Civil
The most popular type, which legally received its name “Civil”, is also called official, secular or legal. This marriage union of the bride and groom is registered in the registry office; it is the only one recognized by Russian legislation, regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation, and therefore protected from the point of view of jurisprudence.
Each of the legal spouses has equal rights and certain responsibilities in the family, which are enshrined in law. The law also regulates property relations between husband and wife.
After the official marriage, the newlyweds become each other's primary heirs.
Many call it a civil union of lovers who live together, but without stamps in their passports. If we consider this issue from the side of jurisprudence, then this is a misconception and such a marriage is called another type - factual, which we will talk about below.
By the way, in the 19th century they registered exclusively in the church - performing a spiritual rite before God, but the marriage of those who did not do this was called civil.
Marriage of convenience
Today, this form of marriage is one of the most common forms in Russian family law. However, there is no direct regulation of this form by the current legislation in Russia. The main condition, as mentioned above, is compliance with the requirements of the current legislation when formalizing such a union.
Marriages of convenience are among the oldest in family law. Such marriages have been characteristic of the Russian legal system since its formation in the 9th century AD.
A marriage of convenience is concluded through the official registration of a future family union, so the state in no way opposes its creation. The main distinguishing feature of most of these marriages is the conclusion of a marriage contract between the spouses, which fixes the property status of each person entering into marriage.
Since such a union is concluded by the decision of both parties and is of an official nature , the state does not provide any penalties for such a family union. This is due to the fact that such a family union is characterized by transformation into a full-fledged family.
Actual
In principle, this view is very similar to the previous one. Boy and girl in love also:
- live in the same territory;
- have common views and goals;
- live together;
- make purchases;
- call each other husband and wife;
- They can even raise children together.
But their relationship is not officially registered in the registry office, which means in the eyes of the law they are not spouses. Sometimes such unions are also called cohabitation.
De facto marriages are gaining popularity among the younger generation. Modern people do not consider it necessary to put stamps in passports for a number of reasons. For example, many are afraid of responsibility, are unsure of their partner, or simply want to test their feelings. And some people don’t even see the point in a wedding without children.
It is worth knowing that a man and woman in the unofficial status of husband and wife are not legally protected in any way. After all, according to the law, they not only have no responsibilities, but also no rights. This applies to both property and inheritance.
It is possible to receive inherited capital in the event of the death of one of the “spouses” only if there is a will.
Marriage and marital relations
Let us immediately note that marriage as a certain form of fixation of a monogamous union between people has a deep historical aspect. The very fact of an individual having a permanent partner was established in the primitive community. Of course, primitive people did not yet know what marriage and family were, but they were able to come to the understanding that partners of childbearing age still needed to be protected from “competitors.”
Anthropologists believe that the strategy of protecting a permanent partner was the most successful for people of that time. In the process of the formation of monogamy and the emergence of a social system, people came to the conclusion that such a union should give rise to certain legal consequences, as a result of which the institution of family and marriage appeared.
However, despite the fact that the creation of a family between people is based on moral motives, romance and love, the marriage union is primarily a legal unit. That is, it first defines the system of rights and obligations between its participants and the form of public control over their implementation, and only then is it considered from a moral point of view.
Thus, let’s formulate a definition: marriage and family relations are a certain type of relationship between members of society, which, as a result of their consent, is regulated by this very society.
Traditionally, marriage is between a woman and a man. In order for society to regulate marriages, in each state there is a system of legal acts called family or marriage legislation, which is mandatory for participants in marriage and family relations.
Another form of public control is the need to register marriage with certain government bodies. Without such registration, society does not recognize the emergence of marital relations, and therefore persons who do not register their marriage do not have personal and property rights and obligations towards each other. Now let's figure out why marriage was called marriage.
Origin of the words "marriage" and "matrimony"
To do this, let's go back to history again, but now to our closer ancestors - the ancient Slavs. Their family relationships were based on the already mentioned competition for women of childbearing age: the ancient Slavs married those girls whom they could kidnap from another tribe. In Old Church Slavonic, the verb “to kidnap” or “to seize” was pronounced “brothers.” In the process of language formation, the verb “brother” (and later “to take”) received the suffix “k” and was transformed into the word “marriage” (by analogy: to know is a sign).
That is, initially in Old Slavonic the word “marriage” means the very ceremony of taking a girl as a wife, directly marriage. As evidence of the clear connection of the ancient Slavic “brother” with family relationships, etymologists cite the phrases “to marry” and the Ukrainian word “brotherhood,” which translates as “to get married.”
