Rights and obligations of spouses in marriage under the Family Code

Last modified: January 2021

When they say that registering a relationship is a convention, people are openly disingenuous. A stamp in a passport is more than a confirmation of the fact of cohabitation. Along with the registration of marriage, newlyweds acquire legal responsibilities and powers that go beyond the scope of personal relationships. Issues of living together, disposing of property, and raising children should be resolved jointly. Unable to bear the burden of obligations, many newlyweds are ready to file for divorce after a short period of time.

In order to reduce the percentage of divorces in the total number of registered relationships, it is worth taking a closer look at the psychological, financial, and legal consequences of registering a marriage. Often it is the unpreparedness of the couple that leads to sad results.

Legislation

Chapters of the Family Code and a set of federal legal acts are devoted to family issues. Chapter 3 of the RF IC regulates the following issues:

• rules for registration and termination of marriage;
• conditions for the emergence of marital relations;
• marriageable age;
• insurmountable obstacles, prohibitions and exceptions when deciding on the permissibility of marriage.

In addition, every nuance associated with the implementation of the rights and obligations of citizens in the role of family members is also reflected in the norms of the RF IC.

Article 256 describes the regimes for the ownership of property by spouses and the distribution of responsibility for obligations.

The process of state registration of marriage relations and the moment of the beginning of marriage is described in detail in Art. 27 Federal Law On acts of civil status.

What rights do spouses have?

Before talking about the rights arising in connection with marriage and marriage, it is necessary to learn to distinguish between property and personal. The first require clear definitions of material issues related to the property of family members. The second applies to the non-material sphere of life.

Personal rights of husband and wife

If we interpret the personal rights and responsibilities of the spouses briefly, the husband and wife, after registering the union, share all powers between them, in equal proportions, or according to another agreement fixed in the contract.

Personal rights are understood as subjective rights in relation to intangible goods that do not have economic content. The personal rights of wives and husbands cannot be taken away due to their intangibility and close connection with the personalities of the spouses.

Article 31 of the RF IC establishes the principle of equality of personal rights in marital relationships.

The Family Code regulates the personal legal relations of spouses, highlighting the types of freedoms:

1. Choosing a place of residence and stay, regardless of whether the spouses live together on a permanent basis. If the husband or wife decides to leave, the partner is not required to leave the place of residence with the spouse.
2. Definitions of professional activity, choice of occupation in accordance with Art. 37 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. There is no need to legally agree on the choice of procession with your partner.
3. Choosing and changing a surname as part of marriage registration. The right to take the surname of the second partner is established in the Family Code (Article 32).

Property

• Personal and joint property of spouses

When a man and woman get married, the property they acquire is recognized as joint property. If the property belonged to one of the spouses before the marriage was registered, it remains personal property.

Not only ownership of property is established by property legal relations, but also obligations to support each other (alimony).

The property of spouses is determined by law according to 2 regimes:

• legal, according to Chapter 7 of family law;
• contractual, on the basis of Chapter 8 of the RF IC.

If you follow the legal regime for determining property rights on the basis of Articles 33-34, all property acquired during marriage is considered joint, i.e. general The exception is the facts of donation and inheritance of real estate and other property.

Joint property involves division into equal amounts for husband and wife, regardless of income level, having a job or running a household.

Items for personal use are not subject to division, i.e. husband and wife will not have to share shoes, clothes, and hygiene items. According to Art. 36 a similar principle is adhered to when determining rights to the achieved results of intellectual activity.

It is allowed to transfer personal property into joint ownership in accordance with Art. 37 only when providing evidence that the property has increased in value through common efforts.

• Division of property of former spouses after divorce

Not only divorce provides grounds for the division of common property, Art. 38 of the RF IC provides grounds for performing this procedure at any time by mutual consent. According to Article 39 of the RF IC, a husband and wife can divide property in equal shares, but it is possible to conclude an agreement and change the ratio of proportions in favor of one of the spouses.

Do not forget that along with rights, spouses also share responsibility for debt obligations.

If equal distribution is not satisfactory for some reason, a contractual regime is used, when spouses independently determine the conditions for the distribution of property within the framework of the marriage contract (Article 41). The document may concern one of the properties, or the entire property of the spouses, including future acquisitions of the family, as follows in Art. 42 IC RF.

