Marriage Contracts in Ukraine: What You Can and Cannot Include

What a marriage contract is

A marriage contract is an agreement between spouses, or between two people who have filed a marriage application, governing their property rights and obligations (Chapter 10 of the Family Code of Ukraine, Articles 92–103). By default, everything acquired during the marriage is the spouses' joint property regardless of whose name it is registered under or who earned it (Article 60 of the Family Code). A marriage contract lets the couple opt out of that default rule: set a different property regime, agree on how it will be divided, on the use of housing, and on spousal support.

The Supreme Court treats a marriage contract as a distinct instrument for regulating spouses' existing or future property relations, to which the Civil Code's general rules on freedom of contract, formation, amendment, and termination apply (Civil Cassation Court of the Supreme Court, ruling of 6 September 2023, case No. 760/18875/20). Two practical consequences follow. The contract is binding on the parties: until it is declared invalid, the court applies its terms rather than the default rules on joint property (ruling of 4 December 2024, case No. 754/12379/20). And any doubt about its validity or meaning is resolved in favor of validity and enforceability — the favor contractus principle (ruling of 5 March 2025, case No. 362/1998/23).

How a marriage contract differs from other agreements between spouses

Spouses can also enter into other agreements between themselves: dividing joint property, carving out a share, a gift, or an agreement to provide support (Articles 64, 69, and 78 of the Family Code). What sets a marriage contract apart is its subject matter and timing. A property-division agreement deals with specific property that already exists on the day it is signed. A marriage contract looks forward: it sets rules for property not yet acquired and for events that have not yet happened — divorce, the birth of a child, loss of earning capacity. That is exactly why a marriage contract cannot transfer title to already-registered property — other agreements exist for that, discussed below.

Who can sign a marriage contract in Ukraine

Only two categories of people can be parties: an engaged couple who have filed a marriage application, or spouses (Article 92(1) of the Family Code). People who live together as a family without a registered marriage cannot sign a marriage contract — their property relations are governed by Article 74 of the Family Code and by other types of agreements.

The contract must be signed in person. The Supreme Court has held that spouses' property relations are too closely tied to the individual for a marriage contract to be signed by a proxy under a power of attorney (Supreme Court, case No. 757/10715/17-ц). For clients abroad, this means a contract cannot be signed remotely through a representative in Ukraine — both spouses must appear in person before a notary, including a Ukrainian consular officer authorized to perform notarial acts.

A marriage contract signed before the wedding

An engaged couple signs the contract after filing their marriage application with the civil registry office. It takes effect not on the day it is notarized but on the day the marriage is registered (Article 95(1) of the Family Code). If the marriage is never registered, the contract never takes effect. This is a convenient option for couples who want a defined property regime from day one — for example, full separation of everything acquired going forward.

A marriage contract signed during the marriage

Spouses may sign a contract at any point during the marriage, and it takes effect on the day it is notarized (Article 95(2) of the Family Code). This is where the main practical trap lies: a contract signed during the marriage does not, by default, cover property acquired before it was signed. If an apartment was bought during the marriage three years before the contract, and the contract only addresses property "to be acquired," the apartment remains joint property (ruling of 19 March 2025, case No. 686/30682/23). The law does not allow a marriage contract to change the regime of already-registered property acquired earlier — that requires a separate property-division or gift agreement.

Minors as a party

If a party signing the contract before marriage is a minor whom the court has granted the right to marry, written consent from their parents or guardian, notarized, is required (Article 92(2) of the Family Code). Without it, a notary will not certify the contract.

What you can include in a marriage contract

The law defines the scope broadly: the spouses' property rights and obligations, including as parents (Article 93(1)–(2) of the Family Code), the property regime (Article 97), the use of housing (Article 98), and the right to support (Article 99). Within these articles, the parties are free to draft terms as they see fit, as long as the terms do not breach the direct prohibitions or the moral foundations of society (Article 97(5) of the Family Code).

The property regime

This is the foundation of any marriage contract. The spouses may agree that Article 60 of the Family Code does not apply to property acquired during the marriage, and that it belongs personally to whoever it is registered to or who bought it (Article 97(2) of the Family Code). A middle-ground option is also available: joint ownership in defined shares, for example 70/30. Or the reverse — treating as joint property something that would otherwise be personal property by law (inherited or gifted property). The Supreme Court has expressly confirmed that spouses may include a clause fully excluding the future creation of joint marital property (rulings of 10 May 2022, case No. 755/5802/20, and 5 March 2025, case No. 362/1998/23).

