Unfortunately, not every couple who tied the knot agrees to live happily ever after with each other. Often, as time passes, many discover that they have made a mistake and decide to get a divorce. However, it is far from the most painless procedure from the point of view of moral feelings.

The situation becomes even more complicated if only one party demands separation without the consent of the other. In this case, the question arises, unilaterally. The law provides for this method of divorce, but there are many nuances on which the method of obtaining freedom from family ties, as well as its time frame, depends.

Methods of divorce

According to the law, there are two main ways to obtain a divorce, which depend on the consent of the spouses on this issue.

If the decision is mutual, it is enough to come together to the registry office, submit an application, pay the fee, wait the required period (1 month) and receive the long-awaited freedom.

Another method, with the help of a court, is more difficult both in terms of the complexity of the procedure and in terms of the feelings experienced. It exists for couples who cannot reach an agreement to end their marriage. The main stumbling blocks are the presence of children and the division of property. If you are interested in how to file for divorce unilaterally, then most likely you will need the help of the court. However, at the same time, Russian legislation provides for exceptional circumstances, in the presence of which you have the opportunity to dissolve a marriage without the presence and consent of the other party, as well as without the need to go to court.

Ways to dissolve a marriage without the consent of the other party

If the spouses unanimously decided to divorce, then they do not need to contact unnecessary authorities. A visit to the registry office is all they need.

The situation is more complicated when only one party wants a divorce. In such a situation, you need to file unilaterally. Today this can be done in several ways:

• write an application to the registry office;
• draw up an appeal to the judicial authorities;
• send an application to the relevant authorities via the Internet;
• send documents by mail.

Thanks to this choice of methods for filing for divorce, everyone can choose the most preferable one for themselves.

When you can't get a divorce without the consent of the other party

Those who are interested in how to file for divorce unilaterally should know that there are restrictions that make this method impossible. There are only three such situations:

• if a man demands a divorce and has a common child who is under one year old;
• if the demand for divorce comes from a man whose wife is pregnant;
• if the birth ended in the stillbirth of a child or he died in the first months of life and less than 1 year has passed since this event.

Only these three factors make the procedure for dissolving a marriage in the absence of the consent of the other party impossible. However, they are temporary in nature and therefore do not apply to absolute prohibitions. It is also worth taking into account that these restrictions apply only to men; a woman can divorce at any time and without the consent of her husband.

Divorce without the consent of the other party with or without children

The fundamental difference in the divorce procedure depends on the presence of children. How to file for divorce unilaterally if there are children and if there are no children - these are absolutely different procedures in complexity.

When there is no common child, the divorce process takes place in the registry office. This option is a simplified divorce scheme. In this case, the presence of both spouses is not necessary.

When a child grows up in a family who has not reached the age of majority, you can only get a divorce through the court.

Divorce through the registry office

If the decision is not mutual, the registry office carries out the procedure only in exceptional cases:

• in the event that the other party is declared incompetent;
• considered missing;
• is serving a sentence of more than 3 years in prison.

If any of these reasons are present, the marriage will be dissolved even if there is a child under 18 years of age in the family.

So, how to file for divorce unilaterally through the registry office? You will need to provide:

• marriage certificate (copy and original);
• receipt for payment of state duty;
• petition for dissolution of marriage;
• medical certificate declaring the spouse incompetent (if available);
• decision of the judicial authorities that the party has been declared missing (if any);
• decision of the judicial authorities that the party is serving a sentence in prison, indicating the term (if any).

The registry office also dissolves a marriage due to death or the court recognizing the spouse as deceased without clarifying the reasons. To do this, you must attach to the list a document evidencing this fact.

Court application for divorce

You should know how to file for divorce unilaterally through the court if the couple:

• children who have not reached adulthood are growing up;
• one of the parties refuses to dissolve the marriage;
• one of the spouses applies to the judicial authorities for divorce without notifying the other.

Consideration of the application begins after filing the claim in court. In this case, the reason indicated in it does not matter. According to the law, the basis is the very fact of the citizen’s desire to dissolve the marriage. Also, this method is the only way to file for divorce unilaterally if there are children. In this case, in addition to the above documents, you must attach:

• birth certificates for each child;
• certificate of income of the spouses.

