Features of divorce with a prisoner of war or a missing person

A marriage can be dissolved if:

• a person is in captivity — only through the court;
• a person is missing — through DRATS (when there is a court decision recognizing the person as missing).

How to dissolve a marriage if one of the spouses is in captivity:

1. Prepare and file a claim with the court: at the respondent's place of residence
2. or at the plaintiff's place of residence if: there are dependent children; the plaintiff cannot appear due to health reasons or other reasons.

What documents are needed:

• copy of the marriage certificate
• certificate of captivity (if available)
• children's birth certificates (if available)
• receipt for payment of the court fee
• other documents — as needed.

How to dissolve a marriage with a missing person:

1. File a report with the police to search for a person who went missing as a result of war, occupation, natural disaster, etc.
2. Subsequently, file an application with the court to recognize the person as missing.

The application is filed:

• at the applicant's place of residence
• or at the last known place of residence of the missing person
• or at the location of their property.

The application must state the reason for needing to declare the person missing and the circumstances of the disappearance.

The court recognizes a person as missing if there has been no information about their whereabouts at their permanent place of residence for 1 year.

After the court's decision, an application for divorce can be submitted to DRATS.

What documents are needed to dissolve a marriage with a missing person:

• copy of the marriage certificate
• court decision recognizing the person as missing
• children's birth certificates (if available)
• other documents — as needed.

The fact of the dissolution of the marriage is confirmed by a court decision, which comes into legal force 30 days after its adoption.