Real estate, vehicles, and other valuable property

This is the most common subject of these agreements. Typical clauses: property subject to state registration belongs to whichever spouse it is registered to; an apartment bought in the future with proceeds from the sale of one spouse's pre-marital property remains that spouse's personal property; property bought during the marriage with joint funds is split in defined shares. A practical bonus of a separate-property regime: as of 25 May 2026, the other spouse's consent to a transaction involving joint property that requires notarization or state registration must itself be notarized (Article 65(3) of the Family Code, as amended by Law No. 4824-IX). If, under the contract, the property is personal, its owner can deal with it without the other spouse's involvement.

Income, bank accounts, and investments

A contract can provide that salary, fees, dividends, funds in bank accounts, securities, and crypto-assets belong personally to whoever received them or in whose name the account is held. Precise wording matters here. In case No. 751/8408/20 (ruling of 8 June 2022), the contract extended the separate-property regime to "bank deposits," while $150,000 was kept in a rented bank safe-deposit box. The court held the money was joint property: a safe-deposit box is not a deposit, and the funds were not held in either spouse's name. Wording along the lines of "money in any form, including cash, funds in bank accounts, and funds held in safe-deposit boxes" would have avoided the dispute.

Business, sole-proprietor status, and corporate rights

Without a contract, the status of business assets in a dispute is decided by the court case by case: a stake in registered capital, property used by a sole proprietor (FOP), and business income can all be found to be joint property, giving the other spouse a claim to a share or compensation. A marriage contract lets the couple provide that corporate rights, shares, stock, and the property and income tied to one spouse's business activity are that spouse's personal property, with the other spouse receiving a defined compensation or other property instead. This protects not only the business owner but also business partners from a former spouse entering the company through a property division.

Loans, debts, and other financial obligations

As a general rule, a contract one spouse enters into in the family's interest creates obligations for the other spouse too (Article 65(4) of the Family Code), while debts taken on for personal needs remain personal. A marriage contract can specify which spouse is responsible for particular loans, how mortgage payments are split, and who takes the mortgaged apartment along with the remaining balance. One caveat: an agreement between spouses does not alter the bank's rights. The lender collects the debt under its own agreement; the marriage contract only governs how the spouses settle up between themselves.

How property will be divided on divorce

The spouses can agree in advance how property will be divided if the marriage ends (Article 97(3) of the Family Code): in what shares, which assets go to whom, whether compensation is paid. Courts distinguish this from a prohibited transfer of title: if the contract sets a division mechanism for the future rather than transferring title to a specific registered asset today, it complies with the law (Supreme Court, case No. 200/1546/19). A division clause only takes effect once the marriage actually ends, and until the division happens the other spouse acquires no rights to the property under it (ruling of 30 April 2024, case No. 947/28025/20).

Use of housing

If housing belongs to one spouse, the contract can set the terms on which the other spouse and any children use it, as well as the terms for vacating it after divorce — with or without monetary compensation (Article 98 of the Family Code). This prevents a situation where a former spouse retains the right to live for years in an apartment that is not theirs.

Spousal support and property matters concerning children

By law, only a spouse who is unable to work and needs financial help is entitled to support (Article 75 of the Family Code). A contract can establish support regardless of those conditions, set its amount and duration, and provide for the right to support to end in exchange for a lump-sum payment (Article 99(1)–(3) of the Family Code). In case No. 761/46925/18 (ruling of 17 June 2020), the court ordered a husband to pay compensation equivalent to $225,000, which the contract had provided for on divorce after three years of marriage — the court upheld the clause as lawful. As for children, the contract may address only the parents' property obligations: who contributes how much toward their maintenance, education, and medical care (Article 93(2) of the Family Code).

What you cannot include in a marriage contract

Article 93 of the Family Code sets out four prohibitions. Breaching any of them is grounds for declaring the contract, or a specific clause, invalid.

The spouses' personal relationship

A contract cannot govern the couple's personal relationship, or the personal relationship between them and their children (Article 93(3) of the Family Code). Clauses about marital fidelity, division of household duties, the children's religious upbringing, or the family's place of residence carry no legal force, and a court cannot compel compliance with them. The same goes for a financial "penalty" tied to personal conduct — for example, reducing one spouse's share of the property as a consequence of infidelity: that indirectly regulates the personal relationship.

