The conversation
We work out the situation and the goals: what must be preserved, what can be negotiated.
PRACTICE / 10
Family, inheritance and employment matters
In family and inheritance matters the stakes are never just the amount claimed: relationships, children and reputations are on the line. So we start with negotiation and settlement; court comes when nothing else works.
- Handled by
- Attorneys of the bar
- Format
- Negotiation and court
- Confidential
- Privilege — art. 8, Law 63-FZ
The details of such cases are never taken into the public domain — or onto this website: confidentiality is part of an attorney’s work.
What we do
- Handle divorce and annulment cases.
- Divide marital property — by agreement and in court.
- Draft prenuptial agreements.
- Handle inheritance cases and disputes between heirs.
- Handle housing disputes.
- Handle employment disputes: reinstatement, recovery of pay, dismissal disputes.
Typical situations
- A divorce that has to divide a business, property and loans.
- Heirs cannot agree while the deadline for accepting the estate runs.
- An employer backdated a dismissal.
- Spouses want to agree the property regime in advance.
HOW THE WORK IS BUILT
How the work is built
Negotiation
Talks with the other side, draft agreements.
Court
If agreement is impossible — the claim and representation at all instances.
WHO HANDLES IT
Attorneys in this practice
Attorney since 2010, practising in Moscow since 2020. Employment, family, inheritance and housing disputes; pro bono expert to the Moscow Commissioner for the Protection of Entrepreneurs’ Rights.
More about their experience
- Education
- Graduated in 2008 from the Volgograd Law University.
- Practice
- Called to the bar in 2010. From 2010 to 2020 a member of the Astrakhan Regional Bar; since 2020 practising in Moscow, a member of the Moscow City Bar Chamber.
- Public work
- Pro bono expert to the Commissioner for the Protection of Entrepreneurs’ Rights in Moscow.
In the profession since 2011, called to the bar in 2019. Civil, commercial and corporate disputes, criminal defence, real estate, business support, insolvency.
More about their experience
- Education
- Graduated in 2011 from the Odessa National Law Academy (law degree). In 2017 completed a master’s programme at the Crimean Law Institute, a branch of the Academy of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation.
- Practice
- Working in the profession since 2011, including more than ten years in courts of general jurisdiction and commercial (arbitrazh) courts of first instance and appeal, among other roles as a judge’s assistant. Called to the bar in 2019.
- Focus
- Representing individuals in civil matters; extensive experience of commercial and corporate disputes, real-estate transactions, ongoing legal support of businesses and insolvency cases.
For fourteen years a judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol, and before that a prosecution investigator. Called to the bar in 2026; handles cases at the association’s Mariupol office.
More about their experience
- Education
- 1999 — Yaroslav Mudryi National Law Academy, degree in law.
- Practice
- In the law since 1996, starting on the staff of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol. From 1999 to 2003 she served in the Mariupol prosecution service: assistant to the environmental inter-district prosecutor, then senior investigator of the environmental and district prosecutor’s offices. Later — claims and legal work at the Azov Shipping Company “Torgovy Flot Donbassa”. From 2004 to 2018 — judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol. From 2019 — in the bar: the Balashov & Partners law bureau, and from 2021 head of the Constant Legal Protection advocacy association. Called to the Russian bar in 2026; practises at the Mariupol office of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association.
- Focus
- Criminal defence — drawing on her investigative service and fourteen years on the bench. Civil and family disputes; representation in courts of general jurisdiction.
- Approach
- Experience on both sides of the courtroom — fourteen years of deciding cases and investigative work at the prosecution service — helps her assess a case’s prospects soberly before it ever reaches court.
Evgenia Mitrofanova
Attorney
Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners
Bar association office in Mariupol
In the profession since 2002: an attorney from 2006 and, for eight years, a judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol. A lawyer and psychologist by training; handles cases at the association’s Mariupol office.
More about their experience
- Education
- 2000–2005 — Academy of Labour and Social Relations, degree in law (courts, prosecution and the bar). 2008 — Yaroslav Mudryi National Law Academy, faculty for the training of professional judges, Master of Laws. 2017 — a further degree in psychology.
- Practice
- In the profession since 2002: court session secretary, attorney’s assistant, and from 2006 an attorney of the Azov Advocacy Company — deputy chair and then chair of its presidium in 2008–2010. From 2010 to 2018 — judge of the Primorsky District Court of Mariupol, appointed for an indefinite term, general docket. Thereafter — advocacy and in-house practice, including anti-corruption work. An attorney at the Mariupol office of the Kovalev, Malyutov, Tsypkalo & Partners Moscow Bar Association.
- Focus
- Criminal defence, including corruption offences — backed by eight years on the bench and specialist training in corruption investigations. Civil, family and inheritance disputes; representation in courts of general jurisdiction.
- Further training
- National School of Judges seminars (2015–2016), including on personal-data protection law; a special course of the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest on investigating corruption offences and combating human trafficking (2016).
- Approach
- The combination of judicial experience and a psychology degree helps in cases where negotiation matters as much as the law: family, inheritance and neighbour disputes.
QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
Can we divorce without going to court?
If both spouses agree and there are no minor children — through the civil registry office. Otherwise the court dissolves the marriage; property and children can be dealt with separately.
How is property registered in one spouse’s name divided?
Whatever was acquired in marriage is, as a rule, common — whoever it is registered on. The exceptions are gifts, inheritances and whatever a prenuptial agreement provides.
Are loans and debts divided on divorce?
Common obligations are apportioned in proportion to the shares awarded — if the loan was taken for the family’s needs. Who borrowed and for what is a matter of proof, and documents matter more than emotions.
We never married. Does a common-law partner inherit?
Without a will or inheritance contract — as a rule, no: a cohabitant is not among the legal heirs. If you want to protect your partner, make a will — we will help do it properly.
I was dismissed “for cause” and disagree. What are the deadlines?
For dismissal disputes, one month from receiving the dismissal order or the employment record book. The deadline is strict — do not delay the consultation.
NEXT STEP
Let’s discuss your situation
The consultation is free when an agreement is signed: that is where we say whether the case has prospects and how the work would be built.