Family disputes

Determination of a child’s place of residence

The determination of a child’s place of residence in Kharkiv constitutes legal assistance focused on safeguarding the rights and interests of both the child and the parents in matters involving the establishment of the child’s permanent residence with one parent, in compliance with applicable legislation and the best interests of the child.

We provide comprehensive legal support at all stages:

  • Preparation of legal documents

    A lawyer examines the circumstances of the family dispute, reviews documents concerning the child and the parents, and prepares legally grounded applications, submissions, or claims aimed at determining the child’s place of residence in accordance with the child’s best interests.

  • Legal assessment of violations

    A legal assessment is carried out of the actions or omissions of the other parent, the child’s living conditions, their participation in upbringing, and other relevant factors for determining the child’s place of residence.

  • Legal support in filing claims

    A lawyer ensures the accurate and timely filing of applications, claims, or submissions with the court or guardianship and custody authorities, and oversees compliance with procedural time limits.

  • Post-hearing protection of interests

    Following the case review, a lawyer advises on subsequent steps, oversees the enforcement of the decision determining the child’s place of residence, and, where necessary, ensures ongoing legal protection of the client.

A consultation on determining a child’s place of residence in Kharkiv is a legally grounded process aimed at protecting the rights and legitimate interests of the child and the parents in disputes arising after divorce or the termination of cohabitation. Situations related to deciding with which parent the child should reside, the порядок of parental involvement in upbringing, living conditions, and the provision of the child’s needs may have significant legal and emotional consequences. Therefore, timely legal consultation is essential for properly assessing the circumstances of the case and choosing the most effective way to resolve it.

By seeking legal consultation on determining a child’s place of residence, you receive a professional analysis of your situation, clarification of the rights and obligations of the parents, and a clear understanding of the next steps. A lawyer analyzes family circumstances, documents relating to the child, living conditions, the involvement of each parent in upbringing, available evidence, and potential risks, forming a well-founded legal position for pre-trial settlement or representation in court.

Each case concerning the determination of a child’s place of residence is handled individually, taking into account specific life circumstances, the interests of the child, and current judicial practice. The purpose of the consultation is to ensure legal certainty, prioritize the best interests of the child, and provide the client with confidence in the chosen legal strategy.

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Our cases

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.

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.