We lived together for 10 years, and after the death of our partner, nothing: how to protect property in an unregistered marriage

A shared apartment, renovations, loans, children, family budget – a couple can live as a family for years, but for the law, the lack of an officially registered marriage matters. This is especially acutely felt during a breakup or after the death of one of the partners. Who will get the apartment, can you inherit property, and how to prove that you were really a family?

Daryna Starovoitova, a lawyer, mediator, and head of civil practice at Verity Group JSC, told this especially for Femida.ua.

“Civil marriage” is not really what we are used to calling it

In everyday life, the cohabitation of a man and a woman without registration is often called a “civil marriage.” However, legally this is not entirely correct.

According to Daryna Starovoitova, a civil marriage is a marriage registered in the state registry office. And partners who live together without registering a marriage are defined by the law as persons living in one family without marriage. In colloquial legal practice, such relationships are also called de facto marital relationships.

And this difference becomes fundamental when it comes to inheritance.

A partner died without a will: will the other receive the property?

Here, many are in for an unpleasant surprise.

If the marriage was not officially registered, the partner is not automatically equated with a husband or wife when inheriting by law.

The first line of heirs includes, in particular, children, parents and the spouse who survived the deceased. A partner in an unregistered relationship is not included in this line.

That is, the situation “we lived together for many years, so I will automatically inherit everything” may not work.

A person who lived with the testator in the same family for at least five years before opening the inheritance may receive the right to inherit by law in the fourth line. But the fact of such family residence will have to be established in court, if necessary.

Vacation photos are not enough: how to prove that you were a family

There is no single universal document that confirms actual marital relations.

Moreover, even the registration of two people at the same address may not be enough.

The court evaluates the evidence in its entirety. Testimonies from neighbors and relatives, joint children, photos and videos, joint trips, running a joint household, business, participation in family events and other circumstances that demonstrate that people really lived as a family can be important.

The key principle: the more interconnected evidence, the stronger the position in court.

Buying an apartment without marriage? Don’t rely on “we are together”

It is much safer to settle property issues when buying real estate.

According to the lawyer, one of the most practical options for an unmarried couple is to immediately register the apartment as a partial property, for example, 1/2 for each.

The law does not prohibit concluding such agreements. A similar approach is possible when investing in real estate at the construction stage, when two partners act as buyers or investors at once.

In fact, the rule is simple: if both of you invest money, you should think about having the rights of both documented.

Six months — and not a day more: what you need to know about inheritance

Another mistake that can cost you property is postponing the registration of the inheritance.

The deadline for accepting it is six months from the date of the testator’s death.

To accept the inheritance, the heir must apply to a notary with a corresponding application. If the deadline is missed, the issue may go to court, and to determine an additional period, it will be necessary to prove the presence of good reasons.

At the same time, as Daryna Starovoitova emphasizes, judicial practice is quite strict: staying abroad or not knowing about the death of the testator is not necessarily recognized as a sufficiently good reason. The court evaluates each situation separately.

What if the apartment remains in the occupied territory?

The presence of real estate in the temporarily occupied territory does not mean that the heir must give up his rights.

As the lawyer explains, such property is inherited on general terms. For registration, documents on family ties and property ownership are required, in particular.

In practice, some people choose a different path: they declare their inheritance rights in a timely manner and open an inheritance case, but postpone the final registration of the property due to costs and uncertainty about the physical condition of the property in the occupied territory.

You can inherit not only an apartment, but also debts

A credit card, a loan, a debt for utility services or a large amount on a receipt – the death of a debtor does not mean that all his financial obligations automatically disappear.

The inheritance may include not only rights and property, but also debt obligations.

At the same time, the heirs are responsible for the debts of the testator within the value of the property they inherited.

That is, inheritance is not only a question of “what will I get”, but also the need to find out what obligations remain after the deceased.

Parents gave money for an apartment: after a divorce, it can still be divided

Another common family scenario: parents gave