In addition to legal assistance in the settlement of inherited cases complicated by the “foreign element”, which is a priority in the activities of the “Specialized Law Associates” , the range of SLA services also includes the management of other cases related to the protection of property and personal non-property rights and legitimate interests of Ukrainian individuals and legal entities abroad. The prohibition of their discrimination in comparison with the citizens of the host country, both from foreign state institutions and from private individuals, is an important statutory task of the SLA, especially in the context of the intensification of migration processes in Ukraine, when millions of Ukrainians, for one reason or another, all for the purpose of employment, leave for other countries.

In the sphere of interests of the SLA for the provision of qualified legal assistance in this area through the application of mechanisms provided for by the legislation of a foreign state, bilateral and multilateral treaties involving Ukraine, in particular the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers ratified by Ukraine in 2007, include compensation And pension cases, cases on demanding insurance and social payments, as well as bank deposits, family matters, etc. If necessary, the SLA takes these cases into foreign courts with our foreign business partners.

Obtaining compensation payments

This type of SLA services provides, upon receipt of applications for assistance in obtaining compensation in the event of injury, mutilation, occupational illness or death of a Ukrainian citizen during his / her work abroad. In the first case, the SLA acts in the interests of the victim, in the second – in the interests of the nearest family of the deceased.

In such cases, the SLA first of all finds out whether case is real at all, and if so, what approximate amount of compensation can be expected, and on what conditions the case will be conducted abroad.

Such cases, as a rule, require proof of the employer’s guilt in court and are especially difficult when the injured or the deceased worked illegally and the employer denied the fact of using migrant labor. But even under such circumstances, the SLA has repeatedly succeeded due to its professional actions, for example, in countries such as Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland.

Obtaining pension payments

Despite the fact that Ukraine has concluded about two dozen international treaties regulating the generally good relations in the field of social security, including with countries where there are many Ukrainian migrant workers, SLA sometimes receives requests to consult and provide legal assistance in solving issues related to the appointment and receipt of pensions from abroad, in particular, the payment of pensions to underage children and assistance to the family after the loss of the bread-winner – a labor migrant.

In case of death in such countries as Canada and the UK of a resident pensioner who left his lawful wife in Ukraine, the SLA successfully solves in the relevant foreign pension funds the issue of the appointment of a life-long widow’s pension.

Claiming insurance benefits

If a citizen of Ukraine, working or studying abroad, has acquired there an insurance policy in a private company or is insured in a state social institution, and the insured, in the event of an insured event, unreasonably delays the payment period or even refuses to pay the insurance policy, SLA in case of inquiry of interested persons informs them in detail about the procedure for appealing against such actions of the insured and, at their request, provides practical legal assistance in resolving the dispute in the competent authorities, including the courts of the relevant foreign state.

Legal assistance covers the settlement of disputes arising in the sphere of various types of voluntary and compulsory insurance (life and health insurance, accident insurance, civil liability insurance for land transport owners, etc.).

Reclaiming bank deposits

In the case appeal of persons having legal grounds to apply for bank deposits abroad after the death of their owners, SLA, if there are certain specifics about the location of the deposit and on the basis of a power of attorney, can professionally and confidentially carry out all necessary formalities to locate and claim deposits. This may apply, for example, to accounts that have not been demanded for 60 years in Swiss banks, where list of owners is periodically published on a special website.

Assistance in the field of family law

The SLA provides consultative and practical legal assistance in all matters related to marriage and family relations complicated by a “foreign element”. The complexity of legal regulation here often arises in the presence of contradictions between the norms of the family law of two, and sometimes several states. With the task of being a reliable adviser and an assistant in overcoming these conflicts, the SLA successfully manages such cases. The range of SLA services includes, in particular, legal assistance:

— entering into a marriage with foreigners

— divorcement process with foreigners in administrative (in bodies of the registry office) or judicial procedure

— preparation of projects for marriage contracts with the participation of foreigners

— resolving disputes over the upbringing and residence of children and the division of property between spouses, one of whom is a foreigner

— solving alimony cases peacefully or in a Ukrainian or a foreign court