The key facts

  • A spouse's hidden debts, loans and bankruptcy are not grounds for declaring a marriage invalid
  • Invalidity is related to violations at the time the marriage was concluded, divorce — to a loss of trust
  • Children's rights are preserved when a marriage is declared invalid

Deception about finances does not annul a marriage

Concealed loans, debts and lies about one's financial situation do not, in themselves, provide grounds to declare a marriage invalid. This was stated to Gazeta.Ru by Albert Anufriyev, a lawyer and managing partner of the law firm Forseti & Ting.

What the law says

According to Anufriyev, declaring a marriage invalid requires grounds expressly provided for by the Family Code: a violation of the established conditions for entering into marriage, or sham — registration without the intention of creating a family. Deception of the bride or groom about their financial situation, hidden debts, loans, and even the fact of being declared bankrupt are not included in this list.

How invalidity differs from divorce

If, after discovering the deception, a person does not want to continue family life, the way out is to dissolve the marriage in the usual manner, the lawyer noted. He emphasized that divorce and declaring a marriage invalid have different consequences: in the latter case, we are talking about violations that existed at the time the marriage was concluded, not simply about a loss of trust between the spouses.

Property and children

Property matters, in Anufriyev's opinion, cannot be resolved with a one-size-fits-all approach: what matters are the grounds on which the property was acquired, the money contributed, and the guarantees provided by law to the good-faith spouse. Declaring a marriage invalid also does not abolish the rights of children — parental obligations remain in force. The lawyer advised not to expect that discovering someone else's debts will automatically annul the marriage or change the signed loan agreements.