have the legal right to choose their profession, what to do, and where to live. This provision departs from the constitutional principle of equality of all citizens.
All issues related to the spouses’ children (upbringing, education, etc.) must be resolved together; no one has more privileges in decision-making.
Relationships within the family should be based on mutual respect and assistance.
The right to choose a surname

Spouses can leave their premarital surnames, or they can do the following with them: take the surname of the husband or wife as a common one or add the surname of another to their surname. But the latter is impossible if the premarital surname is already double.

If, while married, a person wishes to change his surname (within the framework of Article 19 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), then this in no way affects the surname of the spouse.

After a divorce, both parties have the right to keep their married surname or restore their previous one.

Video that talks about the rights and responsibilities of spouses:

Property rights of spouses

Property rights are divided into two types: legal regime (joint property) and contractual regime (nuptial agreement).

Joint property is all income of persons that does not have a special purpose, received during the marriage. As well as any property purchased with this money (real estate, securities, shares in capital, etc.).
A marriage contract defines property rights and obligations during the marriage or in the event of its dissolution. It may contain provisions relating to present and future property.

What does the Civil Code of the Russian Federation say?

The legislation does not give a clear definition of marriage, but implies a union voluntarily registered in the registry office.
Relationships without official registration can last a long period, accompanied by joint housekeeping and raising children, but are not considered family relationships and are not protected by law.

Such relationships are regulated by the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which determines a different position for partners than for official spouses, the relationship between whom is defined in the IC of Russia. All nuances that arise in a couple who actually lead a family life, but have not registered their relationship, are resolved in accordance with the provisions of the Civil, and not the Family Code.

What is a marriage not registered in the registry office, from a legal point of view?

A banal stamp in a passport really gives a lot, so it’s not for nothing that so many men (and quite a few women) avoid it. First of all, we are talking about legal consequences.

Official marriage presupposes that:

spouses can inherit from each other;
all acquired property (with the exception of certain cases) is considered common;
a woman (pregnant or with a small child) has the right to demand alimony from her spouse.

And so on. In normal cohabitation you should not hope for this. Of course, the absence of a registered relationship between parents does not mean that the child may be left without alimony or inheritance. But only when the man acknowledged his paternity. Again, having given birth to a child in marriage, a woman can easily register him with her husband. Whereas with cohabitation, various legal nuances arise.

The issue of common property worries many people, since in the case of cohabitation there can be no question of any common property. The situation is sometimes saved by shared ownership, but, as a rule, it is not customary to share property during cohabitation.

Pros and cons of cohabitation

A family person can consider himself such even without visiting the registry office, but most often cohabitation implies some ease and freedom in relationships. You can just leave, and there is no need for a divorce with the division of children and apartments.

The advantages of cohabitation include:

Checking your future spouse. It is generally accepted that cohabitation allows you to get to know a person better, get used to each other in everyday life and, if necessary, separate without any problems.
Saving. A wedding is an expensive event, and no one gets married without a restaurant and a honeymoon. Cohabitation allows you to experience yourself as a husband or wife without extra costs and communication with relatives.
Personal freedom. If a wife or husband is waiting at home, this imposes certain obligations. But having a spouse while cohabiting often leaves the opportunity to enjoy personal freedom.

Cohabitation also has its disadvantages:

Society's intolerance towards the fact of cohabitation. Women most often face condemnation under these circumstances, especially in Russia.
Relationships with children. A man must carry out the procedure for recognizing paternity by writing a corresponding statement. Many women specifically do not indicate their father in order to receive single mother status and various benefits. They often regret it in the future.
Cohabitation drags on for many years. This fact can be considered as a disadvantage in the case of inheritance of property and other legal consequences that sooner or later arise in any family.
If we talk about the disadvantages of cohabitation, then they can also include the division of property or problems with child custody if people decide to separate (since there are no legal grounds to claim property during cohabitation, and child custody is possible only if the father has confirmed his paternity and through court).

Legislative framework on the topic

The main documents that discuss all the rules for concluding marriages are:

Family Code of the Russian Federation No. 223-FZ dated December 29, 1995;
Federal Law “On Civil Status Acts” No. 143 of November 15, 1997;
Federal Law “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection” No. 149 of July 27, 2006;
Family Codes, laws of constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

If you have seriously decided to start a new family and do not have any legal restrictions, then the question of getting married will not become difficult for you.
The institution of family is one of the main values of the state. The rights of spouses are protected by law, and many responsibilities are also prescribed by law. Order a free legal consultation