Divorce in Ukraine:
documents, court, cost

A marriage in Ukraine can be dissolved at any time, and the will of one spouse is sufficient for that. Whether the other spouse agrees to the divorce and whether the spouses have common minor children determines which authority to apply to and in which procedure the marriage is dissolved. The absence of the other spouse's consent does not take away the right to divorce; it only means that the case goes to court instead of the civil registry office. If the spouses have no children and have agreed to dissolve the marriage, it can be dissolved without going to court: the spouses file a joint application with the civil registry office in person or electronically in the Diia app, and once one month has passed from the filing date the marriage is dissolved unless either spouse withdraws the application (Art. 106 of the Family Code of Ukraine; Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1282 of 08.10.2025). Without going to court, but on the application of one spouse only, the civil registry office also dissolves a marriage where a court has declared the other spouse missing or legally incapable (Art. 107 of the Family Code of Ukraine).

If the spouses have common minor children, only a court can dissolve the marriage, even where both consent. In that case the spouses file a joint application with the court together with a written agreement setting out with whom the children will live and how the parent living separately will take part in their maintenance and upbringing (Art. 109 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Where there is no consent, that is, the other spouse objects to the divorce, avoids filing a joint application or their whereabouts are unknown, the spouse who wishes to dissolve the marriage files a claim with the court (Art. 110–112 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Together with the claim for divorce, the claimant may seek child support, determination of the child's place of residence, division of the spouses' joint property and restoration of the pre-marital surname. Until 19 December 2024 a divorce claim could not be filed during the wife's pregnancy or within one year after the birth of a child, but that ban was repealed by Law of Ukraine No. 4073-IX of 20.11.2024, so the wife's pregnancy or the child's age is no longer an obstacle to filing a claim.

For a court divorce the client's personal presence in Ukraine is not required. The lawyer, acting under an agreement on professional legal assistance and a warrant issued by the law firm, prepares and files the statement of claim, obtains the necessary documents and represents the client at hearings. The Supreme Court has confirmed that a representative of one spouse is entitled to sign and file a divorce claim (Supreme Court ruling of 07.04.2025 in case No. 757/10360/23-ц). If the client wishes to take part in the hearing personally, they may do so by videoconference from their own device, including from abroad (Art. 212 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine).

Divorce in Ukraine: what to know before going to court

Before applying to a court, it is worth establishing whether the case belongs in court at all. Spouses without common children who have agreed to divorce file a joint application with the civil registry office. A dispute over property does not prevent the registry office from dissolving the marriage, because such a dispute is resolved separately: by concluding an agreement between the spouses or on a claim for division of joint property. If one spouse cannot appear at the registry office in person for a valid reason, the other spouse may file the application on their behalf, provided the absent spouse's signature has been certified by a notary (Part 1 of Art. 106 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Going to court is therefore necessary in only three situations: where the spouses have common minor children, where one spouse does not consent to the divorce, or where filing a joint application with the registry office is impossible.

The other spouse's consent also determines which document is filed with the court. Spouses with children who have agreed to divorce file a joint application, and the case is heard in special (non-contentious) proceedings, that is, without a dispute between the parties. The application is accompanied by a written agreement on the children's place of residence and the separately living parent's participation in their maintenance and upbringing. If the agreement fixes the amount of child support, it must be notarised, and should it not be performed, child support is recovered under a notary's writ of execution without a further application to the court. The court issues the divorce judgment no earlier than one month after the application is filed, and until then either spouse may withdraw it (Art. 109 of the Family Code of Ukraine). If there is no consent, the case proceeds as contentious litigation on the claim of the spouse who wishes to dissolve the marriage.

A divorce claim allows other matters connected with the end of the family relationship to be resolved in the same proceedings. In addition to the divorce itself, the statement of claim may include claims for:

• child support, and, where grounds exist, maintenance of the spouse with whom a child under three years of age lives;
• determination of the child's place of residence;
• determination of how the parent living separately takes part in the child's upbringing;
• division of the spouses' joint property;
• restoration of the pre-marital surname (Art. 113 of the Family Code of Ukraine).

