When can a marriage contract be declared invalid?

Many people know that a prenuptial agreement allows you to distribute between spouses property that they jointly own and even property that will be acquired in the future. However, as with any agreement, it is possible that one of the spouses will “change his mind” and declare a desire to reconsider previously reached agreements. TaxCoach specialists offer to understand in what cases it is possible to change a marriage contract or invalidate it on the initiative of only one spouse.

In our country, it is not very popular to conclude marriage contracts between spouses or newlyweds . From the series “Don’t you trust me (read: don’t you love)?”

The vast majority of such agreements are concluded by businessmen and/or businesswomen in cases where there is something to share. Or when businessmen “got burned” (had a negative experience) in a previous marriage, and all the property of the spouses without a marriage contract was divided in half. Clause 1 of Art. 39 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. A marriage contract usually records agreements on the division in favor of each of the spouses of property already acquired during marriage and/or that will be acquired in the future, since property acquired before marriage already belongs to each of them.

For example, you can stipulate that property is divided in other proportions - 70/30, 90/10.
You can separate individual objects: an apartment, a car and a trailer for it are the property of the husband, and a plot of land, a cottage and a yacht are the property of the wife. Or in another way: all movable and immovable property acquired by the parties during the marriage, after the conclusion of the marriage contract, both during the marriage and in the event of its dissolution, is the property of the spouse in whose name it will be officially acquired or registered and subsequently not subject to division. It is equally important to establish the rules for the division of non-property rights, such as shares in a business. After all, its value is constantly changing depending on both the internal economic factors of the company’s activities and external economic factors, over which the company has little influence.

Separately, we note that the marriage contract is subject to mandatory notarization. Clause 2 of Art. 41 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation As we understand, the notary is obliged to check the sanity of the spouses and what they understand what they are signing. The marriage contract has been signed, the spouses have agreed on how to distribute the property among themselves: both in the future and in the event of divorce.

Can a marriage contract be changed or terminated, declared invalid in part or in full? Let us omit cases when the marriage contract is changed by agreement of the parties. There shouldn't be any difficulties here.

Invalidity of the marriage contract

The rights and obligations of spouses that are specified in the contract can come into force subject to the conditions under which the contract is considered valid:

• All clauses of the contract must be based on legislation. Agreements between spouses that regulate personal non-property relations are not allowed.
• The marriage contract must be certified by a notary.
• Both partners must be legally capable and competent.
• The agreement must be drawn up and signed with the good will of both spouses. That is, the document cannot be signed under duress.

In addition to these conditions, if the contract changes the right to property, then the corresponding right is subject to state registration in the judicial institution for registration of rights at the location of the real estate. For example, if a spouse renounces property in favor of his wife, then her ownership rights arise from the moment of registration.

If you ignore at least one of the above conditions, the marriage contract may be declared invalid.

If a transaction is declared invalid by a court in accordance with the civil code, it is considered voidable. For example, a marriage contract that was signed under threat (Article 179 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) or signed by a minor, from 14 to 18 years old (Articles 175 and 176 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

An invalid transaction outside of a court decision is called void. For example, the contract violates the law or it was drawn up by an incapacitated person. Article 168 of the Civil Code states that if the law does not indicate that a transaction is contestable, then one way or another it is considered void.

Grounds and conditions for the claim

According to Art. 166 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a marriage contract is declared invalid if it is null and void or voidable. Transactions executed with obvious violations of the law are considered void. To recognize a transaction as void there is no need to apply to the judicial authorities. For example, a marriage contract is void if it was signed by an incapacitated person, and the document itself was not notarized. Such a document has no legal force.

In other cases, the marriage contract may be voidable. A party whose rights are violated by the terms of the contract has the right to apply to the courts to invalidate the transaction. There must be a compelling reason for this.

The grounds for challenging and filing a claim in court are provided for by civil law.

The contract is declared invalid by the court for one of the following reasons:

A prenuptial agreement is an imaginary or feigned transaction

This basis is provided for in Art. 170 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Imaginary or pretense in jurisprudence means that the agreement was signed with the aim of concealing another transaction, concealing real income or evading debt obligations. In other words, the parties did not intend to fulfill the terms of the agreement in agreement with which they signed.

The contract was signed by an incapacitated citizen

The basis is provided in Art. 171 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Even if a person is legally capable, but at the time of execution of the transaction he was not aware of what he was signing, this is also an argument for the court. This is possible if the citizen is in a state of passion, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, etc.