If the need arises, the parties have the right, by mutual expression of will, to refuse to follow the agreement, or to unilaterally protest its effect in court on the basis of Art. 43 RF IC. The reason forcing the court to invalidate the contract is the establishment of the fact that less favorable conditions have been created for one of the parties, or within the framework of the reasons described in Article 44 of the RF IC.

Registration of an apartment for one of the spouses

Most often, the purchase of an apartment or house is registered in the name of one of the family members, the husband or wife. The reason is a simpler registration process (there is no need for both spouses to complete all the necessary formalities).

Regardless of whose income was the source of funds for the purchase of housing, it will be joint property if acquired during a legal marriage. It should be taken into account that when registering with Rosreestr, you will have to provide a document confirming the consent of the second spouse to purchase living space.

Important! Such a document will not be required only when registering real estate when:

• the apartment is purchased as shared ownership;
• there is a marriage contract, which spells out in detail in what situations and how spouses have the right to dispose of property;
• There is a power of attorney from the second spouse to draw up a purchase and sale agreement.

You can obtain permission from your husband (wife) to purchase an apartment in advance. In this case, two options for such a document are allowed:

• indicating the specific housing (address, other technical data);
• consent to purchase real estate without specifying the object.

Consent from the spouse must be certified by a notary. This is done in order to protect the seller from terminating the transaction through the court if the buyer’s husband (or wife) wants to challenge the purchase and sale agreement and seek a refund.

Marital responsibilities

The family responsibilities of husband and wife are inextricably linked with legal relations. The rights of one partner are secured by the obligations of the second.

There are responsibilities of an intangible nature and property ones, where financial issues are at the forefront. The law equalizes the responsibilities of spouses.

The RF IC declares the principles of a strong family based on love and respect, as well as mutual assistance of partners, establishing in paragraph 3 of Art. 31 the following responsibilities:

• Help strengthen favorable relationships in the family, leading it to prosperity.
• Participate in the education and development of wards, take care of children and their well-being.
• Respect the partner and his personal rights determined by family legislation, including non-opposition to the second partner’s choice of place of residence, work, and occupation.
• Accept your partner's opinion when making important decisions affecting family members.

The law obliges you to make a choice if the spouse decides to keep or change his last name.

Property responsibilities of husband and wife

The absence of direct mention in the legislation does not exclude the primacy in property responsibilities of budget management and the resolution of economic issues as integral measures to take care of family well-being.

The obligation of each partner to have earned income and make an equal financial contribution is not established. The scope of the requirements is limited by the principles of feasibility. If a wife runs a household, her contribution to the family well-being cannot be diminished.

Property responsibilities include the following:

• alimony payments for mutual maintenance;
• joint response to creditors;
• performing the role of a parent.

Responsibilities for mutual maintenance

Spouses are obliged to support each other, psychologically, morally, financially, as well as from a legal point of view. If the second partner evades alimony obligations, the victim has the right to bring the spouse to justice in court. Alimony is assigned through the court if it was not possible to previously resolve the issue through a peace agreement.

Divorce is not necessary for partners to request alimony payments in family life. Payments are collected for financial support of a disabled partner or spouse expecting the birth of a baby, or raising common wards under 3 years of age.

Alimony will be assigned to support the second spouse who is caring for a common child with the first group of disabilities.

Liability for debt obligations

After that. As the newlyweds sign at the registry office, a special time begins for family relationships, with a division of responsibilities and in relation to the financial demands of creditors. In other words, property and debts during marriage are recognized as common, with an equal distribution of the volume of claims. Based on Article 45, the family is liable for financial obligations within the limits of common property.

If the debt exceeds the value of common property, the spouses bear joint liability, which gives the right to demand repayment of the balance of the debt with property owned personally by each partner (premarital, gifted, inherited property).

If it can be proven that the spouse borrowed money for personal needs, he will have to repay it personally, and in case of refusal to fulfill obligations, liability does not extend beyond the share in the jointly acquired property.

The obligations of each spouse include obligations arising from debts:

• appeared before marriage;
• taken for the personal needs of the husband or wife;
• inherited by the spouse;
• arising as a result of damage caused by the spouse, and so on.