What is auto divorce

It often happens that one of the parties does not appear in court for divorce, despite notices. In this case, there is an automatic divorce of the spouses. This means that if you fail to appear at the hearing 3 times, the court decides to dissolve the marriage without the presence of one of the parties.

This decision is subject to appeal if it is proven that the failure to appear was for a good reason.

Divorce via the Internet

One of the most painless and convenient ways to divorce is the Internet. In this case, you can avoid meeting an unwanted spouse, and, accordingly, negative emotions. However, this method has its limitations and is the most convenient when you don’t know how to file for divorce unilaterally if there are no children. If there are minor children, or if one of the parties refuses to divorce, this method requires a court order.

So, how to file for divorce unilaterally via the Internet?

You should begin the procedure by registering on the official website of the State Service by entering your passport data and SNILS in the appropriate field.

After confirmation of registration, select your region of registration and go to the Civil Registry Office section. It should be borne in mind here that notification of registration is possible only by regular letter by mail or by visiting the Rostelecom office.

Fill out the form and select a date for visiting the registry office.

On the same website you can download a form with details on which you can pay the state fee.

Divorce via mail

For those who cannot personally provide the documents necessary for the divorce process, it will be useful to know how to file for divorce unilaterally by mail. This is relevant for spouses registered in different cities, when one party demands a divorce without the consent of the other.

If there are no children or property disputes, the issue can be resolved by mail. The necessary documents should be sent to the magistrate’s court at the defendant’s place of residence. Typically required:

• application for divorce;
• certificate of registration of your marriage;
• a receipt indicating that you have paid the state fee.

In some cases, additional documents may be required, of which you will be notified.

Once your application has been accepted for consideration, you must submit a notarized petition in the same way. In it, you must express your desire to have the procedure carried out without your presence.

When the trial is completed, you will receive a copy of the court decision, which you must bring to the registry office after the period allotted for appeal has expired. There they will put a divorce stamp in your passport.

Time limits for unilateral divorce

The law provides for regulated periods within which the divorce process is completed. The registry office provides 1 month for reconciliation. This period also includes the day the application is submitted.

If a marriage is dissolved by court, the spouses are given an average of 3 months to review their decision and reconcile. This period includes the date of filing the application, as well as the hearing held by the judge. If there are no significant disputes, the process is usually completed by this time. However, if one of the parties creates obstacles to closing the case, and there are also disputes regarding common property, the consideration period may be extended. In any case, the process in the vast majority of cases ends in favor of the plaintiff. Therefore, achieving agreement between spouses will only ease the emotional burden and save time.

Thus, there are quite a lot of ways to file for divorce unilaterally. The law provides for simplification of this procedure for spouses. This is important given that the divorce process itself is quite complex for people. If there are children, this procedure affects them too. That is why it is necessary to know all the ways to formalize the divorce process, both with a unanimous decision of the spouses and in the event of refusal by one of the parties. This is necessary to ensure that this procedure is as painless as possible for all participants.

The termination of a marriage between spouses most often occurs at the request of one party. This procedure and its order are described by the family code, which provides for the dissolution of marriage relations in two ways:

1. through a government agency (registry office);
2. through the judiciary.

Is it even possible to get a unilateral divorce?

Termination of marriage relations through the registry office

As a rule, the dissolution of a marriage relationship through the civil registry office takes place if the following conditions are met:

• a married couple without children applied for divorce (that is, there are no common minor children);
• there is full mutual consent of the spouses to terminate the marriage relationship.

As a rule, both spouses submit a joint application. And both must, accordingly, be present in the registry office.

But there are exceptions to the rules. It is possible to file an application for divorce and its further consideration unilaterally. It happens that the other spouse cannot appear in person at government agency employees to write a joint statement (due to living in another area, for example), then a separate statement, certified by a notary, is submitted.

