ZARUTSKY & PARTNERS LAW FIRM

From dispute to success: legal assistance without unnecessary steps

GET ADVICE

  • Over 25 years of experience

    family, inheritance, employment, banking and other disputes

  • Over 2,000 court cases

    representation in court proceedings at all levels

  • Over 600 pre-trial settlements

    claims, negotiations, mediation

  • Over 12,000 consultations

    Following the initial consultation, the client receives a clear plan of action

Our services

  • Support for notarial procedures

    Contracts, affidavits, testimonies.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Family disputes

    Divorce, maintenance, division of property and disputes concerning children. We can help you navigate the process without unnecessary emotional distress or financial loss.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Inheritance disputes

    Handling inheritance matters and resolving disputes between heirs. We will protect your right to property, even in the most complex situations.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Contractual disputes

    Credit and loan disputes, breaches of contract, and disputes with counterparties. We can help recover funds and protect our clients’ rights.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Housing disputes

    Issues of property rights, disputes with developers and tenants. Let’s restore fairness in housing matters.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Employment disputes

    We resolve disputes between employees and employers: from unfair dismissals and non-payment of wages to disputes over contracts and disciplinary measures.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Disputes concerning compensation for damages

    Compensation following a road traffic accident, damage to property or personal injury. We can help you recover your losses and restore justice.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Administrative disputes

    Appeals against decisions by government bodies, and tax and customs disputes.
We will protect you from unlawful actions by the authorities.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Commercial disputes

    Debts, corporate disputes, and disputes between business partners. We will ensure the stability and protection of your business in court.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Specific categories of cases

    Declarations of legal incapacity, appointment of guardianship, and complaints against the enforcement service. We handle even the most complex cases.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Registration procedures, certificates, affidavits, apostilles

    Declarations of legal incapacity, appointment of guardianship, and complaints against the enforcement service. We handle even the most complex cases.

    Experience:

    over 25 years. Thousands of satisfied customers

    Learn more

  • Notarial services support

    Representation of your interests in courts of all instances. We are familiar with the local practice of Kharkiv and the region, which allows us to choose the most effective defense strategy.

    Learn more

Can’t find the service you’re looking for?

Submit your enquiry and our specialists will advise you

Submit an enquiry

Our approach and principles

Lawyer Zarutsky and partners

HOW DO WE WORK?

  • We carry out a thorough analysis at the outset (including pre-trial) and draw up a clear plan of action

  • We’ll be honest about the prospects, even if you decide not to go to court

  • Looking a few steps ahead: strategy, risks, evidence

  • We honour our agreements — even if it’s not in our best interests

  • We guarantee the agreed price with no hidden charges

WHAT WE DON'T DO

  • We do not work with people who have malicious intentions or engage in dubious schemes

  • We do not work with clients who are dishonest or untrustworthy

  • We do not take on projects where we cannot make a real difference

Our case

Termination of parental rights

Enquiry:

His father, a businessman, did not want to be formally deprived of his parental rights and refused to pay child support. He participated in the proceedings through a solicitor and contested the claim.

What we do:

  • A series of reports were prepared and submitted to law enforcement and tax authorities to substantiate the illegal income schemes.
  • We conducted negotiations and ensured that the notarised documents were signed.
  • They drew up a legal strategy and succeeded in getting the father to admit the claim in court.

Result:

The court stripped him of his parental rights, and the child was placed in the care of a guardian who genuinely looks after her.

Inheritance case

Enquiry:

Following the testator’s death, the estate (property and cars) was divided between the two children and the ex-wife. She quickly secured half of the inheritance through the courts without the involvement of the other heirs.

What we do:

  • They appealed and succeeded in having the unlawful court ruling overturned.
  • A new trial was prepared and conducted with full regard for the rights of children.
  • The ex-wife was disinherited.
  • We arranged for the division of assets among the children out of court.

Result:

The estate has been divided fairly among the testator’s children; the former wife’s rights have been excluded.