One of the parties is in error

If one of the parties to the marriage contract did not understand what consequences the signing of the contract entails, or incorrectly interpreted the terms of the transaction (Article 178 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), the transaction may be declared invalid.

Signing a deal fraudulently

This refers to a situation where one of the parties misled the other, exerted psychological, moral or physical pressure, and also threatened her. The basis is provided in Art. 179 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Bondage of the transaction

This means that one party, when signing the marriage contract, was in extremely difficult life circumstances and was forced to agree to the deal, realizing that its terms were extremely unfavorable, and the second party simply took advantage of the hopeless situation of the first. The basis is provided in paragraph 3 of Art. 179 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with Art. 168 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a transaction may be declared invalid if it violates the requirements of current legislation or is contrary to it. In the case of a marriage contract, Art. 42 IC RF. According to this normative act, an agreement between spouses or persons entering into marriage can only regulate the property or financial status of the parties. At the same time, it is not permissible to affect, let alone infringe upon, personal rights and responsibilities.

According to paragraph 3 of Art. 42 of the RF IC, a marriage contract in which:

• one of the parties by the terms of the agreement acquires a disadvantageous position;
• personal relationships between spouses are regulated, not affecting property claims;
• an attempt is being made to regulate the rights and obligations of the parties in relation to minor children;
• there are provisions limiting the rights of the parties to judicial protection;
• There are clauses that limit the rights of the spouse who needs to receive financial support.

It is unacceptable to include in a marriage contract conditions that put the husband or wife in an unfavorable position. This refers to a situation where one of the spouses completely loses the right of ownership of property that is considered jointly acquired during the marriage.

Void and voidable marriage contract

There are two types of invalidity of a civil transaction – voidable and void. There is also bonded labor, but this is a rather specific type that is recognized in rare cases. If the marriage is declared invalid, the marriage contract is declared invalid.

But as practice shows, in the interests of a bona fide party, the court may recognize the agreement as valid and fully or partially leave the agreement in force.

A marriage contract may be declared invalid (void transaction) in the event that:

• There are violations of family law legislation.
• When drawing up the contract there is no certification from a notary.
• The agreement is concluded to cover another transaction.
• The prenuptial agreement is concluded on the basis of a fictitious marriage.
• The person with whom the marriage contract was concluded is recognized as partially or completely incompetent.

A marriage contract may be declared invalid (a voidable transaction) in the following cases:

• The execution of the contract was accompanied by misleading one of the parties (for example, by deception).
• The agreement was signed through violence, intimidation or threats against one of the parties.
• One of the spouses has limited legal capacity or was in a state of inadequacy or passion at the time of signing.

A bonded marriage contract is very similar to a voidable marriage contract in its type, only with a slight difference. Firstly, for a court to recognize an agreement as enslaving, evidence of a number of difficult circumstances that were used against one of the parties for the sake of signing the agreement is necessary. Secondly, confirmation is needed that the spouse against whom illegal acts were used was aware of the violation of his rights, but under pressure he was forced to sign this marriage contract.

Cases of termination of a marriage contract

To terminate a marriage agreement unilaterally, the following conditions must be taken into account:

1. When concluding the terms of the agreement, the spouses believed that such changes in the marital relationship would not happen.
2. The circumstances that arose were a consequence of the fact that the party to the marriage relationship was unable to overcome them when they arose.
3. If a party to the contract began to execute the marriage agreement, then this entailed a significant violation of its property interests or damage, which ultimately resulted in the complete deprivation of the benefits that it had counted on when concluding the agreement.
4. The meaning of the agreement does not imply that the risk due to changed circumstances will be borne by the relevant party interested in it.

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Claim for invalidation of a marriage contract

In order to invalidate a marriage contract, you need to file a claim to declare the marriage contract invalid. This application has the right to be submitted by the plaintiff himself, or his official representative, authorized representative or lawyer. For another person, it is necessary to have a power of attorney certified by a notary. The application must indicate all details, names, addresses. In any case, you will not write in free text, but fill out a standard form.

Sample

It is possible to invalidate a marriage contract without a court if it represents a sham transaction. This is one that is signed in order to cover up another transaction. For example, in order to avoid taxes, a marriage contract is concluded when selling or buying property.