At the same time, before the hearing on the merits begins, the court may separate some of the claims into distinct proceedings if hearing them together complicates the case (Part 6 of Art. 188 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). In that event the marriage may be dissolved before the court rules on, for example, the child support dispute. Division of property does not happen automatically upon divorce, so it requires a separate claim, either within the same statement of claim or in a separate action. Until the property is divided, it remains in the joint ownership of the former spouses, and neither may dispose of it without the other's consent (Art. 65, 68 of the Family Code of Ukraine).

The duration of the case depends on identifying the correct court. As a general rule, a divorce claim is filed at the registered place of residence or stay of the respondent. The claimant may file at their own registered place of residence if they support minor children or cannot travel to the respondent's place of residence for health or other valid reasons. By agreement between the spouses, the case may be heard at the registered place of residence of either of them (Part 2 of Art. 28 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). If the respondent has no place of residence in Ukraine or their address is unknown, the claim is filed at the location of their property or at their last known registered place of residence in Ukraine (Parts 9 and 10 of Art. 28 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine; Supreme Court ruling of 07.04.2025 in case No. 757/10360/23-ц). A claim filed in breach of the jurisdiction rules is transferred by the court to the proper court, which extends the duration of the case.

The court dissolves the marriage on the claim of one spouse if it finds that continued cohabitation and preservation of the marriage would be contrary to the interests of one of them or to the interests of their children in a way that has material significance. To that end the court examines the actual relationship between the spouses and the real reasons for the claim, and takes into account the presence of a young child, a child with a disability and other circumstances of the spouses' life (Art. 112 of the Family Code of Ukraine). The court takes the respondent's objection into account, but in itself it is not a ground for dismissing the claim, since the law treats compelling a person to remain in a marital relationship as a violation of the right to liberty and personal inviolability (Art. 56 of the Family Code of Ukraine). The court may, however, grant the spouses a period for reconciliation not exceeding six months and stay the proceedings for that time (Art. 111 of the Family Code of Ukraine; Part 7 of Art. 240 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). Granting such a period is a right of the court, not an obligation, so the court decides the question with regard to the parties' positions and the circumstances of the case (Supreme Court ruling of 30.05.2019 in case No. 442/6319/16-ц). If one spouse has committed domestic violence, the court takes no reconciliation measures, regardless of the stage of any criminal, civil or administrative-offence proceedings concerning that violence (Part 2 of Art. 111 of the Family Code of Ukraine).

A marriage dissolved by a court terminates on the day the judgment enters into force (Part 2 of Art. 114 of the Family Code of Ukraine). The judgment enters into force if it is not appealed within the time limit for appeal, so a new marriage can be registered only after that time limit expires. Information on the divorce granted by a court is entered into the State Register of Civil Status Acts. An extract on the dissolution of marriage is issued by the civil registry office and can also be ordered online in the Diia app or portal.

Ways to dissolve a marriage

The Family Code provides two procedures for dissolving a marriage: an administrative one, at the civil registry office, and a judicial one. Which applies depends not on the spouses' wishes but on two facts: whether they have common minor children and whether both agree to the divorce. The procedure also determines when the marriage ends: in the administrative procedure the marriage terminates on the day the divorce is registered, and in the judicial procedure on the day the judgment enters into force (Art. 114 of the Family Code of Ukraine).

Through the civil registry office — on a joint application, if there are no common children

Spouses who have no common minor children are entitled to file a joint application for divorce with the civil registry office. The registry office does not examine the reasons for the divorce and takes no reconciliation measures: its task is to check the documents and register the dissolution of the marriage. The application is filed with the registry office at the place of residence of either spouse, and time runs from the day it is registered. Once one month has passed, unless the application has been withdrawn, the registry office draws up the civil status record of divorce and issues a divorce certificate (Part 2 of Art. 106 of the Family Code of Ukraine). If one spouse cannot appear in person, the other spouse files the application on their behalf and the absent spouse's signature is certified by a notary (Part 1 of Art. 106 of the Family Code of Ukraine).

