Cohabitation without registered marriage established to secure an inheritance
The client’s problem
A client approached DSA GROUP who had lived with her common-law husband as a family, without registering the marriage, for more than 20 years. After his death, an estate was opened that included a flat. The notary informed her that she could not be called to inherit, as the deceased’s son was the first-line heir under the law. Therefore, the fact that she had lived with the deceased as a family had to be established in court.
What our lawyers did
Attorney Pavlo Ivchenko prepared and filed an application to the court to establish the fact that a man and a woman had lived together as a family without registered marriage. To support the application, a body of evidence was collected and submitted, including:
- documents confirming that the couple had lived together for many years;
- certificates from the local self-government body confirming that they actually lived together as a family;
- documents on their joint household and housekeeping;
- proof of shared expenses and payment of utility bills;
- photographs of their family life together;
- witness testimony;
- a written statement from the deceased’s son confirming that his father and the applicant had lived together as a family for more than 20 years.
Legal position
The position was that the couple had in fact been in a family relationship typical of spouses: living together, a shared household, a joint budget, mutual support and joint housekeeping. It was also shown that there was no dispute between the heirs over establishing this legal fact. To build the position, the lawyer carried out a legal analysis of the documents and assessed the evidence confirming that the family relationship was genuine.
Outcome
By a judgment of 23 March 2026, the Ivankivskyi District Court of Kyiv Oblast granted the application and established that the client had lived with the deceased as a family, as husband and wife, without registered marriage, from 1 January 2004 until the day of his death. The judgment became final on 23 April 2026.
Outcome for the client: a court decision that provides the legal basis for registering her inheritance rights after the death of her common-law husband and for further protecting her property interests.
