Category Divorce

Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney The key points in brief A child’s surname does not change automatically after a divorce: a separate procedure is required, not just the wish of one parent. As a general rule, under Article 148 of the…

Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney The key points Starting a divorce comes down to one decision: is your route the civil registry (DRATS) or the court. It depends only on two circumstances: whether you have shared minor children and whether both…

Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney The key points in brief A claim for the dissolution of a marriage is filed when the spouses have common minor children and there is no joint application, or when the other spouse is against the…

Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney The key points in brief From 19 December 2024 a divorce is possible even during a wife’s pregnancy and for a year after the birth of a child: the former restrictions of Article 110 of the…

Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney The key points The marriage is considered terminated from the day the court decision enters into legal force, not from the date of the hearing or the filing of the claim (part 2 of Article 114…

Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney The key points in brief Yes, a divorce during a wife’s pregnancy is possible in 2026: the former prohibition contained in parts two to four of Article 110 of the Family Code was abolished by Law…

Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney The key points Divorce is not only a legal procedure but also an emotional loss, so pain, confusion and fatigue in this situation are completely normal. Grief usually goes through several stages: shock, anger, mourning and…

Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney The key points in brief An apostille is an international certification that confirms the authenticity of the signature and seal on a Ukrainian divorce document so that it is recognized abroad without additional legalization. The apostille…

Divorce from a serviceman has its own particularities, especially under martial law. As a family attorney, I want to explain the main aspects of this process so that you are ready for all the nuances. Particularities of the dissolution of…

Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney The key points You can get a divorce while abroad entirely remotely: a trip to Ukraine is not required. If there are no shared minor children and both spouses agree, the marriage is dissolved by the civil registry (DRATS) on a joint application (Article 106 of the Family Code), and the signature of the spouse outside the country is certified by a Ukrainian consul or a local notary. If there are children or one spouse objects, the case is decided by a court: the claim is filed through the Electronic Court if you have a qualified electronic signature (QES), or entrusted to an attorney under a power of attorney. You can take part in the hearing by videoconference, so flying to Ukraine is usually unnecessary. The court fee for a claim in 2026 is about UAH 1,331, while the state duty for a divorce through the civil registry (DRATS) is roughly UAH 8.50. Millions of Ukrainians now live abroad, and personal decisions do not become any simpler because of it. The reassuring part is that you do not have to buy a ticket home to officially dissolve a marriage. In this article we go step by step through which remote tools actually work as of 2026, when a request to the civil registry (DRATS) is enough and when the case will be handled by a court, and how to arrange everything without leaving your country of residence. Can you get divorced while abroad? Yes, dissolving a marriage from abroad is entirely realistic, and the law does not require both spouses to be physically present in the same office. Ukrainian law provides two routes: the administrative one, through the department of state registration of civil status acts (DRATS for short), and the judicial one. The choice between […]