Case concerning the dissolution of a marriage registered in the UAE

Enquiry:

Such divorces are considered the most complex due to the possibility that the laws of a foreign country may apply, or because it may not be possible at all to hear the case in a Ukrainian court. The wife (our client) wished to divorce her foreign husband, with whom she had several children, all born and registered in various Arab countries. The marriage was registered in the UAE. Ukrainian courts require the original marriage certificate and retain it in the case file, but we did not have the original of this document. The couple had previously lived together in a foreign country, and under international law it was possible to apply the law of a foreign (Arab) state, which the husband sought to do in order to take the children.

What we do:

  • A court in Poltava refused to open proceedings due to the absence of the original marriage certificate and other objections regarding the lack of jurisdiction of the Ukrainian court over the case.
  • We filed for divorce at one of the courts in Kharkiv, having previously had two other cases on behalf of the client heard at the same court (concerning maintenance and determining the children’s place of residence with their mother) and won them.

Result:

We secured a court ruling granting a divorce without the original marriage certificate and in the absence of the respondent (the husband), obtained child support from the father, and established that the child would live with the mother.

Case concerning the termination of parental rights and adoption

Enquiry:

The client lived in a district town and sought to have the father’s parental rights terminated, as he had been absent from the child’s life for many years – he had not been in contact and had provided no support. However, the local child welfare service in that town was sympathetic to the father because they knew his family, who did not want their son to have his parental rights terminated, claiming it would be ‘a disgrace to the whole town’. The local child welfare service refused to assist, and so there was virtually no chance of winning the case in the district court.

What we do:

  • they registered the client in Kharkiv and enrolled her child in a school in Kharkiv; they brought the case before one of the courts in Kharkiv and also involved the Child Welfare Service in Kharkiv,
  • we received a favourable opinion from the Child Welfare Service regarding the appropriateness of terminating the child’s father’s parental rights, and we also obtained a court ruling in our favour,
  • The next step, also in one of the courts in Kharkiv, was the adoption of the child by the client’s husband.

Result:

The child’s ‘legal father’ was his wife’s husband, who had in fact already been fulfilling the role and duties of a father.

Inheritance case

Enquiry:

The client is the mother of a girl whose father she had been in a civil partnership with before they separated; he was not listed as the child’s father on her birth certificate. The child’s father died shortly after the relationship with the client ended. Following this, his father (the girl’s grandfather) died and left behind a flat. The client’s child could have become the sole heir to the deceased grandfather and inherited the flat, had paternity with the deceased father been officially established.

What we do:

  • No state forensic institution had the equipment to carry out a paternity test to establish the girl’s relationship to her deceased father—and, consequently, her grandfather—without the physical presence of the child’s deceased father for the collection of samples. A private expert institution was found, and arrangements were made with the court for it to carry out the test using samples taken from the mother of the child’s deceased father (the girl’s grandmother).

Result:

Paternity was established by a court order, and the child inherited the flat from his grandfather.

Inheritance case

Enquiry:

The client missed the six-month deadline for accepting the inheritance following his mother’s death and was consequently denied the inheritance. There were no valid reasons for missing the deadline for accepting the inheritance within the meaning of current legislation and judicial practice. The opposing party in court was the local authority, which was seeking to claim the unclaimed inheritance (for which no heirs had come forward within the time limit set by law).

What we do:

  • Since extending the inheritance deadline was a very risky strategy, they decided to prove in court that he had been living with his mother at the time of her death for a certain period, which was also extremely difficult,
  • The client’s brother and sister, who lived abroad and had also declined to accept their late mother’s inheritance, were brought into the case; as parties to the proceedings, they admitted the claim,
  • Neighbours from the flat where the client lived with his late mother—which was extremely difficult given the war situation—were contacted; they confirmed that they had lived together for a certain period,
  • All available documentary evidence was gathered to prove that the client was living with his mother at the time of her death.

Result:

The court established that they were living together, and the client inherited the flat from his late mother.

Case concerning the termination of a life maintenance agreement

Enquiry:

The client is an elderly woman who, due to serious illnesses and poor health, is unable to manage her daily needs on her own, so she entered into a life-long care agreement with a neighbouring family whom she had known for a long time and who promised to look after her well, help her with everything, and do whatever she needed in exchange for the house after her death. The client entered into a notarised agreement with her neighbours. After that, the ‘carers’ disappeared, and then the hostilities began.