Since 2026, spouses without common children have been able to divorce online without visiting a registry office. The service operates as a pilot project introduced by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1282 of 08.10.2025. One spouse submits the application in the Diia app and the other confirms consent with an electronic signature in the app; both must have their marriage record in Diia, a tax identification number and an ID card or biometric foreign passport. The divorce is registered during a videoconference with a registry office officer no earlier than one month after the application is submitted, and the application may be withdrawn no later than four hours before the videoconference starts. The certificate is sent by post within Ukraine only. Since the project is a pilot scheduled for two years, the ordinary procedure at a registry office remains available to everyone.

In the administrative procedure a marriage is also dissolved on the application of one spouse alone, but only in two cases: where a court has declared the other spouse missing or legally incapable (Art. 107 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Until 2010 this procedure also applied to a spouse sentenced to imprisonment, but that ground was removed from the Code by Law of Ukraine No. 2398-VI of 01.07.2010, so a divorce from a person serving a sentence proceeds in court under the general rules. After the divorce is registered at the registry office, the spouses must in fact stop living together. If they continue to live as one family, an interested person may apply to a court to have the divorce declared fictitious (Art. 108 of the Family Code of Ukraine).

Through the court — if there are children or the other spouse does not consent

A court dissolves a marriage in one of two forms. If the spouses have common children but both agree to divorce, they file a joint application accompanied by a written agreement on the children's place of residence, the separately living parent's participation in providing for their living conditions and the terms on which that parent exercises the right to personal upbringing. An agreement on the amount of child support must be notarised (Art. 109 of the Family Code of Ukraine). The court hears such a case in special proceedings, does not examine the reasons for the divorce and issues its judgment no earlier than one month after the application is filed. If one spouse does not consent, avoids filing a joint application or their whereabouts are unknown, the other spouse files a claim and the case proceeds as contentious litigation (Art. 110 of the Family Code of Ukraine).

Contentious divorce proceedings may be either general or simplified. As a rule, disputes arising from family relations are not heard in simplified proceedings, but the law makes an exception for divorce and division of marital property (Item 1 of Part 4 of Art. 274 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). For the court to hear the case in the simplified procedure, a motion to that effect must be included in the statement of claim itself or filed together with it (Part 1 of Art. 276 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). Simplified proceedings have no preparatory hearing, and the court hears the case within a reasonable time, but no later than sixty days from the opening of proceedings (Art. 275 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). If the claim combines demands that cannot be heard in the simplified procedure, in particular determination of a child's place of residence, the case proceeds under the rules of general contentious proceedings with a preparatory hearing.

Whatever the form of proceedings, the document certifying a court divorce is the judgment that has entered into force (Art. 115 of the Family Code of Ukraine). The registry office does not issue a divorce certificate in that case. On the basis of the judgment, the information is entered into the State Register of Civil Status Acts, and an extract from the register can be obtained when needed. For use of the judgment abroad, an apostille is affixed to it, as described below.

Is the other spouse's consent required for divorce

The other spouse's consent is not a condition of divorce. Each spouse has the right to file a claim regardless of the other's position (Part 1 of Art. 110 of the Family Code of Ukraine), and the other spouse's refusal merely moves the case from the registry office to the court. In court the respondent may object to the claim and ask for a reconciliation period, but the court grants the divorce if it finds that continued cohabitation and preservation of the marriage would be contrary to the interests of one spouse or of their children (Part 2 of Art. 112 of the Family Code of Ukraine). The claimant does not need to prove the respondent's fault: it is enough to show that the family has in fact broken down, no common household is kept and further cohabitation is impossible.

A respondent's lack of consent most often takes the form not of objections but of non-appearance. If the respondent has been duly notified of the date, time and place of the hearing, fails to appear without valid reasons or without notifying the court of any, has not filed a statement of defence, and the claimant does not object, the court issues a judgment in absentia on the evidence in the case file (Art. 280 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). A respondent whose registered place of residence is unknown is notified by an announcement on the official website of the judiciary of Ukraine and is thereafter deemed duly notified (Part 11 of Art. 128 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). The respondent may ask the same court to review a judgment in absentia, but must prove that the reasons for non-appearance were valid and produce evidence capable of affecting the outcome (Art. 284–288 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine).

