SCU issued a legal position on this matter, UBR reports.

In Ukraine the spouses are no longer obliged to fully divide their business in case of divorce. This was the ruling of the Supreme Court, which reviewed a case №6-1327цс15. It ruled that the property, acquired for business within marriage, can be personal property of direct company’s owner – husband or wife.

“SCU ruled that not in each case the division of property (in case of divorce of spouses) should be 50/50, as with all other property, acquired within marriage. The owner of individual entrepreneur can have personal property in his business. And he or she should not always share it. This depends on the legal regime of property: whether it is personal property or joint property of the family. The Supreme Court delimited these two regimes. It is necessary to prove, for whose funds the property was acquired. In addition, the property, used in professional activities, will remain with that spouse, who uses it, however its price should be taken into account while dividing business”, Senior Partner of Kravets and Partners Law Company Rostislav Kravets explained to UBR.ua.

By the decision №6-1327цс15 the property of individual entrepreneur pertains to the category of belongings for professional activities, which are joint property in compliance with p.4 of art.61 of the Family Code.

“Obviously SCU was guided by the fact that while applying this norm it is necessary to determine, at the expense of joint or at the expense of personal funds the belongings for professional activities were acquired. In the first case, even if they are used by one of spouses, the legal regime of joint property will extend over them, in the second – personal private property”, Adviser of JSC “Spencer&Kauffman” Tatiana Ivanovich explained to UBR.ua.

The lawyers assure that Ukrainian spouses dispute in courts on dividing business for many years. And that’s why the legal experts welcome the explanation of SCU (legal position), which the court has just issued.

According to experts, in view of the current judicial practice, the property of individual entrepreneur is recognized as the personal private property in two cases:

-              Spouse, registered as the individual entrepreneur, acquired property under the agreement as the individual (not as the self-employed entrepreneur), even if such property is used solely in business (trucks, warehouses etc).

-              Party to the Agreement, though was the individual entrepreneur, however it was proved that the source of acquisition of the property under such agreement were joint funds of spouses.

“In other cases, if it is proved that the property was acquired by the individual entrepreneur for conducting entrepreneurial activities at the expense of his/her personal funds, the judicial practice recognizes such property as the personal private property”, Ivanovich summarized.