An agreement on children may be concluded by the spouses upon divorce in order to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of their minor children.
When and how to make an agreement on children
The agreement on children is concluded in the manner prescribed by the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Belarus for concluding amicable agreements. The agreement on children has a simple written form and is not subject to notarization, as it is certified by a court.
This agreement can only be entered into if a lawsuit is filed for divorce, both before the trial and during the trial of the divorce case. After the divorce, it will not be possible to conclude an agreement on children. To resolve the issue of paying alimony after the dissolution of the marriage, the spouses may conclude an agreement on the payment of alimony (provided that there is no prenuptial agreement and a court order that has entered into legal force and resolves the issues of paying alimony for minors and (or) needing help of disabled adult children; this agreement may be concluded before the dissolution of the marriage).
When accepting a divorce petition, the court provides the spouses with a three-month period for taking reconciliation measures, as well as for reaching an agreement on common minor children and the division of property.
If the spouses have not entered into an agreement, they still have the opportunity to do so in the trial. The presiding judge shall ascertain whether the plaintiff supports his claims and to what extent, whether the defendant recognizes the plaintiff’s claims, and also explains to the parties their right to conclude an agreement on children and the consequences of these administrative actions. If the court finds it impossible to approve the agreement on children, then a ruling is issued and the court proceeds to the consideration of the case on the merits.
The terms of the agreement on children are recorded in the minutes of the court session and signed respectively by the plaintiff, defendant, as well as their representatives, if they participate in the court session. The agreement on children is drawn up in the number of copies for each of the parties, and one copy is submitted to the court for approval.
What parties can agree on when concluding an agreement on children
In the Children’s Agreement, spouses may determine:
with which of them will the children live;
the order of communication with children and participation in their upbringing of a separately living parent;
child support amount;
the procedure for children to leave the Republic of Belarus;
other issues of education and maintenance of children after divorce.
Thus, the agreement on children makes it possible to determine the place of residence of the minor, the procedure for exercising parental rights by the parent living separately from the child, the extent to which the separately living parent participates in the upbringing of the minor, questions of the material maintenance of the child, and the participation of the parent in the costs of the child. You can also find out the issues of education, treatment, the need for permission by the second parent to travel abroad.
Spouses can describe in detail the place where the separately living parent will see the minor, the duration and frequency of their meetings, the total number of hours that the minor can spend with the separately living parent, if they consider such conditions necessary.