The respondent can affect the duration of the case mainly by a motion for a reconciliation period. The court may stay the proceedings for up to six months, but in doing so assesses whether there is a real prospect of saving the family (Art. 111 of the Family Code of Ukraine; Part 7 of Art. 240 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). The Supreme Court has clarified that granting such a period is a right of the court rather than its duty, and that the court may not compel spouses to live together or demand evidence of breaches of family duties (Supreme Court ruling of 30.05.2019 in case No. 442/6319/16-ц). If, after the period expires, at least one spouse insists on the divorce, the court hears the case on the merits. In a divorce without the other spouse's consent, the lawyer's work therefore consists of duly notifying the respondent, substantiating that the family cannot be saved, and opposing an unjustified stay of the proceedings.

When divorce is impossible or restricted by law

Current legislation contains no prohibition on divorce as such: a marriage may be dissolved at any time at the request of at least one spouse. Restrictions concern only the procedure. Thus, the civil registry office may not dissolve the marriage of spouses who have common minor children, nor dissolve a marriage on the application of one spouse except where the other has been declared missing or legally incapable (Art. 106, 107 of the Family Code of Ukraine). A marriage with a person serving a prison sentence is dissolved only by a court. In all these cases divorce is possible, but requires a court judgment.

A separate procedure applies to marriages registered in temporarily occupied territories. A civil status record drawn up by an occupation administration has no legal effect for Ukraine, so before such a marriage can be dissolved the interested person applies to a court in special proceedings to establish the fact of registration of the marriage in the temporarily occupied territory. Only after the court establishes that fact and the information is entered into the register is an application or claim for divorce filed. A marriage registered by Ukrainian authorities before the occupation is dissolved under the general rules, and a copy of the civil status record, where needed, is obtained by the lawyer through a lawyer's request to the registry office.

The wife's pregnancy and a child under one year old

Until 19 December 2024 the Family Code prohibited filing a divorce claim during the wife's pregnancy and within one year after the birth of a child. The exceptions were cases where one spouse had committed unlawful conduct with signs of a criminal offence against the other spouse or the child, or where another person had acknowledged paternity of the child. These restrictions were set out in Parts 2–4 of Art. 110 of the Family Code of Ukraine and in practice forced spouses to wait more than a year even where neither saw any prospect of saving the family. Law of Ukraine No. 4073-IX of 20.11.2024, which entered into force on 19 December 2024, removed those parts from Art. 110 of the Family Code of Ukraine.

The wife's pregnancy or the birth of a child no longer prevents either the husband or the wife from filing a divorce claim. The same law supplemented Art. 111 of the Family Code of Ukraine: the court takes no reconciliation measures if one spouse has committed domestic violence, regardless of whether criminal or administrative-offence proceedings have been concluded. The court still takes pregnancy and a young child into account when deciding whether to grant a reconciliation period and when awarding maintenance to the wife. Where other websites still mention a ban on divorce during pregnancy, they refer to a version of the Code that is no longer in force.

Divorce when there is a common child

Having a common minor child means that only a court can dissolve the marriage, but it does not mean that there must be a dispute between the spouses. If the parents have reached agreement on all matters concerning the child, they file a joint application together with a written agreement on the child's place of residence and participation in their maintenance and upbringing (Art. 109 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Such an agreement allows matters concerning the child to be settled without a court dispute, because the court checks only that it does not violate the child's rights and does not examine the reasons for the divorce. An agreement on child support is notarised, and if it is not performed, the support is recovered under a notary's writ of execution.

If there is no agreement, matters concerning the child are decided by the court together with the divorce or in a separate case. The place of residence of a child under ten is determined by agreement of the parents, of a child aged ten to fourteen by joint agreement of the parents and the child, and a child who has reached fourteen chooses independently which parent to live with (Art. 160 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Failing agreement, the dispute is resolved by the court, which takes into account the parents' attitude to performing their duties, the child's personal attachment to each of them, the child's age, health and other circumstances of material significance (Art. 161 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Neither parent has priority on the basis of gender alone: the best interests of the child are of paramount importance (Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court ruling of 17.10.2018 in case No. 402/428/16-ц).