The law also establishes the grounds when termination of a marriage is possible at the request of one spouse (the approval of the other spouse is not taken into account). In this case, the fact that there is a minor child is not taken into account.

Such cases are:

1. incapacity of the second spouse;
2. recognition of a husband or wife as missing;
3. imposing a sentence against the wife (husband), which provides for a decision to deprive him of liberty for a term of more than 3 years.

How to file for divorce unilaterally if the specified conditions are met?

The divorcing person must write a statement to the civil registry office staff and attach supporting documents for the divorce:

• official papers confirming marriage;
• payment order confirming payment of the state duty (according to tax legislation, its amount is 350 rubles);
• copies of the decision of the judiciary, which confirms the grounds for termination of marital relations at the request of one party (for example, a court verdict depriving the husband or wife of liberty for the appropriate period).

Of course, you will need to present an official identification document.

Employees of the civil registry office must file a divorce unilaterally within one month (this period is provided for by law).

Termination of family relations through the courts

We have reviewed the procedure for filing a unilateral divorce through a government agency. He will file a divorce only if the conditions established by law are met. How to get a unilateral divorce through the court?

Termination of family ties will be carried out according to a statement of claim filed by one of the spouses. The claim must contain the relevant information:

1. personal data of the plaintiff, defendant;
2. descriptive part (availability of data on the conclusion of a marriage relationship, presence of minors, grounds for which the marriage should be dissolved, consent/non-consent of the second spouse to dissolve the marriage);
3. request to dissolve the marriage.

Relevant documents are attached to the claim: payment order for payment of the obligatory payment, official papers confirming the marriage and other papers.

The statement of claim should be submitted, according to the jurisdiction, to the magistrate (if there is no dispute about minors or a claim is made that provides for the division of property worth less than 50,000 rubles) in several copies.

The court sets a trial date within 30 days.

Timing and practice of the process

The duration of the court hearing directly depends on the parties to the process. As long as all the documents are prepared and the couple is able to come to an agreement, the trial will go quite quickly.

However, there are cases when one of the couple objects to the dissolution of the family relationship, then the court is given the right to set a period for the parties to reconcile. And only if they could not agree, then the court has no choice but to file a divorce.

There are also frequent cases of the defendant avoiding participation in court hearings on divorce (despite the fact that he is notified of the date and time of their holding). In such circumstances the proceedings will be adjourned. After the hearings have been adjourned three times, requests to terminate the marriage will be considered without the presence of the defendant.

It turns out that if one of the spouses wishes to end family life with the other spouse, then he can apply to the judicial authorities with a statement of claim.

But the law provided for some restrictions. Thus, it is forbidden for a man to get a divorce:

• if the wife is pregnant;
• with a woman if they have a child under one year of age (or even if a child born less than a year ago has died).

There is a way out of this situation. The established ban does not apply to a woman, so she can file for divorce herself (of course, if she wishes).

To finalize the divorce, it is necessary to wait until the court decision made when considering the case on the dissolution of family relations comes into force. With this decision, the couple should contact government officials to enter information into official papers and issue the appropriate certificate.

I would like to note that most divorce claims are resolved positively for the plaintiffs. This is all thanks to the principle of freedom of family relations (citizens are free to create a family and terminate family relations). The law does not establish what specific reasons may be valid for divorce, and sometimes this is not required. A desire to break off family relationships will be sufficient.

Last updated March 2019

The breakdown of family relationships does not always occur by mutual consent. Therefore, the law provides for unilateral divorce.

To dissolve a marriage, it is not always necessary for both spouses to be present at the same time. Unilateral divorce is a process that is started without the desire and sometimes even without the knowledge of the other spouse. The termination of a marriage is regulated by Articles 16-26 of the Family Code.

We are talking about a unilateral divorce when one spouse does not want to get a divorce or cannot come to the divorce process.

Many people are puzzled by how to file for divorce unilaterally. There are 2 options:

1. Extrajudicial - through the registry office.
2. Judicial - through the courts of first instance.

Unilateral divorce through the registry office

The most common procedure is divorce by applying to the registry office. This requires 3 conditions:

• absence of minor children;
• both husband and wife must be present;
• consent of both parties is required.

