In most cases, such a step is taken by conscious people who have a specific goal and are aware of the legal implications of this document. Of course, this step requires the mutual consent of a man and a woman, which is guaranteed by the obligatory procedure of notarial conclusion of an agreement.
However, it is not uncommon for a marriage contract to be invalidated.
Valid or Invalid?
Clause 1 of Article 44 of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation establishes that a marriage contract is a civil law contract, which can be invalidated through a court.
Before we start listing these grounds, let's first consider the conditions under which the transaction is valid:
- the content of the document does not contradict the legislation;
- the parties to the agreement are legally capable;
- the conclusion of the contract is the actual expression of the will of the participants;
- the form of the contract established by law.
The above conditions also apply to the marriage contract. In some cases, it may turn out that the concluded contract does not comply with the law and violates one of these conditions.
Grounds for declaring a marriage contract invalid
If in the process of registration there were violations of the requirements of the law, the agreement may be invalidated in the following cases:
- lack of notarization of the document (Article 41 of the UK);
- conclusion of a marriage contract with an incapacitated person (article 171 of the Civil Code);
- the document contains conditions that:
- restrict rights and freedoms, discriminate against spouses;
- prohibit going to court for the protection of their rights and freedoms;
- deprive the disabled spouse of the right to maintenance;
- determine the order of raising children;
- regulate personal, intangible, family relations (paragraph 3 of article 42, paragraph 2 of article 44 of the UK).
- prenuptial agreement - a sham deal made to hide another deal;
- a marriage contract is an imaginary transaction entered into without the intention to achieve the legal consequences that a real contract entails (Article 170 of the Civil Code).
Such a contract is a void transaction that does not entail any legal consequences. And if, under the contract, the transfer or acceptance of property, the exercise of rights and the fulfillment of obligations has already occurred, mutual restitution occurs - a return to the original position.
It is also possible when the requirements of the law are not contradicted by the entire marriage contract, but only by some of its provisions (for example, in addition to property and financial rights and obligations, this document provides for the personal rights and obligations of a husband and wife). In this case, the court may remove the invalid terms from the contract and leave the entire contract in force.
A void or contested marriage contract?
A contract that is concluded contrary to the above requirements of the law is null and void. For example, if it is concluded in writing without a notarial conclusion, it is null and void, regardless of whether the spouses know about it or not, whether they admit it or not. And his recognition as such, including in court, is not required. Another thing is the recognition as invalid of the consequences of a void contract if the spouses exercised the rights and obligations provided for by such an agreement. This happens through judgment.
A contested marriage contract is a document that can be declared invalid by a court decision if there is a legal basis for this. Read more about the challenge.
Procedure for invalidating a marriage contract and its consequences
You need to go to court. Let's take a step-by-step plan of what is required for this.
Step 1. Determine whether there are legal grounds for going to court
Once again, we will briefly list all the circumstances that make the concluded marriage contract null and void or contested.
So, a marriage contract is null and void (in whole or in part) if:
- not notarized;
- incarcerated with a legally incompetent person;
- made fake, for the sake of concealing another deal;
- imaginary, entered into without the intention of obtaining the consequences of a real transaction;
- restricts the legal rights and freedoms of one or both spouses;
- contains conditions that it should not contain.
In addition, there are grounds for declaring a contract invalid through a court by way of challenging:
- the contract is concluded with a person with limited legal capacity;
- at the time of the conclusion of the contract, one of the participants did not understand and did not direct his actions;
- for the sake of concluding an agreement, violence, threats, deceit were used;
- one of the parties to the contract was in error or in unfavorable circumstances, which the other party took advantage of.
Step 2. Check the limitation period
Before starting a lawsuit, you need to make sure that the statute of limitations has not yet passed.
As a rule, the statute of limitations does not apply to family disputes, but since in this case the property and financial aspects of family relations are involved, the law provides for limitation periods for some disputes.
In particular:
- one year- to invalidate a voidable contract and its consequences. The limitation period starts counting from the moment when it became known (or should have become known) about the basis for challenging the marriage contract. Or from the moment when the circumstances under the influence of which the contract was concluded (for example, violence) ceased.
- three years- to recognize the invalidity of a void contract and its consequences. The limitation period starts from the moment when the conditions of the void contract began to be fulfilled. And if a third party who is not a party to the contract applies to the court - from the moment when it became known about the fulfillment of its conditions. By the way, for such a person the limitation period is ten years!
Remarkable! The court will accept the claim, even if the statute of limitations is missed! But if one of the parties declares in court to skip the deadline before the court decision is made, the court will refuse to satisfy the claim.
Step 3. Prepare a statement of claim declaring the marriage contract invalid
To achieve invalidation, you need to file a lawsuit with the court. It must fully comply with the requirements of procedural legislation.
The statement of claim must contain the following data:
- Name, address of the court to which the claim is filed;
- information about the plaintiff (full name, date of birth, registration and residence address, contact phone number);
- information about the defendant (full name, date of birth, registration and residence address);
- the price of the claim, if the claims are material in nature (or substantiation of the non-material nature of the claims);
- a description of the circumstances of the case (when the marriage was registered, when the marriage contract was concluded, how the document violates or restricts the rights of the plaintiff, is contrary to the law);
- proof of the above circumstances;
- reference to the norms of legislation confirming the position of the plaintiff;
- the requirement to the court - to recognize the invalidity of the marriage contract (in part or in full);
- list of applications.
By the way, the requirement to recognize the invalidity of the marriage contract can be considered by the court not in separate proceedings, but simultaneously with the claim for divorce, if, of course, they are interconnected.
Step 4. Prepare documents
- Copies of the statement of claim- for each of the participants in the process, as well as for the court and for the notary who certified the marriage contract;
- Power of attorney, if the interests of the plaintiff are represented by a trustee;
- Marriage certificate parties to the marriage contract;
- Marriage contract;
- Other documents referred to by the plaintiff (for example, documents on ownership of property, documents on transactions with property, receipts, receipts, checks).
Step 5. Pay the state fee and attach the receipt to the claim
In addition to the documents listed above, a receipt for payment of the state duty must be attached to the claim. The amount of the state fee for challenging a marriage contract is 300 rubles... If, in addition to the requirement to invalidate the marriage contract, there are claims for the division of property (or other material requirements), the amount of the state duty is calculated according to a special formula based on the price of the claim.
The details for paying the state duty can be found in the court where the claim will be filed.
Step 6. File a lawsuit
The claim is filed at the place of residence of the defendant, except for cases when, for valid reasons, the plaintiff has the right to file a claim at his own place of residence. In some cases, a claim may be filed at the location of the disputed property.
If at the same time claims of a material nature (for example, on the division of property) are filed, the claim is filed
- to the magistrate's court - with a claim price of up to 50,000 rubles;
- to the district court - if the cost of the claim is over 50,000 rubles.
Step 7. Take part in the court session, get a court decision
The first court session after the appeal will take place no earlier than one month. It is impossible to determine in advance the total time for consideration of the case - it depends on the circumstances.
As a result of the consideration of the case, the court makes a decision. If the claim of the plaintiff is satisfied by the decision of the court, both the marriage contract itself and its consequences are recognized as invalid.
Consequences of invalidation of a contract
If the court declares the marriage contract invalid, this will inevitably entail certain consequences. All actions that were taken in connection with the contract are also invalidated. The spouses are obliged to restore the state of affairs that took place before the conclusion of the contract. We are talking about any transactions with property or money. Everything that was transferred or received by the spouses under the marriage contract must be returned to the previous owner.