In disputes over a child's place of residence and participation in upbringing, the guardianship authority must take part and submit a written opinion to the court on how the dispute should be resolved (Parts 4 and 5 of Art. 19 of the Family Code of Ukraine). The court is not bound by that opinion, but must give reasons for disagreeing with it. Preparation for such a case therefore starts before the claim is filed, with gathering evidence of living conditions, employment and each parent's involvement in the child's life. If a claim for determination of the child's place of residence is combined with the divorce claim, the case is heard in general contentious proceedings, and the court may separate that claim into distinct proceedings so as not to delay the divorce (Part 6 of Art. 188 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine).

How to file for divorce

The method of filing depends on where the application goes and where the applicant is. A joint application to the civil registry office is filed in person or electronically in the Diia app, while a statement of claim is filed at the court registry, by post or electronically in the Electronic Court subsystem. Clients abroad most often file with the help of a lawyer, since this requires neither a personal visit nor an electronic account of their own.

In person at the court or the civil registry office

The spouses file a joint divorce application at the civil registry office in person, presenting their passports and the marriage certificate. If one spouse cannot appear, their signature on the application is certified by a notary and the application is filed by the other spouse (Part 1 of Art. 106 of the Family Code of Ukraine). A statement of claim is filed with the court in writing at the registry or sent by post. It must meet the requirements of Art. 175 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine: state the name of the court, details of the parties, the circumstances on which the claim is based, the evidence, the list of attached documents and whether the parties have an electronic account. Copies of the claim and of all documents for the respondent are attached, together with proof of payment of the court fee (Art. 177 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). If the statement of claim is defective, the court leaves it without action and sets a deadline for curing the defects, and only after they are cured does it open proceedings.

Through the Electronic Court

The Electronic Court subsystem of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System allows a claim to be filed, court orders and summonses to be received and the case file to be reviewed without visiting the court. For individuals, registering an electronic account is voluntary, whereas lawyers are required to have one and to file documents in it (Part 6 of Art. 14 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). A qualified electronic signature is needed to log in and sign documents. A claim filed electronically is deemed filed on the day it arrives in the system, and summonses and judgments are delivered to the electronic account, which speeds up the exchange of documents.

If the claimant has no electronic account of their own, the lawyer files the documents on their behalf from the lawyer's account, stating the representative's details in the claim and attaching the warrant. In the same way the lawyer receives all court orders and monitors the progress of the case in real time. This matters for clients who are abroad or do not hold a qualified electronic signature issued by a Ukrainian provider. The client learns of every court order and scheduled hearing from the lawyer and receives copies of procedural documents electronically.

Remotely, while abroad

A client abroad who wishes to divorce in Ukraine needs only to conclude an agreement on professional legal assistance with the law firm. The agreement is signed remotely, after which the firm issues a warrant confirming the lawyer's authority before the court. The Supreme Court has confirmed that a representative is entitled to sign and file a divorce claim on behalf of one spouse (Supreme Court ruling of 07.04.2025 in case No. 757/10360/23-ц). The lawyer then prepares the claim, obtains any missing documents, files the claim electronically and attends the hearings.

The client's personal attendance at the hearing is not required, but if they wish they may take part by videoconference outside the court premises using their own equipment and electronic signature. The application for such participation is filed no later than five days before the hearing, and the risk of technical inability to participate rests with the applicant (Art. 212 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). If both spouses live outside Ukraine, the court that will hear the case is designated by the Supreme Court on the claimant's application (Art. 29 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine), and only then is the claim filed with the designated court. Documents issued abroad require legalisation or an apostille and a translation into Ukrainian before they can be filed with a Ukrainian court.

Which documents are required for a divorce

The list of documents depends on the divorce procedure and the claims made. For a joint application to the civil registry office, the spouses' passports and the marriage certificate are sufficient. To file a divorce claim with a court, the following are required:

• a copy of the claimant's passport and tax identification number;
• the marriage certificate or an extract on the marriage from the State Register of Civil Status Acts;
• birth certificates of common children;
• information on the respondent's registered place of residence;
• documents confirming the circumstances relied on by the claimant: separate residence, absence of a common household, domestic violence if it occurred;
• proof of payment of the court fee;
• the agreement on professional legal assistance and the warrant, if the claim is filed by a lawyer.

