Dividing property in a divorce in Uzbekistan: what is split in half and what is not

Everything acquired during the marriage is, as a rule, split in half — regardless of whose name it is in or who earned the money. Property each spouse had before the marriage, and anything received as a gift or inheritance, is not divided. Below: what counts as joint and personal property, when the court departs from equal shares, how a mortgaged apartment and debts are divided, what a prenuptial agreement changes and how much time you have to divide property after a divorce.

What counts as the spouses' joint property

Under Article 23 of the Family Code, property acquired during the marriage is the spouses' joint property unless the law or a marriage contract provides otherwise. It includes:

• each spouse's wages and business income, pensions and benefits (except payments with a specific purpose, such as financial aid or compensation for harm to health);
• apartments, houses and cars bought with joint income;
• bank deposits, securities and shares in companies;
• property bought before the marriage was registered but with the future spouses' joint money.

It does not matter whose name the apartment is in or who paid. And if one spouse ran the household, raised the children or had no income of their own for another valid reason, their rights to the joint property are the same.

What is not divided: personal property

Each spouse keeps as their own (Articles 25–27 of the Family Code):

• what belonged to them before the marriage;
• what they received during the marriage as a gift, by inheritance or through other gratuitous transactions;
• items for personal use — clothes, shoes and the like, even if bought with joint money. The exception is jewellery and other luxury items: these are divided;
• the children's things — clothes, school and sports equipment, musical instruments: these stay with the parent the children live with, without compensation;
• deposits opened in the names of the couple's minor children: these belong to the children.

There are two important exceptions. First, if investments made during the marriage significantly increased the value of one spouse's personal property (major repairs, reconstruction, refitting), the court may treat it as joint. Second, if the spouses had in fact ended their family relationship and lived apart before the divorce, the court may treat property each of them acquired during that period as personal.

Is it always split in half

The spouses' shares are equal unless a marriage contract says otherwise (Article 28 of the Family Code). But the court may depart from equal shares:

• in the interests of minor children — for example, by increasing the share of the parent they stay with;
• based on a spouse's interest that deserves attention — in particular, if the other spouse had no income without good reason or spent joint property to the detriment of the family.

The court must give detailed reasons in its decision for departing from equal shares, so these circumstances have to be proved. If one spouse spent joint money against the other's wishes and not in the family's interest, transferred property to someone else, hid it or damaged it, the court may take that property or its value into account in the division.

How a mortgaged apartment, loans and debts are divided

The spouses' joint debts are allocated in proportion to the shares awarded to them (Article 28 of the Family Code). The Supreme Court Plenum, in its Resolution No. 3 of 20 February 2023, explains the details:

• an apartment bought during the marriage with a loan or mortgage is joint property, and the outstanding loan balance is a joint obligation of the spouses;
• the spouses are liable to the bank in proportion to their shares in the apartment, and the bank is joined to the case as a third party;
• if one spouse later pays more than their share, once the loan is repaid they may recover the overpayment from the other or ask for the shares to be redistributed;
• if one spouse bought the apartment on credit before the marriage and the loan was repaid during the marriage, the amounts paid during the marriage are joint;
• wedding debts and expenses are not taken into account.

Property is valued at market prices at the time of the hearing; if the value is disputed, an expert appraisal is ordered. If an item goes to one spouse, the other is awarded monetary compensation. An apartment that cannot be physically divided is not "cut up" by the court: the options are compensation or setting an order of use. A car usually stays with the spouse who actually used it and holds a driving licence.

Example. Say a couple bought an apartment during the marriage for 900 million soums, of which 300 million is still owed to the bank. They have two children, who stay with the mother. If the court finds no grounds to depart from equality, the apartment is divided 1/2 and 1/2, and each is liable to the bank for half of the balance — 150 million soums. If the court increases the mother's share in the children's interests, the debt is also allocated in proportion to the new shares.

What a prenuptial agreement changes

A marriage contract can be signed before the marriage is registered (it takes effect upon registration) or at any time during the marriage. It must be in writing and certified by a notary (Articles 29–31 of the Family Code); no state fee is charged for certification.

The contract can establish separate or shared ownership of all property or of specific items, and decide in advance who gets what on divorce. If there is a contract, property is divided under its terms, and anything not mentioned in it is divided by law. Terms that put one spouse in an extremely unfavourable position — for example, completely depriving them of any right to property acquired during the marriage — may be declared invalid by the court at that spouse's request. A marriage contract cannot govern matters concerning the children.

How to divide property: agreement or court

Joint property can be divided during the marriage, together with the divorce or afterwards (Article 27 of the Family Code). If you agree, sign a property division agreement — you can have it notarised if you wish. If you disagree, the court decides.

1. Draw up a list of the joint property with approximate market values and documents for each item.
2. If you fear the other spouse will sell or hide property, ask the court for interim measures such as an asset freeze.
3. Pay the state fee — 4% of the value of the property you claim, but not less than 1 BRV (440,000 soums) (Law on State Duty). If division is claimed together with the divorce, the divorce fee is paid separately.
4. File the claim with the court where the defendant lives; claims concerning the right to a building are heard by the court where the building is located. You can file online via my.sud.uz.
5. If the division affects the rights of third parties — for example, a farm — the court will separate it into a different case.

Note: joint real estate registered in one spouse's name can be sold only with the other spouse's notarised consent. Without it, the spouse can challenge the sale in court within one year of learning about it (Article 24 of the Family Code).

How much time do you have to divide property after a divorce

Claims by former spouses to divide property are subject to a three-year limitation period (Article 27 of the Family Code). An important detail: according to the Plenum, it runs not from the date of divorce but from the day the person learned or should have learned that their right was violated — for example, when the former spouse sold the apartment or stopped letting them in. The court applies the limitation period only if the other side asks it to; it does not do so on its own. Still, do not put it off for years: in that time the property may be sold and evidence lost.

When should you call a lawyer

If you agree on who takes what, a notarised agreement is enough. A lawyer is needed if:

• your spouse hides income, has re-registered property to relatives or sold it without your consent;
• the division involves a business, a company share or a farm;
• the apartment is mortgaged and the bank's interests must be taken into account;
• you want a larger share in the children's interests or to challenge a marriage contract.

In these disputes, valuation and evidence of investments and of where the money came from become decisive. More on how we handle such cases on our family and inheritance law page.

In brief

• What is acquired during the marriage is joint, whoever's name it is in, and is as a rule split in half.
• Pre-marital property, gifts and inheritances are personal, unless significant investments were made during the marriage.
• The court may depart from equal shares in the children's interests or if a spouse squandered property.
• Mortgages and joint debts are split in proportion to the shares; wedding debts are not counted.
• The time limit is three years from when you learned your right was violated, not from the date of divorce.

Photo: Quitochka, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)