Family Disputes

Family disputes are not only one of the most widespread categories of cases, but also one of the most tedious. As sad as it is, many of our citizens have to make the psychologically difficult decision to terminate their marriages and, consequently, encounter the necessity to engage in court action. Meanwhile, as a rule, the disputes do not end when a marriage is formally over.

The following are categorized as family disputes:

• divorce petitions;
• lawsuits to divide the jointly acquired property of spouses (former spouses);
• child custody disputes (lawsuits to determine where a child or children will live and the procedure for processing child custody, obtaining child support, deprivation of parental rights, and restriction of parental rights);
• lawsuits to obtain alimony from a spouse, former spouse, or parent.

It's worth noting that an agreement can be reached for all of these issues (other than terminating a marriage or depriving or restricting custody) by way of signing the corresponding agreement (notarial agreement or agreement in simple written form). It’s not necessary to leave decisions on such important aspects of your life to the mercy of a judge. If, however, court action is absolutely unavoidable, we are always ready to help you both at the document preparation stage and at the case proceedings stage.

Taking our client's wishes into account, we build a legal case, we vest it in the necessary document form, defend the interests of our principal in court, prepare the necessary procedural documents (petitions, objects, explanations, lawsuits), get acquainted with the materials of the case, and communicate with the procedural opponent and/or his or her representative.

After a ruling is issued, we obtain the judicial act (ruling or resolution) containing a stamp that it has entered into legal force. If the document is intended for use abroad, the next stage is to certify it and translate it into the necessary foreign language.

Child custody is normally the most contentious issue in family squabbles. In certain cases, parents can even use their own child as some means of pressuring their spouse/former spouse. Certain difficulties arise among spouses in the process of dividing up acquired property assets as well, especially if the spouses cannot confirm their income/expenses in documented form. Due to mutual offense and emotional wounds, spouses or former spouses aren't always able to objectively evaluate a dispute situation that has arisen and make the proper decision. These parents’ children very offer suffer under such conflicts. The Family Code of the Russian Federation envisages that a divorce can be executed both in and out of court.

A divorce case is presided over by a magistrate if the spouses have minor children and there is no dispute regarding the conditions under which they will be raised. If the parties haven't managed to reach an agreement regarding the fate of their children, the case will be presided over by a general jurisdiction court.

A marriage is terminated out of court in the event that neither of the spouses objects to this and they don’t have any minor children. In that case, all they have to do is submit the corresponding form to a Civil Registration Office.

Word & Law’s (Pravo i Slovo’s) lawyers are prepared to help in the most labor-intensive of situations where family disputes arise. We will assume the burden of conducting the negotiation, court actions, procedural document writeup, and requesting the necessary documents – in other words, resolving all issues that may arise, including:

• in divorce cases (termination of marriages) in court;
• in cases on the division of the spouses’ property assets;
• in cases to obtain child support and alimony from a former spouse;
• in cases to determine the procedure for a parent’s taking part in raising a child that doesn't live with them;
• in custody deprivation cases;
• in cases for establishing paternity;
• in cases on taking a child away or limiting parental rights;
• in cases on disputing paternity (maternity);
• in cases on restoring parental rights;
• in adoption cases;
• in cases to recognize a marriage as invalid.

Court proceedings can be conducted without the participation of the principal. Complete confidentiality and observation of attorney secret are guaranteed.

We also write up marriage agreements, joint property asset division agreements, agreements for child custody procedure, and alimony agreements.

In any case, cooperation can only begin with an in-depth consultation involving clarification of all the details of the situation you're in. We conduct the consultation in person in our office as well as remotely. Be sure to write us or give us a call. We are always in touch!