A statement of claim on the determination of the child’s place of residence

In life, there are not rare cases when the child's parents divorce or start living separately from each other.

In such situations, the question arises between citizens and with whom their common child will live.

If individuals can agree among themselves, then they solve this problem voluntarily.

However, it often happens that in practice the ex-spouses cannot come to an agreement with whom the child will still live, and therefore it is necessary to go to court to resolve this dispute.

In this article, we will talk about the peculiarities of writing a statement of claim (lawsuit) on determining the child's place of residence, while taking into account the current provisions of Ukrainian legislation.

Who can decide with whom the child will live?

The SCU gives the child's biological parents the right to determine their place of residence in the following situations:

• if the child has not reached the age of 10, then his parents must come to a conclusion together with whom he will live, that is, solve this issue only jointly;
• if the child is between 10 and 14 years old, then the parents must take into account not only the child's opinion about who he will live with, but also his real intentions for such living;
• if the child has already reached 14 years of age, then he already has the right to decide independently, without the participation of other persons, with whom he should live in the future. But under one condition, the child's parents must live separately from each other.

What are the features of determining a child's place of residence in court?

The person who plans to file a lawsuit and wants the child to live with him (the plaintiff) submits all the necessary documents to the court in writing to the defendant (the person who will live separately from the child).

The required package of documents for determining the child's place of residence consists of:

• 2 copies of the statement of claim, one of which will be sent to the defendant for familiarization with the content of the claims;
• certificate of divorce;
• child's birth certificate;
• passport of a citizen of Ukraine and RNOCPP;
• court decision on divorce between spouses;
• characteristics from both the place of work and the place of residence of the plaintiff;
• income declaration;
• information about health
• documents on the payment of the court fee;
• act on inspection of proper living conditions of the plaintiff.

What circumstances must be proved in this category of cases?

If the plaintiff wants to obtain a decision in his favor, he must prove the following circumstances in the statement of claim:

• Responsible performance of parental duties on their part;
• Health status of parents and child;
• Material condition of the family;
• Provision of appropriate living conditions for the child;
• Marital status of parents;
• The stability of the child's social ties, his psychological state and educational environment, etc.

Importantly! Other facts that will be important for solving each case on the merits are also subject to proof, for example, a person's bad habits, his permanent work schedule, professional circumstances (permanent employment, etc.).

Do you want to file a lawsuit to determine the child's place of residence, but you do not know how to file it legally? Not a problem, because the law firm "Prikhodko and partners" will help you solve this situation.

Our team of lawyers understands the intricacies of creating procedural documents and submitting them to the court, because we have many years of experience working with similar issues. Get in touch!