It is important that all conditions are met simultaneously. As you can see, divorce is allowed with the joint will and appearance of two spouses. However, there are exceptions. A marriage is annulled without the consent and presence of the spouse if he:

• incapacitated;
• sentenced to more than 3 years;
• considered missing.

In these cases, it is necessary to confirm this fact with documentation. And apply to the registry office with the appropriate document. The marriage is dissolved in a month.

Example: A man and a woman got married in 2005 and bought a house as common property. There was 1 child in the family. In 2018, the spouse was sentenced to 4 years for fraud, due to which the victims suffered serious losses. In order to pay off his debts, the convict tried to sell his home without his wife’s knowledge. In response, she filed for unilateral divorce with the simultaneous allocation of the child’s share in the common house. The court dissolved the marriage without taking into account the opinion of the convicted person. The wife's demands were fully satisfied.

How to submit an application to the registry office

Filing an application for divorce is carried out in 2 ways:

• Personal appeal. That is, come directly to the registry office.
• Through the Multifunctional Center. You need to go there with all the documents. After 30 days, a divorce certificate is issued.

You can also apply online. To do this you need:

• register on the State Services portal;
• choose a divorce service, set a date;
• fill out an application and upload a scan of your passport;
• pay the state fee and print a receipt.

In addition to your passport, application and state fees, upon termination, depending on the situation, you must submit additional documents:

1. A court decision declaring the second spouse incompetent (if the marriage is terminated on the basis of incapacity);
2. A court decision on the fact of a missing spouse (if the spouse has been absent for more than a year);
3. The court verdict on the imprisonment of the second spouse and information about the place where the sentence will be served (if the sentence is 3 years or more, the suspended sentence is not taken into account).

Divorce through court

A unilateral filing for divorce through the court occurs when:

• there are minor children in the family;
• one of the parties categorically does not want to get a divorce.

It is better not to bring the divorce to court. It is recommended to do everything possible to peacefully resolve a family dispute. Otherwise, it will take a lot of time, effort and money, because a divorce sometimes drags on for months, and a court decision may turn out to be inconvenient for two spouses at once.

The claim can be filed at the place of residence of the defendant. The exceptions are the presence of minor children or illness of the plaintiff. In such cases, the plaintiff has the right to file an application at his place of residence.

Divorce cases can be heard by a magistrate or a district court.

Divorce in the Magistrates' Court

Unilateral dissolution of a marriage with children occurs in a magistrate's court in the absence of a dispute regarding them. The wife has the right to file a claim in any situation, but with regards to the husband there are some restrictions:

• wife's pregnancy;
• having a common child who is under 1 year old.

Example: After three years of marriage, the husband decided to divorce his wife. The wife spoke out against termination, since they have a child who is only 11 months old. In addition, at the court hearing it turned out that the wife was two months pregnant. Based on Art. 17 of the RF IC, the plaintiff’s claim was rejected.

The magistrate may try to try on the spouses. Basically, this happens when one spouse is against the divorce. A period of up to 3 months is allotted. If during this time the spouses do not reconcile, then the judge considers the case on its merits and makes a decision on divorce.

Unilateral divorce in district court

Termination of a marriage at the initiative of one of the parties in the district court occurs in 2 cases:

• when there is a dispute regarding children under the age of majority;
• when dividing common property worth more than 50,000 rubles.

The district (city) court may also set a deadline for reconciliation. If the spouses change their minds about getting a divorce, the court proceedings are terminated. If, nevertheless, one party insists, then the issue of residence and maintenance of children, payment of alimony, and methods of dividing common property is resolved.

After the court decision enters into force, the marriage is considered dissolved. The decision is handed over to the spouses in order to register the fact of divorce in the registry office and obtain certificates of divorce.

Example: The spouse at her place of residence filed for divorce in the district court. The plaintiff in the statement demanded the division of the joint apartment, payment of alimony in favor of their son and determination of his place of residence with his mother. The husband came only to the second meeting and refused to divorce. The court set a three-month period for reconciliation, which did not produce a positive result. As a result, the court decided to divorce the spouses, leave the son with his mother, and awarded him alimony. The apartment was divided into equal shares.

