The Change of the Legal Regime of Marital Property

Nowadays in the time of intensive economic development the problem of the regulation of property relations between spouses becomes the matter of current interest. As it is known, there is a presumption of the regime of the spouses’ joint property in the Russian Federation. However, the increase of the welfare and the legal culture of the society, changes in the woman’s role in a family lead to the fact, that married couples seek to change the legal regime of their property more often. Despite the fact that the possibility for altering the legal regime of the marital property is included in Russian law, there is still some indeterminacy in the issue of potential forms for changing of the marital property status due to the contradiction between family and civil legislation. The aim of the scientific research is to identify the answer to the question: which agreements completed by the spouses can serve as a ground for altering the legal regime of marital property? In order to achieve the given aim, the analysis of the legal acts that regulate property relations between spouses, the relevant doctrine and judicial practice was made; family and civil agreements (marriage contract, the agreement of the marital property division, real estate purchase and sale agreement, memorandum of association of the limited liability company) were examined. The existence of the possibilities, guaranties and restrictions that are established in family law in relation to family agreements based on their proximity to the institute of family and marriage allows to make a conclusion about their uniqueness comparing to other agreements. So, in order to stop the incorrect law interpretation and changing the legal regime of the marital property by completing civil agreements directed on achieving other legal effect, it seems justified to make the corresponding changes of the Part 1 Article 256 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.