7% increase compared to the previous year

In 2024, 2,762 prenuptial agreements were registered in Ukraine, marking a 7% increase from 2023. However, this is still one-third fewer than in 2021. Before the full-scale war, Ukrainians set a record by signing 4,099 marriage contracts.

Currently, there is only one prenuptial agreement for every 54 marriages. In comparison, in 2023, the ratio was one prenuptial agreement per 72 marriages.

Talina Kravtsova, a partner at the law firm Asters, notes that clients are increasingly using prenuptial agreements to define the status of property acquired after signing the contract. According to her, in couples where one spouse is a foreigner, a prenuptial agreement is a standard practice, as most foreigners see it as a conscious and well-thought-out approach to planning marital relations. However, the war has not reduced the demand for prenuptial agreements among Ukrainians.

«From my own practice, I can say that it is safest for spouses to sign a prenuptial agreement to plan for the future. Recently, Ukrainian courts have not had a consistent approach to whether a prenuptial agreement can change the status of property acquired before the contract was signed. The lack of a clear legal stance always poses a risk of the agreement being challenged in court. When I see such a risk, I suggest clients consider other types of contracts between spouses.

Another, more traditional, reason for challenging a prenuptial agreement is the so-called ‘extremely unfavorable’ financial situation of one spouse after signing. Simply put, this happens when the contract states that all (or almost all) property belongs to one spouse. This is not allowed, and there is already a well-established legal position on this matter—agreements with such conditions are deemed invalid by courts», 

— comments Talina Kravtsova, a partner at the law firm Asters.

It is worth noting that 150,210 new marriages were registered last year, which is 19% less than in 2023 and 30% less than before the full-scale war.

On average, 12,500 couples got married each month in 2024, the lowest figure in the past 10 years.