Parental Responsibilities

When children appear, a new layer of obligations is added to marital responsibilities - parental ones. The responsibilities of a parent are only indirectly related to marital ones, because many children are born outside of marriage.

• How and why you can deprive a mother of parental rights

Regardless of the presence or absence of a legal relationship between father and mother, according to Article 80, a parent is obliged to take care of minors and incapacitated wards. The task of parents is to resolve issues and organize the prosperous life and development of the child. The scope of responsibilities of each partner is determined by mutual agreement.

If the marriage ends, the responsibility for the child is not removed from the spouse. The children are left to be raised by the first parent, when the second must regularly pay child support. In addition to financial responsibility, a parent must remember his basic responsibilities to the minor.

Legal consequences of marriage

The main consequences of registering a marriage:

1. It does not matter in whose name the property is registered and who paid for it, it will be considered jointly acquired. And will be divided equally in case of divorce. Unless other rules are provided for in the marriage contract.
2. Children born in marriage and three hundred days after its dissolution will be considered common, that is, the spouse will be recorded as the father of the child. To challenge this fact, a judicial procedure will be required.
3. Material support.
4. The spouse belongs to the first line of heirs.

Alimony can be demanded from his spouse (and ex) by the person who:

• Is disabled and in need;
• Provides care for a common child until he reaches the age of three and a pregnant wife;
• Provides care for a disabled child until he or she reaches the age of 18;
• Reached retirement age.

Features of the implementation of family legal relations

In the process of fulfilling the property rights and obligations of the spouses, it is necessary to look for common points of contact with the partner, and determine specific conditions for the disposal of joint property, household, budget, etc.

When making general decisions, determining family needs and values, you have to act taking into account the current legal rules:

1. The freedoms and interests of the second marriage partner or third parties, including minors, must not be violated (for example, a spouse changes his place of residence within the framework of his right to independently determine his place of residence, but the interests of the child suffer in this case).
2. It cannot be abused (abortion in the name of a wife’s career violates a man’s right to become the father of a child).
3. Rights are implemented taking into account accepted principles of morality and legality.

Marriage concept

There is no article in the Family Code that directly contains the concept of marriage.
However, based on the principles mentioned by law, the following definition can be formulated. Marriage is a union between a man and a woman, entailing the emergence of personal and property rights and obligations, based on voluntariness and equality. His goal is to create a family.

The following conclusions follow from this:

• in Russia, same-sex marriages are not registered, as well as with animals or objects;
• husband and wife are equal partners, that is, neither of them has privileges before the law;
• after the marriage is registered, the resulting property and debt obligations will be shared;
• the principle of voluntariness implies that every person has the right to marry whomever he wishes, and no one should influence this choice;
• starting a family should be a fundamental desire (not any benefits).

The concept of “civil marriage” from the point of view of the law is precisely a legalized relationship in the registry office, and not the colloquially accepted definition of “cohabitation”. And no matter how many years a couple lives together, such relationships do not give rise to legal consequences.

Measures to protect marital rights

Property and personal, non-property rights and obligations of spouses can be violated when, in the exercise of rights, one of the partners infringes on the interests of the other. To ensure compliance with legal norms, within the limits of family law, protective measures can be taken:

• if divorcing spouses are concerned about preserving the largest part of the property (in the interests of the family, citizens enter into an agreement on the re-registration of shares;
• a court decision initiates forced collection of debt and cancels marriage contracts;
• arrange alimony payments;
• establish the identity of the father for subsequent submission of claims for child support payments.

Family legal responsibility

When family rights are violated, there is a need to implement measures within the framework of family legal responsibility. It applies only to parties to legal relations in the family in the form of creating negative consequences for those who ignored the norms of responsibilities.

The partner has the right to independently determine the application of responsibility, or punishment will be applied by force of law, or the terms of the violated agreement.

Cases of legitimate calling to responsibility include:

1. Debt for alimony payments along with penalties, penalties and losses (based on an agreement between spouses or a court decision) on the basis of Art. 89, 115 RF IC.
2. Deprivation of parental rights on the basis of unlawful behavior towards a minor ward (Article 69 of the RF IC).

When entering into marriage on a voluntary basis, you need to understand all the legal consequences when the rights and responsibilities will be inextricably linked with the second partner and other family members (dependents).