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Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorneyThe key points
A court decision on divorce is the document that legally ends a marriage through the courts. Many people confuse the date the decision is announced with the date the marriage is actually terminated, and do not know what to do with the document afterwards. In this article we will consistently examine what the decision contains, when it enters into legal force, from what moment you are considered divorced, why you do not need to register anything with the civil registry (DRATS) and which steps it makes sense to take afterwards.
A court decision on divorce is an act of justice, adopted in the name of Ukraine, by which the court terminates the marriage between spouses. It is issued when the divorce goes through a court: in cases based on a joint application of spouses who have children (Article 109 of the Family Code), or on a claim of one spouse when the other does not agree or evades the divorce (Articles 110 and 112). It is precisely this decision, and not the statement of claim or the hearing record, that is the ground for terminating the marriage.
The law does not require the court to establish who is at fault or to examine in detail the causes of the conflict. Under Article 112 of the Family Code, the court decides to dissolve the marriage if it establishes that the further cohabitation of the spouses and preservation of the marriage would contradict the interests of one of them or the interests of their children. It is enough to be satisfied that the family has actually broken down and reconciliation is impossible. That is why the concluding part of the decision always contains an unambiguous statement that the marriage is dissolved.
A court decision on divorce consists of four parts: introductory, descriptive, reasoning and operative. This is the standard structure of a court decision in a civil case, and each part serves its own function.
The introductory part states the name of the court, the case number, the date and place of adoption, the composition of the court, the details of the claimant and respondent and the subject of the dispute. The descriptive part briefly recounts the content of the claims and the positions of the parties. The reasoning part contains the circumstances the court established, the assessment of evidence and the provisions of the law by which the court was guided. The operative part is the court’s conclusion: it directly states that the marriage between the parties is dissolved, and also resolves the allocation of court costs.
It is important to understand that the court decides only those claims that the parties have raised. If the case concerned only the divorce, the decision will contain neither division of property, nor alimony, nor determination of the child’s place of residence. These matters are considered as a separate claim or combined with the divorce at a party’s motion. For example, the division of shared property of the spouses can be claimed even after the marriage has already been dissolved. Another practical nuance: the text of the decision itself does not state the specific date from which the marriage is terminated, because this date is determined by law, not by the court.
As a general rule, a court decision on divorce enters into legal force 30 days after it is rendered, if neither party has filed an appeal. This period is provided by Article 354 of the Civil Procedure Code and is counted from the day the decision is announced, and if the full text was drawn up separately, then from the day the full decision is drawn up.
The very moment of entry into legal force is determined by Article 273 of the Civil Procedure Code. If no appeal is filed, the decision takes effect after the 30-day period for appeal expires. If an appeal is filed but the decision is not overturned, it enters into legal force after the appellate proceedings are completed. That is, if there is an appeal, the moment of divorce is postponed until the case is considered by the appellate court.
There are practical subtleties in counting the period. If a party was not present at the hearing, the 30 days for them begin to run from the day the full text of the decision is served on them. Because of this, the actual date of entry into force may shift, especially when the respondent lives abroad or evades receiving documents. Therefore, in complex cases it is better to check the exact date of divorce with the court registry rather than count it yourself from the day of the hearing.
The marriage is considered terminated from the day the court decision enters into legal force: this is directly established by part 2 of Article 114 of the Family Code. Neither the date of filing the claim, nor the date of the hearing, nor even the date the decision is announced is the date of divorce.
In practice this means that you become divorced only when the decision has taken effect, that is, as a general rule on the 31st day after it is rendered. Until that moment the marriage is legally preserved with all consequences: property acquired during this period is considered joint marital property, the mutual rights and obligations of the spouses remain, and inheritance rights toward each other apply. That is exactly why concluding that you are already divorced right after the hearing is premature.
This distinguishes a court divorce from a divorce through the civil registry (DRATS), where the marriage is terminated on the day of state registration of the dissolution (part 1 of Article 114). The moment of termination matters not only symbolically: from it the right to remarry is counted, from it new property is no longer considered joint, and it is precisely this date that is indicated as the date of divorce in subsequent documents.
No, you do not need to go to the civil registry (DRATS) and register the divorce yourself after the court. Under the current wording of Article 115 of the Family Code, the court itself sends the decision that has entered into legal force to the civil status registration authority at the place where the decision was adopted. The DRATS enters the information into the State Register of Civil Status Acts and makes a note in the marriage record.
This is an important difference from the old procedure that applied many years ago: previously the marriage was considered terminated only after the divorce was registered with the civil registry (DRATS) on the basis of a court decision. Now there is no such requirement, and that is exactly why many outdated articles on the internet mistakenly advise that you must go and register the divorce. In fact, the document certifying the fact of dissolution of the marriage by the court is precisely the court decision that has entered into legal force (part 3 of Article 115 of the Family Code).
A divorce certificate is not issued automatically in a court divorce, unlike a divorce through the civil registry (DRATS). If a bank, a consulate or another institution requires a separate document in the usual format, you can apply to the civil registry (DRATS) for an extract. Read more about the difference in the articles on the divorce certificate and the extract on the divorce.