By the way, over time, the Old Slavonic “marriage” acquired a broader meaning, meaning not only the ceremony of marriage, but also the fact of marriage itself. Later, ancient Russian people interpreted marriage both as a marriage ceremony, and as a feast associated with it, and as a form of family connection.
The origin of the word “matrimony” also has ancient Russian roots. But, in contrast to the modern meaning (legal ties between married people), the Old Russian “conjugate” meant “is in a sexual relationship, conjugates.” Hence the “spouser” - wife.
Now we propose to understand the different types of marriages that occur in practice.
Church
As mentioned above, in ancient times only church marriages were recognized; they were considered the only official ones. This spiritual ceremony is performed by a clergyman in a temple or cathedral.
In the modern world, getting married is not at all necessary. After all, according to the Russian Constitution, the Church is separated from the state, which means that this marriage has no legal force and is not protected in any way.
If a couple still wants to get married, then there are certain rules and first you will need to obtain a certificate of registration from the registry office. But there are exceptions, and many priests agree to perform the ceremony without a stamp in the passport. After all, for believers, the most important union is the one made in heaven.
Fictitious marriage
A fictitious marriage can be concluded for various reasons, but its goal is always to improve the situation of both persons entering into such a marriage, or one of them.
The appearance of fictitious marriages is typical for the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when a massive restructuring of civil and family legislation began.
From the point of view of legal norms, a fictitious marriage is registered in the same way as other forms that exist in everyday life, that is, it
undergoes official registration. However, after receiving a marriage document, persons who entered into its fictitious form terminate all relationships confirming their marital status, including not living together.
This becomes the main sign of the fictitiousness of the concluded relationship.
A marriage can only be recognized as fictitious by a court decision after the latter has examined all the evidence presented, including the testimony of witnesses.
If the marriage is recognized as fictitious, the documents on its conclusion lose their legal force. In addition, the consequences of recognizing a marriage as fictitious and invalid should be the cancellation of the received material and intangible benefits, and in case of damage to the state, a criminal case may be opened under various articles, including fraud.
In addition, administrative liability in the form of a fine or compulsory labor is provided for the creation of a fictitious marriage union.
Such forms of liability include people who have entered into an alliance to obtain registration or material and non-material benefits, if such receipt is proven.
Non-classical types of family relationships
The classic form of marriage between a man and a woman, regardless of whether it is civil or de facto, is correct and generally accepted in family organization. But there are also non-traditional alternative types, most of which can be classified as prohibited unions, since many of them are legally and morally impossible to officially register. Their peculiarity is the atypical and non-standard behavior of people. These include:
- Guest or it can also be called visiting. These relations are legal, because they are formalized in the registry office. But after the wedding the couple does not live together. Spouses meet only occasionally, spend time together, go on dates and even fly on vacation, but do not maintain a common household. The most important advantage of these unions is that lovers do not argue over everyday problems, and due to rare meetings they do not lose passion for each other. The downside of a guest marriage is the not entirely correct upbringing of children. After all, the child will mainly live with one of the parents. This type of marriage can often be found when one of the lovers is forced to constantly go on long business trips or tours. It also happens that people need to live in different cities or even countries.
- Same-sex, the most ambiguous type, is a marriage between two men or two women. As everyone knows, in the Russian Federation such unions are strictly prohibited; moreover, they cause censure and condemnation from others. But in 18 states people of the same sex have been registered for a long time. Among them: Norway, Canada, Brazil, Denmark, France, Mexico, Argentina, Japan, USA.
- Polygyny or polygyny is most common among Muslims, for example, in Syria, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Algeria. There the guy officially gets married to several girls. On the territory of our country, the law prohibits polygyny; it can be found only in some corners where Islam is practiced. Most often, Russian men marry one woman, and live in a de facto marriage with several more representatives of the fair sex; roughly speaking, they have mistresses.
- A fictitious marriage or a marriage of convenience is legal, because it is registered by mutual consent of both parties in the registry office, but with a selfish goal, for example, obtaining citizenship. In such relationships, spouses do not even think about creating a real family. Very often the unions in question meet with foreigners. In Russia this is not criminally punishable, but if it is proven, it can be annulled.
- Another alternative type is an open or free marriage, which, in turn, can be civil or de facto, that is, official or without stamps in passports. Spouses live together under one roof, lead a common life, and the peculiarity is that each of them has other connections on the side. This position may be explained by a lack of new sensations, or people simply do not know how to be faithful to their chosen one.
