Family Law and Private Wealth

Products

BGP Litigation is one of the few large law firms whose team helps resolve the most complex and sensitive family law issues.

The practice team has deep expertise in supporting divorce proceedings, including issues of division of marital property, alimony payment, determining the place of residence of children and the procedure for communication with them by parents and close relatives, and their departure outside the Russian Federation. The unique experience of the team is litigation of cross-border disputes regarding children rearing and return from foreign countries.

In order to prevent financial and corporate risks, BGP Litigation pays great attention to family and inheritance planning, development and creation of complex cross-border structures for the ownership and management of capital and business assets, preparation and coordination of terms and conditions of premarital agreements, marital settlement agreement, alimony agreements, inheritance contracts, wills, foundation of personal funds.

The advantage of the team is its experience in supporting international disputes about children, cross-border marital settlement projects for spouses’ property in different jurisdictions and structuring foreign assets.

Lawyers of BGP Litigation are recognised by the international professional community (International Academy of Family Lawyers - IAFL), are engaged in human rights activities and develop legislative initiatives to improve the current legal regulation, give master classes at leading universities in the country, participate as trainers and speakers in professional development events for family law experts, they are members of expert councils under government agencies and public organisations.

Services
Consulting on family law issues
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We advise on divorce, division of marital property, bringing up children, including their international abduction and illegal detention by one of the parents, departure of children from the Russian Federation, establishing and challenging paternity, deprivation and limitation of parental rights, alimony recovery, reducing and increasing alimony amounts, imposition of liability for their improper payment, etc.
Peaceful settlement of disputes and mediation
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We provide services of organising and conducting negotiations for pre-trial dispute settlement. The practice team is represented by professional mediators entitled to certify mediation agreements.
Representation before government authorities and courts
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We provide effective client representation both before Russian state authorities and courts and before foreign courts at all stages of the proceedings, from conducting a comprehensive assessment of the situation and developing a strategy to participating in court hearings.
Representation before notaries
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We provide services of coordinating with notaries the terms and conditions of premarital agreements, marital settlement agreements, alimony agreements, child rearing agreements, inheritance agreements and wills. Our projects include precedent-setting ones that have influenced the development of notarial practice for certifying in Russia premarital agreements containing non-standard terms and conditions.
Search for assets
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Within the scope of a divorce process, we help discover a spouse’s valuable assets that have been hidden or misappropriated, while establishing ownership of the assets and their value. We determine what assets were acquired or disposed of during, before or after the divorce, identifying hidden assets, undervalued assets or undisclosed sources of income.
Inheritance planning
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The practice team helps clients develop effective strategies for transferring private funds to the next generation and interested heirs. We provide a full range of services in this area, including analysing the client’s family and business situation to minimise inheritance risks, developing capital protection and wealth transfer strategies, preparing wills and inheritance agreements, documentation of personal and testamentary foundations, and resolving inheritance disputes.

Products

We advised:

A High-Net-Worth Russian Businessman

on structuring business and personal asset ownership through a private foundation, including business management matters and establishment of a succession mechanism for transferring the business to future generations

Head of an Oil and Gas Company Department

in a dispute over termination of notarised child support and parental rights agreements, recovery of fixed monetary child support and determination of a child visitation schedule, taking into account the parents' residence in different regions

A Top Manager of an International Pharmaceutical Company (a Canadian citizen)

in a cross-border family dispute concerning children, in relation illegal relocation of the children by their father from Canada to Russia without the mother's consent and imposition of a ban on the children leaving Russia

The Owner of a Software Development Company and Several Businesses in China

before an appellate court in a case over determination of the children’s place of residence and recovery of child support. The case was resolved through a settlement agreement under which the children spend equal time with each parent and both parties mutually waived child support claims

A Board Member of a Major Russian Manufacturer of Industrial Explosives Used in the Mining Industry

over development and implementation of a family and estate planning strategy regarding assets located in Russia, the UAE and Switzerland, taking tax and sanctions risks into consideration

Head of a Regional Branch of a Major Transport and Logistics Company

in a court dispute over division of marital property worth approximately 2 billion roubles and a related dispute over child custody and maintenance

The Former Managing Director of a Major Russian Energy Supply Company

in a dispute over determining the residence of minor children, the goal being to return the children to Russia after they were unlawfully retained in another country

A Private Client

in a dispute with an ex-spouse over division of marital property, including transfer of a multimillion-rouble asset into the client's personal ownership with minimal compensation, based on proof that the asset was acquired using the client’s personal funds

in relation to conclusion of a child support agreement under which the non-custodial parent transfers real estate as a one-time payment and also covers the child's additional monthly upkeep

in relation to the conclusion of a child support agreement under which the non-custodial parent transfers real estate as a one-time payment and also covers additional monthly expenses for the child's upkeep

The Legal Representative of a Child

in a dispute over allocation of a spousal share from an inheritance more than 13 years after dissolution of the marriage

Team

Gaiane Shtoian
Counsel, attorney, mediator — Family Law and Private Wealth