Educational program: why do families need a notary?

In the first half of 2024, 151.8 thousand people turned to notaries to resolve property and financial issues of the family. During the same period, notaries certified almost 807 thousand consents of spouses to dispose of joint property and 303 thousand consents for minor children to travel abroad.

Agreements for Strong Relationships

A marriage contract is a convenient tool for regulating property relations within a family. In the first half of 2024, over 50 thousand couples certified such agreements with notaries. Most marriage contracts were concluded by residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow Region, Krasnodar Region and Tatarstan. Among the leading regions are also Sverdlovsk Region, Bashkortostan, Samara, Rostov and Novosibirsk Regions.

The proposal to conclude such an agreement is less and less associated with a marriage of convenience and is increasingly perceived as a manifestation of responsibility and mutual care of the spouses. After all, the purpose of this document is to protect the interests of both partners.

A marriage contract defines who owns real estate, deposits, cars, business assets, shares, securities and other property and under what conditions. It can describe how the family budget is built, who takes on what expenses, provide for mutual payments during and after marriage. Such a document regulates exclusively property issues, it cannot concern personal relationships, everyday life and other people.

One of the reasons to enter into a marriage contract is a mortgage. For example, when one of the spouses cannot be a co-borrower due to a bad credit history or for other reasons. Sometimes a marriage contract is urgently needed, and the husband and wife are in different cities. Then the ability to certify the document remotely with the help of two notaries comes in handy.

A practical example: a family from Moscow wanted to expand their living space. The woman was in the last months of pregnancy and went to visit relatives in another region before giving birth. The husband stayed at home. It was at this moment that an opportunity arose to take out a loan with an attractive rate and buy an apartment in the capital at a good price. However, the bank requested a marriage contract, which the couple did not have. The spouses chose a remote format. As a result, they did not miss a good opportunity and did not waste time and energy on moving back and forth. Each simply came to a convenient notary in the city where they were. The notaries checked everything, prepared the documents and certified them via video link.

A marriage contract can also be useful for couples where one of the partners is engaged in business. The spouses agree, for example, that the share in an LLC, all the rights and obligations associated with it are transferred to the husband, and the apartment to the wife. This is done to protect the family’s home from harm in the event of bankruptcy or debts of the company. Such tactics, however, will not work if the company has managed to accumulate debts or is already going bankrupt.

Sometimes a newly-married family buys an apartment, for which the parents give money in different shares. And it is the older generation that recommends the young to play it safe and sign a marriage contract. Sometimes a family with a very long history decides to do it.

A true story: a married couple, both WWII veterans, came to a notary. The couple had lived together for many years, but this was their second marriage, and each had children from their first. The woman had a daughter, to whom the couple wanted to give their shared apartment. But since the recipient was not a close relative for the father of the family, according to the documents, she would have to pay a 13% tax on the gift. The couple entered into a marriage contract, transferred the apartment to the wife’s personal property, and she gave the property to her daughter. The husband got a summer house, which he gave to his children.

International families also come. For example, a couple had their marriage contract certified by a notary from the Moscow region: the husband from Spain and the wife from Russia. They made two identical documents for both countries to secure their property agreements in two jurisdictions.

Sometimes the discussion of a marriage contract itself becomes a good test of the strength of the relationship. And at the same time, it helps couples to convey their fears and expectations to each other. Of course, a notary is not a family psychologist, but during consultations he explains many difficult moments to people. He shows what solutions can be in a controversial situation. Many notaries have stories in their practice when people on the verge of divorce or even after a breakup began to divide property, and when all disputes were settled, they found understanding again and gave each other a second chance.

So, a couple who were going to dissolve their marriage turned to a notary from Bashkortostan. Before that, they decided to divide the property in a civilized manner. The husband was a fisherman, he got a house with a plot of land, one of the cars and a boat. The wife took the apartment and the second car. In the course of the case, it turned out that the spouses had a dispute over the woman’s desire to take a child from an orphanage into the family. In the notary’s office, the spouses were able to calmly discuss this issue. And after a while, the woman came to the notary’s office on a small matter. With a little girl, whose hand she was holding. As soon as she and her husband divided the property and had a normal conversation, all disputes came to naught — and they remained a family.

