Balancing Interests of Spouses Concluding Marital Agreements and Their Creditors in Eastern Europe

Balancing interests of spouses concluding marital agreements and their creditors in Eastern Europe When entering into marital agreements, spouses should be aware that this tool cannot be used to avoid liability for their obligations to creditors. The law aims to prevent such an occurrence by offering various measures to stop spousal abuse of a marital agreement. This article is a result of the study of several closely related legal systems in Eastern Europe, namely, Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. Analysing the legislation, the practice of its application by the courts, and the doctrine of these jurisdictions, the author found out the approaches used to protect creditors. Using the comparative method, the author learned what is the main source of protective measures in the jurisdictions of interest, whether there are similar approaches or unique solutions, at what stages the creditors’ protection is more effective, how radically different approaches can actually lead to the same result and, vice versa, how the same measure may have different applications. The analysis of this data enables conclusions to be drawn regarding the degree to which spouses’ interests are balanced with those of their creditors in the Eastern European legal tradition.