Consequences of invalidating a marriage contract

When a court recognizes the invalidity of a marriage agreement, this will certainly entail certain consequences.

From the moment the marriage contract is declared invalid, all consequences under this contract are automatically canceled. Also, all actions that the agreement provided for are also considered invalid. In this case, the parties will have to return to each other what they received under this agreement. The couple is legally obligated to restore the state of things as they were before this contract was entered into.

All resolution of conflicts that arise against the background of the division of property will be carried out in accordance with the law. But according to the law. All property acquired during a joint marriage is divided equally, as it is considered jointly acquired.

From the moment the contract is declared invalid, it does not matter what was described in the contract regarding the property. If a document is invalid, then everything written in it is also considered invalid. And, accordingly, the division is carried out according to generally accepted legislation, without exceptions. Simply put, it doesn’t matter which spouse bought what during the marriage. In a divorce, everything is divided equally between the spouses.

If there are facts and evidence that one of the parties, at the time of signing the contract, acted under threats and intimidation, then in this case, the validity of the marriage contract is disputed by the court. in this case it is a voidable transaction. If the agreement was signed for other illegal purposes, then, undoubtedly, it is declared void and annulled through the court.

Arbitrage practice

Despite the fact that drawing up a marriage contract is not as popular in Russia as, for example, in Western countries, judicial practice includes a number of precedents that lawyers and citizens can rely on when controversial situations arise. Let's consider several cases.

Citizen Ivantsova I.I. filed a claim with the court, in which she indicated that a marriage contract had been concluded between her and her ex-husband. Citizen Ivantsova initiated the registration procedure. During the period of their marriage, the Ivantsovs purchased a room in a communal apartment. The citizen’s husband insisted on dividing this property and paying monetary compensation in his favor. He filed a counterclaim for division of property, in which he indicated that a room in a communal apartment was purchased with funds received from the sale of an apartment he had previously privatized. Agreements for the sale of an apartment and the purchase of a room in a communal apartment were concluded on the same day. After the divorce in the registry office, according to the terms of the contract, citizen Ivantsova was supposed to take possession of the specified room, while the money for its purchase was used from the sale of the spouse’s personal property acquired before the conclusion of the contract. After the hearing, the court declared the marriage contract invalid, since the contract put one of the spouses in an extremely unfavorable financial situation, contrary to family law.

Let's consider another situation. In the Komarov family, the spouses decided to draw up a marriage contract. At the time of drawing up the document, they jointly owned a two-room apartment and a car. According to the marriage contract, after the divorce, the apartment became the property of the wife, and the car became the property of the husband. After the divorce, the husband filed a lawsuit to declare the previously concluded contract invalid. However, the agreement was rejected as invalid, since the husband voluntarily signed the document and there were no grounds for satisfying the claim.

Limitation period for invalidating a marriage contract

When considering disputes related to the recognition of the invalidity of a marriage contract, it is important to monitor the statute of limitations for filing a claim.

There are cases when the Family Code of the Russian Federation can establish terms for the protection of a violated right (as an exception to the general rule). Such exceptions include disputes regarding the division of property of spouses whose marriage is dissolved; on invalidation of a real estate transaction made without the notarial consent of the spouse; on the recognition of marriage as invalid in the manner provided for in Art. 27 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

For claims to invalidate a marriage contract, the Family Code of the Russian Federation does not directly provide for a limitation period for the statement of claim.

Consequently, the statute of limitations cannot be applied to such legal relations. Despite this, in judicial practice there are situations when the court applies a statute of limitations to such claims.

Thus, even when concluding a marriage contract, it is necessary to take into account which of its conditions may subsequently be declared invalid, and try to avoid such conditions.

When disputes arise regarding a prenuptial agreement, it is necessary to determine which terms are voidable and which are void agreements

When a marriage contract is declared invalid (voidable), it is necessary to adequately assess all the circumstances of the case and provide the court with all possible documents and nuances that can confirm the validity or invalidity of the marriage contract.

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The procedure for invalidating a marriage contract is regulated by the provisions of Art. 44 RF IC. In accordance with this regulatory act, the marriage contract is recognized by the court as invalid in whole or in part on the grounds provided for by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

A court may also declare a marriage contract invalid at the request of one of the spouses. In this case, it is necessary to prove that the terms of the contract put the applicant in an unfavorable position and infringe on his rights.