Another story from the Vladimir region, where the spouses managed to dissolve the marriage, and only after that decided to sign an agreement on the division of jointly acquired property. Unlike a marriage contract, such a document can be concluded after a divorce. In the first half of the year, such agreements in Russia increased by 5%. The ex-spouses came for consultations, discussed various options with a notary, and in the end they had no property claims against each other. And having resolved these issues, they were able to agree on the rest. The couple reunited, and after the second wedding, they came to the same notary, but for a marriage contract.

Important Agreements

In different situations, close people need to «give» each other consent for certain actions. For example, when it comes to transactions with the joint property of spouses. In the first half of the year, notaries certified a total of 807 thousand consents of spouses regarding the disposal of common property.

It is assumed that the couple disposes of common property by mutual consent, but sometimes the «permission» of the second spouse must be notarized. One of the reasons for this is the conclusion of a transaction for the disposal of property, the rights to which are subject to state registration . For example, sale, donation, long-term lease or exchange of an apartment, land plot, summer house.

The consent of the second spouse is also required for transactions that are subject to mandatory state registration. For example, if it is a mortgage agreement or a pledge of residential or commercial real estate. The consent of the second half may also be required by business owners. For example, to buy or sell a share in the authorized capital, if it was acquired or the authorized capital increased during the marriage and the property regime was not changed by the marriage contract.

Notarized consents of parents for children are often required. In the summer, consents for minors to travel abroad are especially relevant. In the first half of 2024, Russians certified 303 thousand such consents with notaries — 6% more than in the first half of 2023. For trips abroad, if a child goes on vacation with a grandmother, grandfather, other relatives, flies with a counselor to a children’s camp or with a team to a competition, the accompanying person must have a notarized consent to travel from one of the parents.

Often, in the daily hustle and bustle, parents forget to take care of the consent in a timely manner or simply do not know that it is necessary. When everything has to be done at the last moment, another digital tool of the notary office comes to the rescue — «teleportation» of documents.

One example: a grandfather was flying on holiday with his grandson, both football fans and wanted to attend a match in Turkey together. They travelled from Omutninsk (Kirov region) via Moscow. Only at the capital’s airport did it become clear that they did not have permission for the boy to leave from his parents. It was good that they had a few hours to spare. Mom and Dad urgently went to a notary in their hometown. He gave consent, converted it into digital form while maintaining legal force. He even managed to request data from the registry office to confirm the family relationship. The electronic document was handed over to a notary in the city closest to the airport in a matter of minutes — Domodedovo, where the grandfather was already waiting for it. The travellers managed to do everything and flew away happy to watch their favourite game.

Another case: this time about a grandmother and her granddaughter. They were vacationing in Sochi and at some point decided that it would be great to fly from there to Egypt, a last minute tour was just found. But the woman did not have the consent of the parents for the girl to travel abroad. Events unfolded quickly: that same evening all the documents were made and “teleported” to the grandmother. The next morning, she and her granddaughter flew towards the pyramids.

According to general rules for travel in Russia, notarized parental consent is not a mandatory requirement, but people often play it safe and do it. Employees of transport organizations or hotel representatives may request a document from a person confirming that the parents have actually transferred the authority to accompany the child. In addition, questions about how legally a third party accompanies someone else’s child on a trip may arise, for example, if the little traveler seeks medical help.

A practical example: a child went with a coach to a competition in another city and got a minor injury there. He was given emergency assistance, but further manipulations required the parents’ permission, which they quickly «teleported» with the help of a notary.

There are also more serious medical situations. A case from Perm: a man had a daughter from his first marriage, who lived with him and his new wife. The girl had a severe heart defect and needed a transplant. The operation was to take place in another city. It was planned that the girl’s wife would accompany her to the clinic. However, she was not the child’s legal representative, and the informed voluntary consent for the operation had to be signed by the legal representative, that is, the father. A solution was found: the hospital gave the notary all the necessary documents, which he read out and explained to the father the legal consequences. An experienced doctor was brought in to answer any medical questions that arose during the process. The man signed everything, and the notary certified it. Fortunately, the operation went well.

There are other types of consents regarding children. For example, on the eve of the new school year, parental consents for minor children to live in dormitories are becoming more popular — in cases where they are leaving to study in other cities.

Source: FNP website