Severe statistics is relentless: in Russia, parents' debt to children amounts to about 100 billion rubles. Bailiffs call terrible numbers: the number of debtors exceeds 1,705,000 people, the service has to be forced to pay negligent mothers with fathers. In favor of children exported 16.3 billion in national currency.
All aspects of such relations are regulated by legislative acts, which clearly state how funds are calculated, assigned and paid, how alimony is collected for disabled children or the elderly.
What is alimony?
The definition of the term "alimony" gives the Family Code of the Russian Federation (RF IC). This concept refers to the funds that parents allocate for the maintenance of their own children until the age of majority of the latter upon separation.
Maintenance obligations are defined in the same RF IC (Section V). In the case of voluntary provision of maintenance for children, the form and order are determined by the spouses independently. Chapter 16 of the Family Code specifies for parents the opportunity to independently prepare, execute and sign an agreement on the payment of alimony to ensure a decent standard of living for minors.
In the absence of the above agreement, the court decides on a monthly collection from the defendant in the amount of 1/4 earnings and / or other income for 1 child. If the income of the spouse is irregular, their size is constantly changing, or he does not have them at all, then in such cases the alimony is set in a fixed sum of money. It is determined on the basis of the need to ensure that the child is as close as possible to the standard of living.
Important: if during a divorce, children remain with both the father and the mother, then alimony is paid in favor of the less well-to-do parent in the form of the amount charged by the court each month.
If a child is suddenly ill, has had an accident, etc., then to ensure all unforeseen, force majeure expenses for helping him, treating, paying for nurses, the whole maintenance of the victim, can be brought by the court to any of the parents, even if the latter did not have a single delay in the payment of alimony, or he had his own difficult circumstances.
What's new about alimony in the law of 2015
At the beginning of 2015, a very difficult socio-economic situation developed in the country. The next crisis significantly affected the level of income and the quality of life of families, especially low-income ones. Therefore, at all levels of the state system, legislation is actively discussed in relation to maintenance obligations and its enforcement. What do we have as a result on these issues in 2015?
1. The established procedure for the accrual, appointment and payment of funds for the maintenance of a child in 2015 remains unchanged.
2. The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation is considering a bill on amending certain laws in order to strengthen the guarantees of the rights of children in terms of receiving alimony. One of the proposed innovations is the payment of debts from the regional budget, if the non-payer could not be persuaded to do this on his own. It is also proposed to establish the guaranteed amount of alimony in the amount of the subsistence minimum in each specific subject of the Russian Federation.
3. In 2015, according to Art. 117 of the RF IC, will continue the indexation of alimony in a solid sum of money. It is performed as the size of the subsistence minimum changes.
How to get child support
If the need arose for child support, then there may be two options for solving this situation:
1. spouses are able to agree and decide everything on a voluntary basis;
2. Spouses can not solve the case "amicably", you have to decide everything to decide in court.
Let us examine both options in more detail.
Payment on a voluntary basis. In this case, it is a question of drawing up and concluding a maintenance agreement. It is the best option for both spouses and the state, since such a process is much faster than solving a problem through a court.
Maintenance agreement is concluded between the spouse who is obliged to make payments and the spouse who is entitled to receive such payments. Instead of the second party, the official representative has the right to sign the document.
When drafting such an agreement should be considered:
- both parties voluntarily and independently establish the procedure, terms of payment and the amount of alimony;
- all the points on which the parties have found consent, should be stated in the document in writing, then the maintenance agreement is notarized;
- it should be borne in mind that without a notarization the agreement is legally zero, that is, it will not have any force;
- a competently executed agreement on the payment of alimony is equal to the enforcement list, and in the event of non-fulfillment of the obligations outlined in the document, the injured party has the right to submit it to the executive bodies with a request to recover the debt from the negligent spouse.
Payments through recourse. To go to court with a claim for payment of alimony should be in two cases:
1. Spouses can not agree on a voluntary basis;
2. The achieved and executed alimony agreement is violated by the spouse who is obliged to make payments.
The amount allocated on a monthly basis for the maintenance of a minor child can be assigned either in a fractional amount or in a fixed amount - in a fixed sum of money.
