{"id":851,"date":"2026-04-07T02:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/002.svaroglaw.com\/2025\/11\/07\/legal-services-in-the-field-of-family-law-protecting-your-rights\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T03:44:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T00:44:44","slug":"yuridichni-poslugi-u-sferi-simejnogo-prava-zahist-vashih-prav","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svaroglaw.com\/en\/blog\/yuridichni-poslugi-u-sferi-simejnogo-prava-zahist-vashih-prav\/","title":{"rendered":"Family law in 2026: divorce, maintenance, dividing property \u2014 deadlines, amounts, what to do"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2026 the minimum maintenance for one child is 1,408.50 UAH up to the age of six and 1,756 UAH from six to eighteen: half the subsistence minimum, under part 2 of Article 182 of the Family Code. The court fee on a claim to dissolve a marriage is 1,331.20 UAH, and on a maintenance claim the claimant pays nothing.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Family Code allows three years for dividing property after a marriage ends, and it is that period, in Article 72, that people most often miss when they move apart and decide to \u201csort the flat out later\u201d. Not knowing that a court order for maintenance is issued within days, while a full claim takes months, costs just as much.<\/p>\n

Family cases rarely come down to one question: a divorce brings maintenance with it, maintenance brings a dispute about where the child lives, and that in turn touches the division of joint property. So the order in which things are done, and the deadlines, matter more here than an emotional assessment of who is right.<\/p>\n

Ending a marriage: registry office or court<\/h2>\n

Article 106 of the Family Code allows a marriage to be dissolved at the civil status registration office on the spouses\u2019 joint application where they have no children. The certificate is issued a month after the application, and the state duty is 0.5 of the tax-free minimum income, that is 8.50 UAH. Article 107 adds the cases where the marriage is dissolved on one spouse\u2019s application: where the other has been declared missing or lacking legal capacity.<\/p>\n

Where the couple have children under 18, the only route is the court. Article 109 provides for a joint application with an agreement on where the child will live and how the other parent will contribute to their maintenance and keep in contact. Where there is a dispute a claim is filed, and under Article 111 the court may allow the parties a reconciliation period of up to six months. Article 110 imposes a restriction: a husband may not bring a claim to dissolve the marriage during his wife\u2019s pregnancy or for a year after the birth, except in the cases the law expressly provides. We handle these cases through our divorce lawyer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Maintenance: amounts and routes in 2026<\/h2>\n

Part 2 of Article 182 sets the floor: maintenance for one child may not be less than half the subsistence minimum for a child of that age. In 2026 that is 1,408.50 UAH for a child under six and 1,756 UAH for a child from six to eighteen. The benchmark the court aims at where the payer has income is the full subsistence minimum for a child.<\/p>\n

The fastest route is the order procedure. Article 161 of the Civil Procedure Code allows a court order for maintenance at a quarter of earnings for one child, a third for two and a half for three or more, but no more than ten subsistence minimums per child. A separate order is available for a fixed sum of half the subsistence minimum. There is one condition: the claim must not involve establishing or disputing paternity.<\/p>\n

A full claim is needed where the payer\u2019s income is concealed, where they work abroad or as a sole trader, or where a fixed sum above the minimum is sought under Article 184. Article 194 allows maintenance to be recovered for the past within ten years, if the claimant proves they took steps to obtain it but the money did not come because the payer evaded payment.<\/p>\n

\"Minimum<\/p>\n

Dividing spouses\u2019 property<\/h2>\n

Article 60 lays down a presumption: property acquired by the spouses during the marriage belongs to both in joint common ownership, even where one of them had no income of their own because of study, caring for children or running the household. Article 70 starts from equal shares, and the court departs from that only where there are weighty circumstances \u2014 where one spouse failed to provide for the family, say, or concealed joint funds.<\/p>\n