What we do:

  • A lawsuit was filed in court to terminate the life maintenance agreement; the defendants categorically denied the claims and hired several lawyers,
  • Witnesses were interviewed, including those who actually help the elderly woman and take her to hospital.

Result:

The court case was won, the contract was terminated, and the grandmother signed a new contract.

Case concerning the termination of an inheritance agreement

Enquiry:

The client is an elderly man with very poor eyesight who requires constant assistance. A neighbour, who moved into the block of flats during the war, persuaded him to sign an inheritance agreement under the guise of a power of attorney.

What we do:

  • A lawsuit was filed to terminate the inheritance agreement; the defendant contested the claim, submitted voluminous written statements, and claimed that she had provided services before temporarily relocating to another city due to the hostilities.
  • Witnesses were summoned and questioned, and written evidence was gathered and added to the case file.

Result:

The court upheld the claim, and the inheritance agreement was terminated.

Housing dispute

Enquiry:

The client was registered as a resident of a flat that was state-owned (belonging to the local authority) and lived there with her child. Due to a conflict with other family members, the client and her child were forced to move into a rented room in a communal flat. Other family members wanted to forcibly remove her from the register and privatise the flat themselves, without her.

What we do:

  • The plaintiffs, who wished to have our client’s registration revoked, filed a lawsuit to that effect; family members and neighbours, who had been turned against our client by the neighbours, gave false evidence in court.
  • We gathered evidence and called other witnesses, proving that family members had created obstacles to the client’s ability to live in the flat.

Result:

We won the court case on behalf of our client and prevented the privatisation of the flat without the client’s consent.

Housing dispute

Enquiry:

The client – a woman with a child – had no other accommodation apart from a large flat which she jointly owned with her ex-husband. Her ex-husband did not want to leave the flat to his wife and child; he wanted to be compensated for the value of his share (half of the flat), but the client did not have the money to pay him.

What we do:

  • The man filed a claim for the division of the flat, demanding that his wife pay him for his half of the property.
  • We filed a counterclaim with the client seeking the division of the flat and the allocation of her half in kind.
  • Following the expert assessment, it was established that the flat could be divided into two separate, technically distinct flats with an additional entrance, which was subsequently carried out.

Result:

The client renovated the flat and sold her half of it, having bought a property in another area.

Labour dispute

Enquiry:

The client was employed by a company which, during the COVID-19 pandemic, stopped paying wages due to a decline in sales of its own products. Rumours began to circulate that the company was ceasing operations and facing bankruptcy. It was necessary to recover the debt through the courts very quickly and apply for enforcement.

What we do:

  • To ensure the case was dealt with more quickly, summary proceedings should have been initiated, as cases in ordinary proceedings take much longer to be heard.
  • Due to a lack of the necessary documents to initiate proceedings under the summary procedure, the court refused to accept the case for consideration; the application was subsequently resubmitted on several occasions, after which one of the judges did, in fact, hear the case under the summary procedure and issued an order for the recovery of the funds.

Result:

The case was heard in just one month, and the judgment was swiftly enforced, with the funds recovered from the company.

Labour dispute

Enquiry:

The employee was dismissed from the company on the grounds of a loss of trust, following a hostile attitude towards her, without the grounds for dismissal being properly documented and despite her having submitted a letter of resignation.

What we do:

  • A lawsuit was filed; the company insisted that its actions were lawful and submitted documentary evidence to the court

Result:

In the end, the court ruled in favour of the employee, declaring the company’s actions unlawful and overturning the disputed order, whilst the client was spared the unpleasant entry regarding his dismissal in his employment record book.

Dispute over compensation for damages

Enquiry:

The client’s wages were not paid on time. The client’s wife suffered for a very long time and underwent treatment for cancer, which involved almost constant hospitalisation and chemotherapy. The family had no other income or savings. The client’s wife passed away. The client suffered non-pecuniary damage.

What we do:

  • A claim was filed seeking recovery of unpaid wages, average earnings for the period during which payment was delayed, and compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

Result:

The court ordered the debtor company to pay compensation and damages for non-pecuniary loss amounting to almost ten times the outstanding wages.