Terms that limit or reduce a child's rights

A child's rights to support, housing, and contact with both parents are set by law and cannot be reduced by an agreement between the parents (Article 93(4) of the Family Code). An agreement on which parent the child will live with after divorce does not belong in a marriage contract — determining the child's place of residence and the terms of contact with the other parent is handled by a separate agreement between the parents, or by a court, based on the child's interests at the time of the dispute (Articles 109, 160–161 of the Family Code). Child support can be set by contract, but never below the statutory minimum under Article 182 of the Family Code.

Terms that put one spouse in an extremely disadvantageous financial position

This is the most common ground for challenging a marriage contract, and also the least precisely defined. The Supreme Court has consistently held that "extremely disadvantageous financial position" is an evaluative category that must be proven by the party relying on it (ruling of 26 February 2020, case No. 755/19197/18). Unequal shares, or opting out of joint ownership entirely, is not on its own enough: the law expressly allows fully excluding joint property. The line is crossed where one spouse ends up receiving, in effect, everything acquired during the marriage while the other is left without any compensation. Courts have struck down such terms in cases No. 755/19197/18 and No. 320/3970/18 (ruling of 28 April 2021): a contract may set a distinctive division mechanism, but not a discriminatory clause handing one side everything unconditionally.

Transferring title to property subject to state registration

A marriage contract cannot transfer to one spouse title to real estate or other property subject to state registration (Article 93(5) of the Family Code). Case law draws a line between two scenarios. If the contract sets the regime for property to be acquired after the contract is signed, that is a lawful property-regime clause, not a transfer of title (case No. 200/1546/19; case No. 755/5802/20). But if the contract declares as one spouse's personal property an apartment or vehicle already bought during the marriage with joint funds and already registered, that is a transfer of title around the law, and the clause is void (Supreme Court, ruling of 28 April 2021, case No. 320/3970/18). Already-acquired property needs a separate property-division or gift agreement, with its own state registration of title.

How to sign a marriage contract

Preparing and negotiating the terms

The work starts not with drafting text, but with an inventory of assets and scenarios: what each spouse owned before the marriage, what is planned to be acquired, how the business is financed, whether there are loans, whether one spouse will be temporarily without income while caring for children. A clause is drafted for each scenario, and the whole text is then checked against Article 93 of the Family Code and for balance — so the contract cannot be found to put one side in an extremely disadvantageous position. If the contract is drafted by one party's attorney, the other party should have it reviewed by their own advisor: an independent review makes it harder to later claim deception or a misunderstanding of the terms.

Documents typically required

The notary will need both parties' passports and tax identification numbers, a marriage certificate or confirmation that a marriage application has been filed, and documents for any property named in the contract (title extracts, vehicle registration certificates, documents on shareholdings). For a minor party marrying with court permission, a court decision granting the right to marry and notarized parental consent are required. For foreign nationals, a passport with a notarized translation. The exact list depends on the contract's content and is confirmed with the notary.

Who can notarize a marriage contract

The contract must be in writing and notarized (Article 94 of the Family Code). Any state or private notary in Ukraine can certify it, and abroad, a consular officer with the relevant authority can do so. Without notarization, the contract is void (Article 220 of the Civil Code): it has no legal force at all, and neither spouse can rely on it, either between themselves or against third parties.

When a marriage contract takes effect

For an engaged couple, it takes effect on the day the marriage is registered; for spouses, on the day it is notarized (Article 95 of the Family Code). The contract can set an overall term, terms for particular rights and obligations, and can also provide that the contract or specific terms remain in force after the marriage ends (Article 96 of the Family Code).

Marriage contracts and the Family Code of Ukraine

Which articles of the Family Code govern marriage contracts

The Civil Code applies on a subsidiary basis: Articles 203 and 215–236 on the invalidity of transactions, Articles 3 and 13 on good faith and the prohibition on abuse of rights, and Articles 626–654 on contracts generally (Article 8 of the Family Code).

Marriage contract sample and example clauses

Typical structure

A typical contract includes: a preamble naming the parties and referencing the marriage or the marriage application; a statement that the parties are modifying the default regime under Article 60 of the Family Code; a section on the property regime (pre-marital property, property acquired during the marriage, gifts, inheritance, income, business); a section on division on divorce; terms on housing and support; parents' property obligations toward children; the term and how it can be amended; and closing provisions. Length typically runs 4–8 pages. A contract that describes the property regime in a single sentence leaves far too much open to a court's interpretation.

Sample clause language

The wording below illustrates the underlying logic — it is not ready-made language to copy. Each of these needs to be reconciled with the rest of the contract and with the parties' actual situation.