Personal private property covers what was acquired before the marriage, received as a gift or by inheritance, or bought with personal funds. Proving that takes documents: the deed of gift, the certificate of inheritance, bank statements showing where the money came from. A claim for division is a monetary one, so the court fee is one per cent of the value of the share claimed, within 1,331.20 to 16,640 UAH. The limitation period is three years from the dissolution of the marriage, under Article 72. This work is described on the page of our property-division lawyer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Question<\/th>\nWhere to go<\/th>\nTimeframe<\/th>\nCourt fee or duty<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Divorce with no children, by agreement<\/td>\nregistry office<\/td>\n1 month<\/td>\n8.50 UAH state duty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Divorce where there are children<\/td>\ncourt<\/td>\n1\u20136 months, allowing for reconciliation<\/td>\n1,331.20 UAH<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maintenance as a share of income<\/td>\ncourt, order procedure<\/td>\na few days, with no hearing<\/td>\nthe claimant is exempt<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Division of property<\/td>\ncourt, full claim<\/td>\n3 years to bring the claim<\/td>\n1 % of the share\u2019s value, 1,331.20\u201316,640 UAH<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

Children: residence, parental rights, paternity<\/h2>\n

A dispute about which parent a child lives with is decided by the court under Article 161, taking account of the guardianship authority\u2019s opinion, the child\u2019s attachments, age and health, and each parent\u2019s living conditions. The court must hear the views of a child able to express them, though it is not bound by them. A higher salary on one side is not decisive in itself.<\/p>\n

Removing parental rights under Article 164 is a last resort and only on an exhaustive list of grounds: failing to perform parental duties, cruelty, chronic alcoholism or drug dependence, exploiting the child. The duty to maintain the child survives it. A separate category is claims to establish paternity under Article 128 and to dispute it, where the key evidence is DNA testing; a respondent who avoids it is not helped by doing so. Those cases are covered by our establishing paternity<\/a> service.<\/p>\n

Maintenance arrears: how the law presses the payer<\/h2>\n

Article 196 allows a penalty of one per cent of the unpaid maintenance for each day of delay. It is the main financial lever, and it must be claimed separately with a calculation for each month of arrears.<\/p>\n

The second lever is the restrictions under the Law \u201cOn Enforcement Proceedings\u201d. Once the arrears exceed four months\u2019 payments, the bailiff issues a decision temporarily restricting the debtor\u2019s right to leave the country, to drive and to hold weapons. For maintenance for a child with a disability or a serious illness the period is three months. The data goes into the police database, and the driving licence is seized at the roadside.<\/p>\n

What a family case costs<\/h2>\n

At Svarog a consultation with a family lawyer costs from 1,500 UAH, a written opinion on the prospects of dividing property from 5,000 UAH, drafting a marriage contract or a child maintenance agreement from 5,000 UAH, preparing a claim or an application for a court order from 5,000 UAH, and appearing at one hearing from 3,000 UAH. Handling a civil case from the first consultation through to enforcement starts at 25,000 UAH. Current rates are on the page of legal service prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What to do, in order<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. List the questions that have to be closed: ending the marriage, where the child lives, maintenance, dividing property. Some of them can be settled by agreement without a court.<\/li>\n
  2. Gather the documents: the marriage certificate, the children\u2019s birth certificates, register extracts on property and vehicles, income certificates for both spouses.<\/li>\n
  3. If there is no dispute, end the marriage through the registry office for 8.50 UAH, or file a joint application with the court together with the agreement about the child under Article 109.<\/li>\n
  4. For maintenance, apply for a court order: it is quick and free of court fees. A full claim is needed where a fixed sum is sought or the payer\u2019s income is opaque.<\/li>\n
  5. Bring the claim to divide property within three years of the divorce. File an application for interim relief at the same time if there is a risk the property or the car will be disposed of.<\/li>\n
  6. After judgment, go to the bailiff. Where arrears exceed four months, ask for the decision imposing temporary restrictions on the debtor.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Typical mistakes<\/h2>\n