{"id":30956,"date":"2026-07-01T18:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T15:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/consultations\/koly-tsyvilna-druzhyna-zahybloho-viyskovosluzhbovtsia-maie-pravo-otrymaty-ohd\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T17:28:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:28:35","slug":"koly-tsyvilna-druzhyna-zahybloho-viyskovosluzhbovtsia-maie-pravo-otrymaty-ohd","status":"publish","type":"consultations","link":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/consultations\/koly-tsyvilna-druzhyna-zahybloho-viyskovosluzhbovtsia-maie-pravo-otrymaty-ohd\/","title":{"rendered":"When the unregistered partner of a fallen serviceperson is entitled to the one-off financial assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>Can the unregistered partner of a fallen serviceperson receive the one-off financial assistance (OFA) paid when a serviceperson is killed? Volodymyr Shynkar, attorney and lawyer at the Khmelnytskyi-based NGO <a href=\"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/contacts\/?search=%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%96%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B0\">Podilska Legal League<\/a>, works through the legal status and the procedure for obtaining this assistance step by step.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"719\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Shinkar_Volodymyr-1-719x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Shinkar_Volodymyr-1-719x1024.jpg 719w, https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Shinkar_Volodymyr-1-211x300.jpg 211w, https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Shinkar_Volodymyr-1-768x1094.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Shinkar_Volodymyr-1-143x205.jpg 143w, https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Shinkar_Volodymyr-1-140x200.jpg 140w, https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Shinkar_Volodymyr-1.jpg 1014w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 719px) 100vw, 719px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Volodymyr Shynkar, attorney and lawyer at the NGO &#8220;Podilska Legal League&#8221;<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who an unregistered partner is in legal terms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ukrainian legislation has no concept of a &#8220;common-law wife&#8221; as a legal status. Instead, it uses the construct of de facto family relations \u2014 living together as a family without a registered marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to court practice, such relations are recognised where the following indicators of a family are present at the same time between a man and a woman:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>living together;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>running a joint household;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a shared budget or mutual financial support;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>presenting themselves as a family in dealings with third parties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Establishing the fact of living together as a family without marriage is done exclusively through the courts, and it matters for acquiring rights, including entitlement to social payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who is entitled to the one-off financial assistance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Entitlement to the one-off financial assistance (OFA) where a serviceperson has been killed is set out in Article 16-1 of the Law of Ukraine &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/zakon.rada.gov.ua\/laws\/show\/2011-12#n321\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">On the Social and Legal Protection of Servicepersons and Members of Their Families<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is this provision that establishes the exhaustive list of persons entitled to the payment as family members of the deceased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Under the previous wording of Article 16-1 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/zakon.rada.gov.ua\/go\/2011-12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Law of Ukraine &#8220;On the Social and Legal Protection of Servicepersons and Members of Their Families&#8221;<\/a><\/strong>, in force before the amendments (specifically, before 29.03.2024), those entitled to the OFA were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>the parents of the deceased;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the surviving spouse, provided they had not remarried;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>minor children;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the deceased&#8217;s dependants.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Under that wording, people who had lived together as a family without a registered marriage were not expressly included among the recipients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This meant that a de facto family relationship did not in itself create an entitlement to the OFA without the additional legal confirmation provided for by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What changed in the legislation on 29.03.2024<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the amendments to Article 16-1 of the Law of Ukraine &#8220;On the Social and Legal Protection of Servicepersons and Members of Their Families&#8221;, the list of people who may receive the OFA was expanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It now includes, among others:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>children (including adopted children);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>children conceived during the serviceperson&#8217;s lifetime and born after their death;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>children in respect of whom the serviceperson had been deprived of parental rights;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a widow or widower;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>parents or adoptive parents;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>grandchildren, in the cases provided for by law;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>dependants;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a woman or man who lived together with the serviceperson as a family without a registered marriage, provided this fact has been established by a court.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The legislator has thus expressly recognised that an unregistered partner may be included among those entitled to the OFA \u2014 but only where the relevant fact has been proven in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When an unregistered partner&#8217;s entitlement arises, and whether the new wording can be applied to a death that occurred before the amendments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The key question in such disputes is when entitlement to the one-off financial assistance arises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The general approach is that entitlement to the OFA arises at the moment of the serviceperson&#8217;s death, as the legal fact to which the law ties the emergence of the corresponding right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this reason, the Supreme Court proceeds in its case law on the basis that the range of people who may claim the payment is determined by the law <strong>in force at the time of the serviceperson&#8217;s death<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In simpler terms: if, at the time of the serviceperson&#8217;s death, an unregistered partner was not among the OFA recipients defined by law (that is, before 29.03.2024), the subsequent expansion of that list does not create a retrospective entitlement to the payment for her, and she cannot claim the OFA.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>An unregistered partner&#8217;s entitlement to the OFA is not automatic and arises only where the following conditions are met together:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>de facto family relations exist;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>this fact has been established by a court;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the relevant category of persons was included among the recipients in the wording of the law in force at the time of death (before 29.03.2024), or is included on the basis of the current wording where that wording can be applied.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The main dispute in cases of this kind comes down to the combination of two legal facts: when the entitlement arose (the serviceperson&#8217;s death) and the range of people defined by the law as at that moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An example from court practice is available <a href=\"https:\/\/reyestr.court.gov.ua\/Review\/136451925\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>This material was produced by the Legal Development Network public union with the support of the international charitable platform GlobalGiving. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the Legal Development Network.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Cover photo for the article: <a href=\"https:\/\/depositphotos.com\/ua\/home.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">depositphotos.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u041f\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043e \u0446\u0438\u0432\u0456\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e\u0457 \u0434\u0440\u0443\u0436\u0438\u043d\u0438 \u043d\u0430 \u041e\u0413\u0414 \u043d\u0435 \u0454 \u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u043c\u0430\u0442\u0438\u0447\u043d\u0438\u043c \u0456 \u0432\u0438\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0430\u0454 \u043b\u0438\u0448\u0435 \u0437\u0430 \u0441\u0443\u043a\u0443\u043f\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0456 \u043f\u0435\u0432\u043d\u0438\u0445 \u0443\u043c\u043e\u0432.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":30503,"template":"","project":[],"section":[523,548,666],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations\/30956"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/consultations"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations\/30956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30958,"href":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/consultations\/30956\/revisions\/30958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project?post=30956"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=30956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}