Petition for divorce

How to file a divorce? The basis for starting divorce proceedings is a petition for divorce. It must be compiled according to all the rules. The claim must have the following content:

Formal part, where the following information is indicated

• the name of the court where the trial will take place;
• information about the plaintiff (full name, date of birth, place of residence, telephone number);
• similar information about the defendant.

A descriptive part that contains information about:

• date and place of marriage;
• reasons for divorce;
• the defendant's disagreement with the divorce;
• the impossibility of living together in the future as husband and wife;
• presence of joint children under 18 years of age. Their full names and dates of birth must be included.

The final part, where:

• lists the provisions of the law that contain grounds for filing for unilateral divorce;
• all petitions (for alimony, property);
• list of attached documents.

At the end you should put the date, signature and its explanation.

The statement of claim is drawn up in 3 copies. The first one remains with the plaintiff; it must have a mark on it indicating that it was accepted by the court. The second one will be kept on file. The court sends the third copy to the defendant.

To the Kanashsky District Court
Plaintiff: Ivanova Anna Nikolaevna, born 02/04/1990
Address: Cheboksary, st. Khuzangaya, 9-8.
Passport details: 1234 567 890. Phone: 123-456.
Defendant: Andrey Ivanovich Ivanov, born October 23, 1981,
Address: Kanash, st. Victory, 34-89.
Phone: 456-789.
Cost of claim: RUB 1,550,000.

STATEMENT OF CLAIM
on divorce and division of joint property

(or about collecting alimony, determining the child’s place of permanent residence, establishing a procedure for communicating with him).

The marriage with the defendant was registered on October 4, 2013 in the Civil Registry Office of the Cheboksary City Administration, registration number No. 378. During the marriage, a two-room apartment with an area of ​​59 square meters was purchased. m., which is located at the address: Chechnya, Kanash, st. Pobeda, 34, apt. 89. The certificate of ownership states that the apartment belongs to me and the defendant in equal shares, that is, 1/2.

We have not lived with the defendant since July 2018, and we do not run a common household. Further life with Ivanov I.A. impossible due to his wild lifestyle (or the use of alcohol, drugs, assault, dissimilarity of characters, betrayal, child abuse, etc.).

Children were born in the marriage (their details). The claim should demand the collection of alimony, indicate the child’s place of permanent residence and the procedure for communicating with him.

The defendant does not agree to divorce because he does not want to share the apartment. But he won’t let me live there either. We cannot come to a consensus on the division of housing. The marriage contract was not concluded.

Based on what is written, guided by Art. 22 RF IC, Art. 29, 131, 132 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation,

1. The marriage between Anna Nikolaevna Ivanova and Andrey Ivanovich Ivanov, registered on October 4, 2013 in the Civil Registry Office of the Cheboksary City Administration, registration number 378, is dissolved.
2. Share an apartment located in Kanash, st. Pobeda, 34, apt. 89, by selling it, allocating 50% of the proceeds to Anna Nikolaevna Ivanova and Andrey Ivanovich Ivanov.
3. If there are other requirements, they should be indicated in a separate paragraph.

List of attached documents:

1. Copy of the claim - 2 pcs.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. Certificate of ownership of the apartment.
4. Receipt for payment of state duty.
5. Other documents supporting the claim.

Date: 11/06/2018
Plaintiff's signature:

Documents for divorce proceedings

Divorce documents include:

• an application filled out in a form to the court or registry office;
• receipt of payment of the duty;
• marriage certificate;
• children's birth certificates;
• a certificate indicating the defendant’s income.

In addition, you may need one of the following documents:

• a court decision declaring a spouse incompetent, the address of his guardian;
• verdict on the fact of being in MLS, address of the colony;
• conclusion on declaring a spouse missing.

State duty for unilateral divorce in 2018

The state fee is not charged if the divorce of the marriage is requested by the guardian of the incapacitated party or the prosecutor.