Dispute over compensation for damages

Enquiry:

A claim was brought against the client, a transport company, seeking compensation for material and non-material damages resulting from a road traffic accident. In fact, the transport company’s driver was not at fault for the road traffic accident; rather, the real culprit was the claimant (the opposing party), who, moreover, had influence over the police conducting the investigation into the accident through his family connections.

What we do:

  • The court of first instance found the driver of the transport company guilty of causing the road traffic accident.
  • Complaints were lodged with the law enforcement authorities requesting an investigation into misconduct during the investigation of a road traffic accident, which led to an anti-corruption investigation.
  • An appeal was lodged against the decision of the court of first instance, which overturned the original ruling and found the company driver not guilty of causing the road traffic accident.

Result:

The claim against the company for compensation for non-pecuniary and pecuniary damage was also dismissed.

Administrative dispute

Enquiry:

The client was a veteran of military service and a retired officer who had developed serious health conditions as a result of stressful and demanding work. He was awarded a retirement pension amounting to 88% of his salary. Subsequently, in accordance with a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Pension Fund of Ukraine recalculated his pension, limiting its amount to 50% of his salary.

What we do:

  • An administrative claim was filed against the Pension Fund of Ukraine, seeking a declaration that the actions of the state body were unlawful, the annulment of the relevant decision regarding the recalculation of the client’s pension, and a return to the previous situation.

Result:

The Administrative Court ruled in favour of the client, citing Ukrainian and international legislation regarding the impermissibility of restricting citizens’ rights and freedoms, the right to adequate social protection, and the right to receive pension payments in the amounts and within the timeframes stipulated by Ukrainian law.

Administrative dispute

Enquiry:

The client, a Ukrainian citizen, had his citizenship revoked by the State Migration Service 10 years after acquiring it on territorial grounds, following a decision to annul the decision granting him Ukrainian citizenship. The client was accused of providing knowingly false information regarding the permanent residence of the claimant’s sister in Ukraine prior to 24 August 1991.

What we do:

  • An administrative appeal has been lodged seeking the annulment of the decision by the State Migration Service of Ukraine to grant a citizen Ukrainian citizenship on the basis of territorial origin.
  • DMS contested the claim and maintained its allegations that the Client had provided false information.
  • The presiding judge in the case was sceptical towards the Client and the administrative claim filed.
  • A civil society organisation campaigning against corruption in the courts was invited to attend the hearing; the judge attempted to stop and prohibit the organisation from video-recording the proceedings.

Result:

In the end, the court ruled in favour of the client, finding that the DMS’s actions were unlawful and unfounded.

Commercial dispute

Enquiry:

The client is a construction company that carried out construction work under a contract, the client for which was another Ukrainian company. After the work was completed, the client refused to sign the certificates of completion, claiming that the contract price for the work and materials – which had been increased in accordance with the technical specifications approved by the client – had not been signed by an authorised person in the relevant document, and that the signature had been forged.

What we do:

  • A lawsuit has been filed in court, and an expert examination has been ordered to determine the authenticity of the relevant official’s signature.
  • It was only then that the defendant effectively admitted the claim and did not wish to incur further costs by paying for the expert assessment as ordered by the court.

Result:

The Commercial Court has ruled in favour of the client.

Commercial dispute

Enquiry:

The client – a Ukrainian manufacturing company – entered into a foreign trade contract with a Czech company, made an advance payment under the contract (a foreign currency payment) and did not receive the goods within the timeframe specified in the contract. As the terms of the contract did not clearly specify the jurisdiction for this case, the Ukrainian commercial court could have refused to accept the case for consideration.

What we do:

  • A claim has been filed to recover an advance payment from a Czech company; the court is confident that the case falls within the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian courts.
  • The statement of claim and other procedural documents were translated into Czech by the claimant and, at the claimant’s request, were sent by the court to the defendant’s registered address in the Czech Republic over a period of six months.

Result:

Ultimately, the court ruled that the debt under a foreign trade contract should be recovered from the Czech company in favour of the Ukrainian company.

