DONATION AGREEMENT OR CREDITORS' RIGHTS?

DONATION AGREEMENT OR CREDITORS' RIGHTS?

DONATION AGREEMENT OR CREDITORS' RIGHTS?
The creditor appealed to the court with a demand to invalidate the gift agreement concluded between the debtor and his spouse (case no. A40-85061/21).

The courts of two instances refused to satisfy the application and proceeded from the fact that earlier, when considering a separate dispute over the creditor's application for invalidation of land purchase agreements, similar arguments were declared untenable and rejected. 

It has been established that the marriage between the spouses was terminated by a decision of the justice of the peace, and the disputed donation agreement was concluded during the period of the spouses' marriage. The courts stated that the actions of the spouses to conclude a donation agreement did not have the purpose of removing property from foreclosure, since the regime of joint ownership of the spouses extends to the disputed object to the present. 

In addition, the courts noted that there was no evidence in the case file confirming the presence of signs of insolvency or insufficient property of the debtor at the date of the contested transaction. 

The cassation sent the dispute for reconsideration, noting that the applicant presented arguments that at the time of the marriage and gift agreement, both spouses could not have failed to realize the obvious disparity between obligations and assets and made transactions to the detriment of the debtor's creditors. In another case, it was established that the division of jointly acquired property was not recognized as equivalent, and the rights of the bank were violated.

The arguments of the courts about the absence of overdue debts to creditors contradict the circumstances of the case. It follows from the materials that the debtor had obligations to other creditors, banks, arising from personal guarantees. The obligation of the guarantor arises from the moment of conclusion of the guarantee agreement. The debtor should have been aware of the possibility of his obligations as a guarantor. At the same time, the debtor's obligations under the surety agreements were not secured by liquid assets. 

The courts also, in the opinion of the instance, did not take into account that the donation agreement was concluded between the debtor and the spouse, who is an interested party. Awareness and the purpose of harming creditors' property rights are assumed, since the transaction was made free of charge and in relation to the interested party.

 

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03.10.2025