If the claim includes child support, the child's place of residence or division of property, documents relating to those claims are attached: income statements, title documents for property, evidence of the child's living conditions. A marriage certificate that has been lost or remains with the other spouse is replaced by an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts, which is issued by the civil registry office or can be ordered in Diia. Missing documents are obtained by the lawyer through a lawyer's request. Documents held by the other spouse or third parties are demanded by the court on a party's motion (Art. 84 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine).

Documents issued by foreign authorities, including a certificate of a marriage registered abroad, are recognised as valid in Ukraine after legalisation, unless an international treaty provides otherwise (Art. 13 of the Law of Ukraine "On Private International Law"). For states party to the 1961 Hague Convention, legalisation is replaced by an apostille. Such documents are filed with the court with a notarised translation into Ukrainian. If the marriage was registered abroad and not entered into the Ukrainian register, the foreign certificate with an apostille and translation is sufficient for the court, and no separate registration of the marriage in Ukraine is needed before the divorce.

How much a divorce costs

The cost of a divorce consists of the court fee, the lawyer's fees and the cost of obtaining documents after the judgment. Each component depends on the divorce procedure, the number of claims and whether the judgment will be used in Ukraine or abroad. The current cost of the law firm's services is set out in the price section of this page.

Cost of legal representation

The cost of representation is determined by the scope of work rather than the number of hearings. A divorce on a joint application with children and a divorce on a claim without the consent of a respondent living abroad differ in the amount of work several times over: the second involves preparing evidence, notifying the respondent with the help of the competent authorities of a foreign state and attending more hearings. An assessment of the prospects of the case and the scope of work is therefore provided before the agreement is concluded, after the client's documents have been reviewed. Where claims for division of property, child support or the child's place of residence are combined with the divorce, they are assessed as separate lines of work.

Court fee and obtaining a copy of the judgment

A court fee is payable on filing a divorce claim; its amount is set by the Law of Ukraine "On Court Fees" and changes every year. The court fee is paid for each claim separately: for the divorce as a non-pecuniary claim, and for division of property with regard to the value of the claim. Claimants in child support cases are exempt from the court fee (Item 3 of Part 1 of Art. 5 of the Law of Ukraine "On Court Fees"). The court fee paid by the claimant is recovered from the respondent if the claim is granted (Art. 141 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine).

After the judgment is issued, the court sends a copy to the parties and, once it enters into force, issues a copy bearing the corresponding endorsement. It is the copy endorsed as having entered into force that certifies the fact of divorce (Art. 115 of the Family Code of Ukraine), and it is this copy that is needed for an apostille, an extract from the register and registration of a new marriage. The full text of the judgment is also published in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions with personal data anonymised. The lawyer obtains the endorsed copy at the court or in the electronic account, so the client does not need to visit the court in person.

Apostille on a divorce judgment

For a Ukrainian divorce judgment to be recognised abroad, an apostille is affixed to it. Apostilles on documents issued by courts and justice authorities, including civil registry offices, are affixed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. The original judgment or a copy certified by the court, endorsed as having entered into force, is submitted for that purpose. After the apostille is affixed, the judgment is translated into the language of the state where it will be used and the translation is notarised. For states that are not party to the 1961 Hague Convention, consular legalisation is carried out instead of an apostille.

An apostille is also affixed to the divorce certificate or register extract where the marriage was dissolved by the civil registry office. The entire procedure, from obtaining the copy of the judgment at the court to the apostille and translation, is carried out by the lawyer without the client's involvement, and the finished documents are sent abroad. Whether an apostilled judgment is sufficient for recognition of the divorce in a particular state depends on that state's law. Some countries require an additional recognition procedure, which the lawyer flags during the initial analysis. Details of the procedure are set out on the service page "Apostille and legalization".

How long a divorce takes

At the civil registry office or in the Diia app, a marriage is dissolved once one month has passed from the date the application is filed (Part 2 of Art. 106 of the Family Code of Ukraine). This period is not shortened even where both spouses agree, since the law reserves it for a possible withdrawal of the application. A court divorce on a joint application by spouses with children also takes at least a month, since the court may not issue its judgment earlier (Part 3 of Art. 109 of the Family Code of Ukraine). In practice the timing depends on the date of the scheduled hearing and on whether all documents have reached the court.

