Sulyk Roman

Head of family law practice

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An attorney with extensive experience specializing in complex family disputes. As Head of Practice, he combines deep legal expertise with a personalized approach to every client. He ensures strategic protection of family interests and delivers impeccable results in the most challenging cases.

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Case: Recognition of a person as incapacitated and the fight for the right to custody

Family law
Reading time: 3 min.

Client: Denis
Lawyers: Sulyk Roman, Borysenko Alla
Case category: Civil case – declaring a person incapacitated, establishing guardianship
Result: Partial satisfaction of the claim – the father was declared incompetent, but the court refused to appoint the son as a guardian

Background of the case

The client is Denis, the only son of an elderly man who has been suffering from a severe mental disorder for the past few years. Medical reports confirm the diagnosis, which makes it impossible to make independent decisions. Due to the threat of neglect and legal vulnerability of his father, Denis filed a lawsuit to declare him incompetent and at the same time, with a petition to appoint himself as his guardian.

Client protection strategy

The team of lawyers of the Law Firm “Prikhodko and Partners” has formed a clear two-stage strategy:

  1. Recognition of incapacity as the main condition for establishing guardianship;
  2. Legal justification of the son’s right to be appointed as a guardian — taking into account the actual family circumstances, the ethical aspect, and the principle of the best interests of the incapacitated person.

A comprehensive package of evidence was collected:

  • Original medical reports from a psychiatric hospital;
  • Certificates of inpatient treatment and medical history;
  • Testimony from relatives who confirmed systematic care from Denis;
  • Social characteristics of living conditions;
  • Information about the absence of other relatives capable or willing to act as guardians

Court hearing: how lawyers worked

During the trial, the lawyers convincingly presented the client’s position.

Key elements:

  • An active position in debates — thorough work on providing explanations in court hearings;
  • Interrogation of the participants in the case — prepared testimonies of two people who directly confirmed the fact of the father’s illness, addiction, and concern for Denis;
  • The legal basis — is a reference to the norms of current legislation, the case law of the Supreme Court regarding determining the legality of the appointment of a guardian.

Court decision: partial satisfaction of the claim

The court granted the request for a declaration of incapacity — the decision of the forensic medical examination was complete and undisputed. This means that the father is officially declared incompetent, which protects his property and personal rights from abuse.

However, it refused to satisfy the second part of the claim — the appointment of Denis as a guardian. The reason was the formal position of the court in connection with the biased attitude towards this category of cases during martial law.

The lawyers consider this decision to be legally unfounded and discriminatory, since:

  • The plaintiff has been in actual custody for over 3 years;
  • No reasonable doubt was raised as to Denis’s moral, mental, or social fitness;
  • The guardianship authority concluded on the appropriateness of appointing Denys as a guardian.

Appeal: action plan

The team is preparing an appeal, which plans to focus on the following aspects:

  • Violation of the principle of full clarification of the circumstances of the case (Article 263 of the Code of Criminal Procedure);
  • A formal approach to assessing the identity of a guardian contrary to the real circumstances and available evidence;
  • Disregard for the interests of an incapacitated person who, in practice, receives care and protection only from his son.

Conclusion on the case

Denys’ case is an example of a complex combination of legal, medical, and human circumstances, in which the principle is not only compliance with the letter of the law, but also protection of the dignity and interests of the closest relatives of an incapacitated person.

Despite the incomplete satisfaction of the claim regarding the appointment of a guardian, the client’s legal position remains strong.

The lawyers are currently preparing for an appeal, confident in their arguments and the client’s right to a fair decision.

This case demonstrates: thorough preparation, professional legal support, and humanity are the key to protecting and being able to exercise your rights in court.

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