You can obtain a court decision on divorce at the court registry, by mail or electronically through your Electronic Court office, if you filed the documents online. Immediately after it is rendered, the decision is issued still without a note on validity, since the 30-day period for appeal is running. The full text of the decision is also published in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, but personal data there is anonymized, so an official copy with the court’s seal still needs to be obtained from the court itself.
When the period expires and the decision enters into legal force, a note on entry into legal force is placed on it. The decision with such a note is a full-fledged divorce document that is accepted by state authorities, banks and notaries. To obtain the note, it is usually enough to apply to the court registry in writing or through your Electronic Court office after the appeal period ends.
Keep the decision in a safe place. If the original is lost, you can order a copy from the same court or obtain an extract on the divorce from the civil registry (DRATS). To use the document abroad, the decision usually needs to be legalized: this is covered in a separate article on apostilling a court divorce decision.
Once the decision has entered into legal force, you are officially divorced and can move on to practical steps. Most often these are changing your surname, resolving matters concerning children and property, and preparing the document for use abroad.
First, the spouse who changed their surname during the marriage has the right to take back their premarital surname (Article 113 of the Family Code). How and when to arrange this we explained in the article on choosing a surname after a divorce. Second, if the decision did not resolve matters of alimony or property, they can be claimed by separate lawsuits after the divorce. Third, if needed, order an extract on the divorce from the civil registry (DRATS) for institutions that ask for a separate document.
Remember about remarriage too: the law does not set any waiting period, so you can register a new marriage immediately after the decision takes effect. The only condition is having a document confirming the termination of the previous marriage: a court decision with a note on legal force or an extract from the civil registry (DRATS).
Yes, a court decision on divorce can be appealed within 30 days. The appeal is filed while the decision has not yet entered into legal force, and the very filing of the appeal postpones the moment of divorce until the case is considered by the appellate court.
In practice, what is appealed is not so much the fact of the divorce (since the court cannot forcibly preserve a marriage if one spouse insists on divorce) as the related matters or procedural violations, for example improper notification of a party about the hearing. If this topic is relevant to you, we have examined the grounds and deadlines in detail in a separate article on appealing a court decision on divorce.
The court may render a default decision on divorce when the respondent is duly notified but does not appear at the hearing without valid reasons and does not file a response, and the claimant does not object to such consideration. In its content it is an ordinary decision on divorce, but the procedure for reviewing it has an important feature.
The respondent against whom a default decision has been rendered has the right to file an application for its review with the same court within 30 days from the day of receiving a copy of the decision. If they do not do so, the default decision enters into legal force under the general rules, that is, after the period for appeal expires. For the claimant, the deadlines and consequences are the same as for an ordinary decision, so the form of consideration does not affect the very moment of termination of the marriage.
The most common mistake is that a person considers themselves divorced already on the day of the hearing. In fact, until the decision enters into legal force the marriage is preserved, and any actions with property or a new marriage during this period may create legal problems. The second typical mistake is spending time on unnecessary registration of the divorce with the civil registry (DRATS), even though the court sends the decision there on its own.
There are other oversights too: people forget to obtain the note on entry into legal force and then cannot use the decision at a bank or abroad; they lose the only copy of the decision and do not know that a copy can be ordered from the court; they postpone changing their surname or preparing documents for the children. To avoid these situations, it is worth obtaining the decision with the note right after the appeal period expires and checking whether all related matters in your case have been resolved.
From the day the court decision enters into legal force (part 2 of Article 114 of the Family Code). As a general rule this is the 31st day after the decision is rendered, if no one has filed an appeal.
No, in a court divorce a certificate is not issued automatically. The divorce document is precisely the court decision that has entered into legal force. If needed, a separate document for institutions can be obtained in the form of an extract from the civil registry (DRATS).
No, you do not need to register it yourself. The court itself sends the decision to the civil registry (DRATS) for entering the information into the register (Article 115 of the Family Code). You just need to have the decision with a note on entry into legal force.
You can apply to the court that rendered the decision and order a copy of it. In addition, the fact of the divorce will be confirmed by an extract on the divorce issued by the civil registry (DRATS).
Yes, as soon as the decision has entered into legal force. The law does not set a waiting period, so you can register a new marriage immediately, having a document on the termination of the previous one.
Yes. If the respondent is duly notified but does not appear, the court may consider the case without them and even render a default decision. The non-appearance of one spouse does not prevent the divorce.
After the 30-day period for appeal expires, apply to the court registry in writing or through your Electronic Court office. The note is placed on the copy of the decision, and then it becomes a full-fledged document for state authorities.
No, there is no specific divorce date in the text of the decision. It is determined by law: it is the day the decision enters into legal force, so be guided by the note on validity, not by the date of the hearing.
Ilona MelnychukAttorney, Lexon law firmSpecializes in family, civil and commercial cases. Over 15 years of practice: representing clients’ interests in courts and negotiations.Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney In Brief You can dissolve a marriage through the registry office (DRATS, the body for the state registration of civil status
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