Commercial dispute

Enquiry:

The client is a construction company that carried out construction work under a contract, the client for which was another Ukrainian company. After the work was completed, the client refused to sign the certificates of completion, claiming that the contract price for the work and materials – which had been increased in accordance with the technical specifications approved by the client – had not been signed by an authorised person in the relevant document, and that the signature had been forged.

What we do:

  • A lawsuit has been filed in court, and an expert examination has been ordered to determine the authenticity of the relevant official’s signature.
  • It was only then that the defendant effectively admitted the claim and did not wish to incur further costs by paying for the expert assessment as ordered by the court.

Result:

The Commercial Court has ruled in favour of the client.

Adoption case

Enquiry:

His wife’s two sons were very attached to the client; they treated him like a father, and he treated them as if they were his own children. So the boys also wanted the client to adopt them. At the same time, the boys had a biological father who didn’t even speak to them.

What we do:

  • A petition was filed to terminate the parental rights of the biological father of the client’s wife’s two children, and a few months later the case was concluded with the termination of his parental rights.
  • An application has been submitted by the client for the adoption of two children, including a change to the children’s surnames and patronymics.

Result:

The case has been won. The children now bear the client’s surname and patronymic and are legally his children; furthermore, the client and his wife have had a baby girl, so there are now three children in the family.

Case concerning the determination of the fact of death

Enquiry:

The client’s mother died in the occupied territory of Ukraine. The aggressor state issued documents certifying her death, which are not recognised as legally valid in Ukraine. Consequently, the client was unable to use these invalid documents for any legally significant purposes, including inheriting the property left by his mother.

What we do:

  • An application has been filed to establish the fact of death in the occupied territory of Ukraine. A court ruling established the fact of the client’s mother’s death in the occupied territory of Ukraine.

Result:

The inheritance documents were submitted, and the flat and house were inherited.

Case concerning the granting of the right to marry

Enquiry:

The client had turned 16, but was unable to register her marriage to the young man she was dating and loved deeply, as she had to be 18 years old and have full legal capacity at the time of registration. In such cases, marriage is only possible by court order.

What we do:

  • An application was submitted to grant the girl the right to marry, as she had been in a relationship with her boyfriend for several years, they were in love, and, moreover, she was pregnant by him.
  • The girl’s parents, whose consent is required by law in such cases, were also in favour of their daughter getting married.

Result:

The court granted the client permission to marry at the age of 16, and she registered her marriage just one month later.

Case concerning the establishment of paternity

Enquiry:

The client had long since separated from her daughter’s father, with whom she had been in a de facto relationship and who was not listed as the father on her daughter’s birth certificate. A few years later, the girl’s father died whilst on a combat mission against the aggressor country. The child’s paternal grandmother (the girl’s grandmother) and the girl were eligible to claim substantial posthumous social benefits from the state. However, to do so, paternity had to be established.

What we do:

  • An application was filed to establish paternity; a DNA test was carried out using samples taken from the girl and her grandmother, given that her father had died and it was not possible to obtain a sample from him; and other documentary evidence and witness statements were gathered.

Result:

The court ruling established paternity, and the girl received state social assistance following the death of her father, who died defending his country.

Let’s save what matters most: your time and your sanity?

Our experience and strategies are your key to achieving the desired result.

Get advice

About us

“Zarutsky & Partners” — over 20 years of legal practice and more than 1,100 successful cases. We handle family, inheritance, property and other disputes, working on behalf of clients in Ukraine and abroad.

Integrity, responsibility and results. These are the three pillars on which we build every case.

About us

Lawyer Zarutsky and partners
Lawyer Zarutsky and partners

A simple way to collaborate

  1. Your application

    Your application

    You are leaving your contact details on the website.

  2. Contact and further details

    Contact and further details

    We’ll get in touch to discuss your situation: we’ll identify your needs and immediately suggest possible solutions.

  3. Documents and terms and conditions

    Documents and terms and conditions

    You can send us photos or scans of your documents, or we can meet at our office. We will confirm the timeframe, cost and list of required documents.

  4. Contract and payment

    Contract and payment

    We sign the agreement (either online or in the office), having agreed on all the terms and payment in advance. Then we get to work on the case.