Sample real-estate clause

Sample business-and-income clause

Sample loans-and-debt clause

Why an off-the-shelf template is a bad idea

Disputes that reach the Supreme Court almost always trace back to boilerplate wording. "Bank deposits" instead of "funds" — and cash in a safe-deposit box ends up joint property (case No. 751/8408/20). A clause about property "to be acquired," with no mention of an apartment bought earlier — and the apartment gets split in half (case No. 686/30682/23). A clause making all registered property "acquired before the execution of this contract" someone's separate property — struck down under Article 93(5) of the Family Code (case No. 320/3970/18). A template pulled from the internet does not know what the parties actually have or what they are trying to achieve, so at best it fails to do its job, and at worst it becomes the basis for years of litigation.

Term and effect after divorce

If the contract does not state a term, it remains in force for the duration of the marriage. The parties can set an overall term, terms for specific provisions, and can expressly provide that the contract or particular terms remain in force after the marriage ends (Article 96 of the Family Code). Terms on property division, compensation, vacating housing, and support after divorce are, by their nature, meant to apply after the marriage ends — a court applies them in a property-division or debt-collection case. The Supreme Court has confirmed that a contract excluding the joint-property regime also covers property whose title is registered after the divorce, if it was acquired during the marriage (ruling of 5 March 2025, case No. 362/1998/23).

Amending or terminating a marriage contract

Amendment by mutual consent

A unilateral change to the terms is not permitted (Article 100(1) of the Family Code). By mutual consent, the spouses sign an amendment agreement, notarized in the same manner as the original contract. If there is no consent, either spouse may seek a court-ordered amendment if their own interests, or those of the couple's children or of an incapacitated adult son or daughter, require it and are material (Article 100(3) of the Family Code). In practice, courts grant such claims rarely, and only where a material change of circumstances is proven.

Terminating a marriage contract

Spouses may jointly withdraw from the contract by a joint notarial application; the rights and obligations it created end either from the date it was signed or from the date the application is filed, at the spouses' choice (Article 101 of the Family Code). At the request of either spouse, a court may terminate the contract on material grounds, including where performance has become impossible (Article 102 of the Family Code). Simply not wanting to perform a contract that has become unfavorable is not a material ground: the principle that a contract is binding applies to marriage contracts too (ruling of 5 March 2025, case No. 362/1998/23).

Declaring a marriage contract invalid, and challenging it

Who may challenge a marriage contract

A claim may be filed by either spouse, or by another person whose rights and interests the contract violates (Article 103 of the Family Code). That "other person" is most often a creditor of one spouse who discovers that the debtor's property has been shifted to the other spouse by the contract. The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court has confirmed that a state or private enforcement officer may bring such a claim in the interests of the judgment creditor (Grand Chamber ruling of 10 September 2025, case No. 367/252/24). The contract can also be challenged by heirs if it reduces the estate.

No limitation period applies to a claim to declare a marriage contract invalid — the Supreme Court derived this from Article 20 of the Family Code, which contains an exhaustive list of family-law claims to which a limitation period does apply (Supreme Court, case No. 757/10715/17-ц).

Grounds for invalidity

The contract is challenged on the grounds set out in the Civil Code (Article 103 of the Family Code). The Supreme Court additionally requires that the claimant's right must already have been violated at the moment the contract was signed, not have arisen later through a change of circumstances (ruling of 10 May 2022, case No. 755/5802/20).

Breach of statutory requirements

A contract's content cannot conflict with the law or with the moral foundations of society (Article 203(1) of the Civil Code). This covers every breach of Article 93 of the Family Code: regulating a personal relationship, reducing a child's rights, transferring already-registered property. Either a single clause or the entire contract may be declared invalid, if the contract would not have been signed without that clause (Article 217 of the Civil Code).

Absence of free will

A contract signed under deception, duress, a grave circumstance, or a mistake as to a material term can be challenged under Articles 229–233 of the Civil Code. This is hard to prove: the notary explains the contract's content to both parties, and the text usually records that the parties understand its consequences. Not knowing the law, or misunderstanding it, is not treated as a mistake (Supreme Court, ruling of 18 March 2020, case No. 323/2196/17-ц).

An extremely disadvantageous financial position

As noted above, this is an evaluative category. The claimant must prove with concrete evidence — a list and valuation of assets, income data — that the contract leaves them without a material part of what was acquired during the marriage, with no equivalent in return. Courts reject bare claims that a contract is "unfair" without such a calculation (cases No. 755/5802/20 and No. 759/23521/20).