• IN 350 The opportunity to get a unilateral divorce through the registry office will cost rubles.
• If through the court, then the state duty is 600 rubles This is the case when there is no division of property.
• If there is one, then the amount of the state duty depends on the value of the disputed property. The law determines the minimum rate in 400 rubles, maximum – 60 000 rubles

Payment details should be filled out carefully; they must refer to the authority where the divorce will be carried out. It is better to go to the registry office or court and get a receipt from them. State duty is paid through:

• bank branch;
• Internet bank;
• self-service banking terminal.

Is automatic divorce possible?

This possibility is provided for by law. To do this, it is enough for one spouse not to appear in court 3 times. It does not matter whether this failure to appear is intentional or not. However, the process may be complicated by the presence of common children or property to be divided.

To file a divorce in modern times, the will of only one spouse is quite sufficient. According to statistics, about 90% of divorce cases are successful.

If you have questions about the topic of the article, please do not hesitate to ask them in the comments. We will definitely answer all your questions within a few days. However, carefully read all the questions and answers to the article; if there is a detailed answer to such a question, then your question will not be published.

Ekaterina Kozhevnikova

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How to get a divorce through the registry office unilaterally, without resorting to litigation? This question arises among spouses who do not want to meet with each other during the divorce process. The breakdown of a family is a test for every person, and often when deciding to divorce, the couple is already at the maximum point of conflict or is simply unable to save the marriage due to serious problems. However, you need to know that the legislator clearly limited the possibility of performing such a procedure so as not to infringe on the rights of the second spouse. Therefore, unilateral divorce through the registry office is possible only in strictly defined cases.

What does the law say?

Marriage relations of citizens of the Russian Federation are regulated by the Family and Civil Codes. The Family Code has a clear system for regulating the divorce process, outlining the grounds as well as methods for terminating a marriage. Termination of marriage relations unilaterally through the Civil Registry Office is regulated by Art. 19 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

According to the requirements of this article, you can file for divorce unilaterally only in one of the following cases:

• there is official recognition of the second spouse as missing, i.e. a court decision was made in a separate court hearing on this issue. Courts make such decisions if a person is absent from his place of permanent residence for 1 year;
• The spouse was declared incompetent by a court decision. Such a decision is made on the basis of psychiatric, psychological and other examinations confirming the presence of any mental or physical abnormalities;
• the spouse was sentenced to a real term of imprisonment, the term of which exceeds three years, for committing an act prohibited by the Criminal Code.

Differences between the procedure through the registry office and through the court

The main differences between these types of termination of marital relations can be expressed as follows:

• Divorce through the civil registry office without the above grounds is carried out only in the following cases:

1. the absence of minor children who are divorcing;
2. consent of both spouses to carry out this procedure.

• Unilateral dissolution of a marriage through the registry office implies the presence of one of the exceptional grounds - incapacity, unknown absence, bringing the spouse to criminal liability with a real term.
• In any other case, divorce is carried out only through the court and nothing else. It is noted that if one of the spouses refuses to divorce, the court may postpone the proceedings for up to three months for reconciliation of the parties.

Of both spouses who have entered into marriage, the husband most often does not agree to divorce. Usually this behavior is caused by an inadequate perception of family life and the inability to let go of feelings that have long cooled down. How can you file for divorce unilaterally?

No matter what obstacles a spouse puts in the way of divorce, it is still possible to dissolve the marriage. It is necessary to show more patience and determination while spinning the flywheel of the divorce process.

In which institutions do they divorce unilaterally?

Two government agencies can make a decision on divorce - the registry office and the court. There are criteria to determine the organization to which a request for divorce should be submitted.

A divorce can only be effected in court if the spouse prevents it - he does not appear at the registry office at the scheduled time or has disappeared and does not answer calls.

If the spouse does not appear on time at the registry office, although he verbally promises to come, postpones the decision in every possible way, or tries to prevent it through threats, you should immediately go to court.

To protect yourself from excessive attention, you can contact the police. This will stop all actions of the spouse who does not take into account the opinion of his wife and uses physical force against her and the children.