In contentious proceedings the timing depends on the form of hearing. In simplified proceedings the court hears the case within a reasonable time, but no later than sixty days from the opening of proceedings (Art. 275 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). In general proceedings the preparatory stage lasts up to sixty days and the hearing on the merits up to thirty days after it ends (Part 3 of Art. 189, Part 1 of Art. 210 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). After the judgment is issued, a thirty-day period for appeal runs, and only after it expires does the judgment enter into force and the marriage terminate (Art. 273, 354 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine; Part 2 of Art. 114 of the Family Code of Ukraine).

Three circumstances lengthen the actual timeline. The first is a reconciliation period, which the court may grant for up to six months (Art. 111 of the Family Code of Ukraine). The second is notification of a respondent living abroad: if the address is known, the summons is served by the competent authorities of the foreign state under the 1965 Hague Service Convention or a bilateral treaty on legal assistance, which takes several months at least. The third is an appeal by the respondent, after which the judgment enters into force on the day the appellate court issues its ruling. An uncontested divorce on a claim therefore takes roughly two to three months including the appeal period, while a contested divorce with a respondent abroad takes six months or more.

What to resolve together with the divorce

A divorce terminates only the marriage itself. It does not settle the spouses' property relations, the maintenance of children or the arrangements for their upbringing, so these matters are best resolved in the same claim or at least at the same time. This saves time, because the court establishes all the circumstances at once, and it produces an enforceable document for each claim.

Division of marital property

Property acquired by the spouses during the marriage belongs to them as joint co-owners, regardless of which spouse it is registered to and which of them earned an income (Art. 60 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Divorce does not end joint ownership: the property remains joint until the spouses divide it by concluding an agreement or on the basis of a court judgment (Art. 68 of the Family Code of Ukraine). On division, the spouses' shares are equal unless otherwise provided by agreement or a marriage contract, and the court may depart from equal shares in circumstances of material significance, for example where one spouse did not care for the family's financial support or concealed or destroyed joint property (Art. 70 of the Family Code of Ukraine). A three-year limitation period applies to claims for division of property after divorce, running from the day one spouse learned or could have learned of the violation of their right (Part 2 of Art. 72 of the Family Code of Ukraine). What is divided, how property is valued and how the claim is secured is explained on the service page "Division of marital property".

Child support

Parents are obliged to maintain a child until the age of majority, and this duty does not depend on whether they are married (Art. 180 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Child support is awarded as a share of the payer's income or as a fixed sum, at the choice of the parent with whom the child lives (Art. 183, 184 of the Family Code of Ukraine). The amount may not be below the guaranteed minimum set by law, and in setting it the court considers the health and financial position of the child and the payer, other children of the payer and other circumstances (Art. 182 of the Family Code of Ukraine). Child support is awarded from the day the claim is filed and, where there is evidence that the claimant took steps to obtain it, for the preceding period as well, but for no more than ten years (Art. 191 of the Family Code of Ukraine). If the parents reach agreement, the amount and procedure of payment are fixed in a notarised agreement, on the basis of which, if it is not performed, support is recovered under a notary's writ of execution (Art. 189 of the Family Code of Ukraine).

The child's place of residence and participation in upbringing

The parent who lives apart from the child retains equal rights and duties in respect of the child and is entitled to personal contact with the child and participation in their upbringing (Art. 141, 157 of the Family Code of Ukraine). The other parent may not obstruct this unless the contact harms the child. The parents determine the arrangements for participation in upbringing by agreement; failing that, the guardianship authority or the court does so and may set a specific schedule of contact, its place and duration (Art. 158, 159 of the Family Code of Ukraine). A dispute over the child's place of residence is decided by the court with the mandatory participation of the guardianship authority and with the child's interests as the priority (Art. 161 of the Family Code of Ukraine; Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court ruling of 17.10.2018 in case No. 402/428/16-ц). How such a case is prepared and which evidence matters is described on the service page "Child custody and visitation".