Sham contracts and other defects

A separate category of disputes involves contracts signed to shield property from creditors. The Supreme Court treats these as fraudulent: spouses who agree to separate their property after a loan repayment deadline has passed, or after being sued for the debt, are acting in bad faith and abusing their rights (Articles 3 and 13 of the Civil Code), and the contract is declared invalid (Supreme Court ruling of 16 September 2022, case No. 522/23757/17, and 22 October 2025, case No. 755/3563/21). The telltale signs are the timing of the contract and the fact that it makes it impossible to collect against the debtor's property.

How a challenge proceeds in court

The claim is filed with the local general court at the defendant's registered address, under civil procedure. Alongside the invalidity claim, the parties usually also seek property division or a declaration of title, and creditors seek a determination of the debtor's share in joint property. Before a decision is issued, the claimant can ask the court to secure the claim — for example, by prohibiting disposal of the disputed property. An attorney represents a client on the basis of a legal-services agreement and a bar-issued warrant, so the client does not need to appear at hearings in person.

What evidence matters

Relevant evidence includes: the text of the contract and the circumstances of its notarization; documents on each spouse's property and income as of the date the contract was signed and as of the date of the dispute; documents on the source of funds used to acquire property; for creditors — the loan or credit agreement, the court decision awarding the debt, and the date the debt arose relative to the date of the marriage contract; correspondence showing the parties' awareness of the terms; and medical records where incapacity to understand one's actions is at issue. Courts view witness testimony about "pressure," unsupported by documents, with skepticism.

Consequences of a marriage contract being declared invalid

An invalid contract creates no legal consequences (Article 216 of the Civil Code). The statutory regime then applies to the spouses' property — joint ownership under Article 60 of the Family Code, with a presumption of equal shares on division. If registration actions were already taken based on the contract, the court can restore the position that existed before the violation. For a creditor, this opens the way to have the debtor's share in the joint property determined and to enforce against it.

What the case law shows about marriage contracts

What courts focus on

The overall thrust of the case law: courts respect a marital agreement that sets a regime for future property and leaves each side a genuine property interest, and refuse to protect a contract used as a tool to strip one spouse of everything acquired, or to dodge a debt.

Wording that tends to backfire

Experience with these disputes points to a handful of recurring risky phrases. "All property acquired during the marriage belongs to the Husband" — with no compensation or carve-out for the other spouse — a court treats as an extremely disadvantageous position. "The apartment at ___, purchased in 2019, is the Wife's separate property," in a contract signed in 2024 — a transfer of already-acquired registered property, prohibited under Article 93(5) of the Family Code. "Bank deposits are separate property," with no mention of cash, safe-deposit boxes, e-money, or crypto-assets — a gap that a court fills with the default joint-property regime. "In the event of infidelity, the at-fault spouse forfeits their share" — regulation of the personal relationship. A contract signed after receiving a creditor's demand letter, or after enforcement proceedings have opened, risks being classified as fraudulent regardless of its content.

Who should consider a marriage contract

Business owners and entrepreneurs

Without a contract, a stake in a company, a sole proprietor's business assets, and business income can all become subject to division, and the other spouse can end up party to a corporate dispute. A contract keeps business assets with whoever runs them and sets compensation for the other spouse — predictable for both spouses and for business partners.

Owners of real estate and significant assets

Pre-marital property is protected by law, but its "footprint" within the marriage — reinvested funds, renovations paid for jointly, a new apartment bought after selling an old one — is no longer obvious. A contract fixes that property bought with personal funds stays personal, and removes the need to prove the source of funds in court years later.

Second marriages

Where there are children from an earlier marriage, a contract lets the couple ring-fence the property that should pass to those children from the property of the new family, avoiding a situation where the other spouse's share of joint property shrinks the children's inheritance. A marriage contract works together with a will: the contract fixes what is personal property, the will fixes who it goes to.

International families

If one spouse is a foreign national, or the family lives abroad, property in Ukraine is by default subject to the Ukrainian joint-property regime, while property abroad is governed by the law of the other country. A contract under Ukrainian law sets the regime for the Ukrainian assets and, if properly executed, can be recognized by a foreign court as the parties' agreement. For clients based outside Ukraine, the attorney prepares the draft contract remotely, and the signing is arranged before a notary in Ukraine or at a consulate — bearing in mind that the contract cannot be signed through a representative.