- Virgin or, in the Western style, “Childfree” - a legal or actual relationship, without the presence of children. We are not talking here about couples who are postponing childbearing due to their young age, lack of financial resources, or for medical reasons. These are lovers who deliberately do not want to have a child. If we look at statistics, then with age, many spouses still change their opinion on this issue.
- Another rather unclassical type that few will understand is group marriages or, in other words, the “Swedish family”. Of course, relationships consisting of several men and women are prohibited from being registered on the territory of the Russian Federation. But, interestingly, the Swedish family has been practiced by people since primitive times.
- Morganatic - consists of two people of unequal status and position in society. They were concluded in ancient times in royal dynasties, but these days they are not very relevant.
- The concubinative type of marital ties is the relationship of a married man with another lady, with whom he has a child. The offspring born in such a union is officially recognized by the father and is financially provided by him.
- Polyandry or polyandry. As you might guess, it’s the same polygamy, only in reverse. In this case, a woman has several official husbands. They are not registered in Russia, but they are common in India, Nepal and Tibet.
- And the last type is called trial. Everything is simple here, young people live together, and when they come to a joint decision to have a child, they officially get married.
Types of marriage in different countries
Most recently, the Oxford Dictionary included the term Boston Marriage. This is the life together of two girls leading a common life and taking care of each other. Moreover, their relationship is not sexual in nature - the girls are just good friends.
Boston Union
Vector marriages are concluded between representatives of the eastern horoscope, based on the “master-servant” relationship. Typically, such couples fall in love at first sight, and their union is swift and vibrant, but at the same time, the spouses can quickly lose interest in each other. In fact, the union can be different and it is impossible to predict its outcome.
Chinese zodiac circle, top view
Polygamy is an official type of union in Muslim countries. Moreover, one husband can have several wives and children from each wife. Polyandry or polyandry is the marriage and subsequent cohabitation of one girl with several men at once. Such marriages are not uncommon in India and Tibet.
Documents for submitting an application to the registry office
- two passports – for men and women;
- paid state duty, which currently amounts to 350 rubles;
- statement from both parties.
For more information about what is needed to submit documents to the registry office, as well as how to submit an application online, read the links.
As a result, we can say that the family is the main unit of human society. There are quite a few different types, and only the people themselves decide which marriage they prefer. If we talk about the majority, Russian residents still prefer the legal civil option, considering its most important advantage - the proper upbringing of children in such official marriage bonds.
Forms of marriage in modern Russia
According to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the law recognizes only one form of marriage - a civil union.
This is an officially registered relationship before an authorized person. Recently, the issue of introducing amendments designed to legalize religious rituals and actual cohabitation has been widely discussed. For now, the initiative remains at the discussion level. If we turn to history, then in pre-revolutionary Russia the functions of the registry office were performed by the church. The wedding was equated to recognition of the union by law and the state. Modern newlyweds first need to visit the registry office, and then, if desired, undergo a wedding ceremony.
Social processes do not stand still. Traditional marriage has been replaced by alternative forms . But they are only a new trend that is not reflected in the legal sphere.
For example, young people prefer guest marriage, in which each spouse lives in their own “territory” after registering the relationship. They meet periodically at will and do not lead a joint household.
Or an open form of relationship, when spouses allow each other to have a relationship
on the side. As a rule, this is stated in the marriage contract to avoid further disputes. At the same time, a free sexual life does not equate to betrayal for both partners.
A trial marriage is a cohabitation of people testing the strength of their relationship. As soon as a couple wants to have children together, they go to register their marriage.
Concubinage or “adultery” has already become commonplace. When a married man is in a relationship with a free woman. He provides her with financial support and, in the event of the birth of a child, recognizes all his rights. This is a form of polygyny.
It is worth noting that alternative forms of marriage are variations of its traditional types. They arise due to the development of interests of narrow social groups - homosexuals, supporters of open relationships, religious fans. Their success and development depends on the viability and activity of these groups, their “weight” in society.
Despite the fact that Russia is actively adopting foreign experience in many areas, many Western trends still remain illegal on its territory - polygamous and homosexual marriages.
Divorce at the request of one of the spouses is possible in some cases. If the plaintiff fails to appear in divorce court upon receipt of a summons, he will face liability. Read more about this here. Do you need to split credit in a divorce? You can learn how to do this correctly from our article.