Divorce from a foreign national or while living abroad

A marriage between a Ukrainian citizen and a foreign national, or a marriage registered abroad, can be dissolved in Ukraine if the case falls within the jurisdiction of a Ukrainian court. The law applicable to the termination of a marriage is determined in the same way as the law governing its legal consequences: by the spouses' common personal law, failing that by the law of the state of their last common residence, and failing that by the law of the state with which both spouses have the closest connection (Art. 60, 63 of the Law of Ukraine "On Private International Law"). This means that a Ukrainian court may dissolve a marriage under either Ukrainian or foreign law. In the latter case the content of the foreign law is established by the court, and the parties may submit documents confirming it.

Whether a Ukrainian court has jurisdiction depends on where the parties live. If one spouse lives in Ukraine, the claim is filed under the general rules of Art. 27, 28 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, and against a foreign respondent without a place of residence in Ukraine, at the location of their property or their last known place of residence (Parts 9 and 10 of Art. 28 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine; Supreme Court ruling of 07.04.2025 in case No. 757/10360/23-ц). If both parties live outside Ukraine, the court to hear the case is designated by a judge of the Supreme Court on the claimant's application (Art. 29 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). Documents are served on a respondent abroad by the competent authorities of their state, which adds several months to the case.

A divorce abroad is not always an alternative to a Ukrainian court. A foreign divorce judgment must be recognised in Ukraine under the procedure set out in the Civil Procedure Code, and only after such recognition is the divorce entered into the Ukrainian registers (Art. 471–473 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). For Ukrainian citizens living abroad it is therefore often simpler to divorce in Ukraine remotely and then have the judgment apostilled for their country of residence. The whole procedure is handled by the lawyer under an agreement and a warrant, and the client's participation, where needed, is arranged by videoconference (Art. 212 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine).

How a DISPUTES lawyer can help

The outcome of a divorce case depends on the correct choice of procedure, due notification of the respondent and a complete set of documents. A mistake at any of these stages does not take away the right to divorce, but it adds months to the timeline: the court returns the claim or leaves it without action, transfers the case to another court, or adjourns hearings for lack of proof of notification. The firm's work is organised so that the client receives a judgment suitable for use in Ukraine and abroad without attending in person.

Assessment of the situation and strategy

The work begins with an analysis of the client's documents and circumstances: whether there are common children, where the other spouse lives and whether they consent, whether there is property, and which claims should be combined with the divorce. On that basis the divorce procedure, the competent court, the form of proceedings and the set of claims are determined. An assessment of the prospects, the indicative timeline and the scope of work is provided before the agreement is concluded. The analysis covers:

• the choice between the civil registry office, the Diia app, a joint application to the court and a claim;
• jurisdiction, including designation of the court by the Supreme Court for parties abroad;
• whether to combine claims concerning property, child support and the child;
• the need for legalisation and translation of documents issued abroad.

Preparation of the claim and documents

The statement of claim is drafted in accordance with Art. 175 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, with a motion for simplified proceedings where the set of claims allows it. Missing documents are obtained by the lawyer through a lawyer's request: extracts from the State Register of Civil Status Acts, information on the respondent's registered place of residence, copies of civil status records. For documents issued abroad, apostille and notarised translation are arranged. The claim is filed electronically in the Electronic Court subsystem, which allows court orders and summonses to be received on the day they are issued.

Representation in court without the client's personal presence

The lawyer attends hearings under the agreement on professional legal assistance and the warrant, files applications and motions, ensures the respondent is duly notified and opposes any unjustified stay of proceedings for reconciliation. If the respondent fails to appear, an application for a judgment in absentia is filed (Art. 280 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). The client may join the hearing by videoconference from their own device if they wish (Art. 212 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine) and is informed by the lawyer of every procedural step. If the judgment is appealed, representation continues in the appellate court.

Obtaining the judgment and the apostille

Once the judgment has entered into force, the lawyer obtains from the court a copy bearing the corresponding endorsement, orders an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts where needed, and submits the judgment to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine for an apostille. A translation into the language of the state of use is then arranged with notarial certification, and the finished set of documents is sent to the client abroad. If the law of the client's country of residence provides for a separate procedure for recognising a foreign divorce judgment, the lawyer prepares the documents required for that procedure. The client receives the judgment in the form in which the authorities of their country of residence will accept it.