Development of Law Enforcement on Cases concerning Legal Regime of Marital Property in Contracts Involving Spouses

The paper analyzes the development of law enforcement regarding the ability of certain contractual structures to change the legal regime of the marital property. Prior to the introduction of a mandatory notarial form of an agreement on the marital property division (Federal Law No. 391-FZ of December 29, 2015 «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation») and clarification in paragraph 1 of Article 256 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation of the type of contract establishing the legal regime of the community property (Federal Law No. 217-FZ of July 19, 2018 «On Amendments to Article 256 of Part One and Part Three of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation»), law enforcement proceeded from the possibility of changing the community property regime (or part thereof) both following a marriage contract and any other agreement (contract) that does not contradict the current legislation. After legislative changes, the Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation took different positions. In the activities of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, there has been a tendency not to qualify the terms of purchase and sale agreements, participation in shared construction and other transactions involving the emergence of shared ownership of spouses as a contract containing elements of an agreement on the community property division or a prenuptial agreement. The discrepancies between the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the form of the transaction concluded in fulfillment of the obligation of the recipient of the state certificate for maternal (family) capital to purchase a real estate object in the shared ownership of the second spouse and children are revealed. It is concluded that the dilemma between the freedom of choice of legal forms for the spouses to achieve the desired legal result with minimizing organizational, time and material costs, on the one hand, and ensuring that each of the spouses understands the coming legal consequences (which should be facilitated by notarization of the transaction) on the other hand, should be allowed at the legislative level.

1. Arslanov KM. O posledstviyakh opredeleniya suprugami raznykh doley v prave sobstvennosti na nedvizhimoe imushchestvo v notarialno udostoverennom dogovore [On the consequences of the spouses determining different shares in the ownership of immovable property in a notarized contract]. Notarius [Notary]. 2022;3:19-24. (In Russ.).

2. Ksenofontova DS. Semeynoe pravo v usloviyakh formirovaniya novoy sotsialnoy realnosti: doktrinalnye nachala pravoprimeneniya [Family law in the context of a new social reality formation: Doctrinal principles of law enforcement]. Lex russica. 2021;74(11):124-133. (In Russ.).

3. Nevzgodina EL. Soglashenie o razdele imushchestva suprugov i brachnyy dogovor [An agreement on the division of the spouses’ property and prenaptual agreement]. Vestnik Omskogo universiteta. Seriya «Pravo» [Herald of Omsk University. Series «Law»]. 2012;1(30):63-69. (In Russ.).

4. Nizamieva ON. Imushchestvennye soglasheniya suprugov (byvshikh suprugov) i nalogovye posledstviya ikh soversheniya [Property agreements of spouses (ex-spouses) and tax consequences of their performance]. Sotsialno-yuridicheskaya tetrad [Social and legal notebook]. 2017;7:46-56. (In Russ.).

5. Slepko GE.,Strazhevich YuN. Pravovye problemy razdela obshchego imushchestva suprugov (suprugovvoennosluzhashchikh) i opredeleniya razmera ikh doley [Legal problems of dividing the common property of spouses (spouses — members of the military) and determining the size of their shares]. Pravo v vooruzhennykh silakh [Law in the Armed Forces — Military Legal Review]. 2017;7:44-53. (In Russ.).

6. Temnikova NA. Izmenenie rezhima sovmestnoy sobstvennosti suprugov [Changing the regime of spouses’ joint property]. Vestnik Omskogo universiteta. Seriya «Pravo» [Herald of Omsk University. Series «Law»]. 2021;18(3):53-60. (In Russ.).

7. Chashkova SYu. Nekotorye voprosy pravovogo rezhima supruzheskogo imushchestva v dogovorakh, zaklyuchaemykh s uchastiem suprugov [Some issues of the legal regime of marital property in contracts concluded with the participation of spouses]. Zakony Rossii: opyt, analiz, praktika [Laws of Russia: Experience, analysis and practice]. 2013;8:42. (In Russ.).

8. Chashkova SYu. O tendentsiyakh razvitiya dogovornogo regulirovaniya semeynykh imushchestvennykh otnosheniy suprugov s uchetom razvitiya zakonodatelstva i sudebnoy praktiki [Tendencies in the contractual regulation of family property relations between spouses with due regard to the development of legislation and judicial practice]. Lex russica. 2021;74(5):63-73. (In Russ.).