For registration of alimony need the following documents:
- birth certificate of children (each child, if there are several), parents' passports;
- marriage certificate, if it is saved, or a certificate of its dissolution, if the spouse is divorced;
- a claim in which the name of the court, the full name of the applicant (claimant) with the residential address, the claim with the reason thereof, the evidence as the basis for the claim, as well as the list of documents attached with the application are indicated;
- Evidence documented: a certificate of living together with a child (extract from the house register), etc.
Algorithm to go to court
1. Collection of required documents.
2. Execution of a claim, which can be filed at the place of residence of both the respondent and the claimant.
3. Court review of the case.
4. Decision on the recovery of alimony.
5. The direction of the case to the executive bodies that contribute to the execution of the court decision.
How old is the child payment of alimony
Payment of funds for the maintenance of the child is carried out before his majority (up to 18 years). In the event that he is absolutely incapable and needs material assistance, then the monthly payments continue. The determination of the amount of alimony and the order of their transfer is still determined by the court.
If the child is already 18 years old, you can still file a claim for alimony, as there is no statute of limitations for claims that come from family relationships in the legislation of the Russian Federation. So, there are no restrictions in this regard on the requirement to pay for maintenance (Article 107 of the RF IC). Even in the case of an adult child, the debt must be repaid. But the plaintiff should take into account that the funds will be recovered only for the last 3 years, nothing more.
Alimony for 2 children
If the parents live separately or even divorced, the spouse, free from the "burden" in the form of 2 children, is obliged to pay alimony for their maintenance in monetary terms (in rare cases - in kind). The amount of payments in this case is regulated by art. 81 of the RF IC and is set as a share equal to 1/3 of the monthly income of the parent. This part directed to the maintenance of children is not fixed and may vary depending on the living conditions of the payer.
When calculating the projected amount of alimony, the following points should be considered:
- the minimum amount of payments for two children - 33% of the monthly income (Art. 80, 81 of the RF IC), the maximum - can not exceed 70% of this amount (Art. 138 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
- in order not to depend on a constantly changing amount of income, usually the amount of alimony is determined precisely in shares;
- when applying to the court for recovery of payments for the maintenance of children, documentation should be carefully prepared prior to the meeting to confirm the reasonableness of the requested amount of contributions to minors: the court’s decision can either increase or decrease the amount;
- if the spouse “free” of children is willing to voluntarily pay an amount not less than that established by the court, then such relations are governed by art. 109 of the RF IC.
- the spouse is obliged to make payments, even if he has no official income or they are not permanent (art. 81, 83 of the RF IC);
- Article 117 of the RF IC regulates the mandatory indexation of the amount of alimony.
Alimony for 3 children
Raising three children, ensuring that they receive the necessary education is not an easy task, even for a full-fledged family. Registration, competent calculation and receipt of alimony for an incomplete "cell of society" becomes a very important matter. Family Code in this situation determines the size of payments in half the income of the payer. Therefore, a spouse who takes care of raising three or more children is entitled to rely on a sum ranging from 50% to 70% of the amount received monthly by the second spouse.
What exactly is taken into account when determining the monthly income? This amount includes:
- funds that were accrued at piece rates, salaries or tariff rates, interest received from the provision of services, the sale of goods;
- all amounts included in the allowances and / or additional payments to the salary (for example, for years of service, the specifics of working conditions, night work, industry awards, work experience, etc.), that is, what refers to stimulating and compensation payments, as well as payments for performance;
- various types of bonuses and awards, regardless of their frequency;
- the sum of coefficients and allowances established in each specific region (the so-called northern, for living in arid areas, etc.);
- any other types of income that can be officially confirmed.
If children have a spouse from different marriages, then the laws of the Russian Federation do not delimit the payment of alimony by the number of the latter. The second spouse will receive the amount depending on the number of marriages of the first. Suppose a father has two children from a first marriage and one from a second. Accordingly, each former spouse will receive not 50% of his income, but 33.3% - the first wife (for two children) and 16.7% - the second (for one child).
If the father refuses to pay alimony - methods of recovery
The situation is unpleasant when the defendant refuses to pay alimony, primarily because a minor child is in dire need of these funds. The process of debt collection is regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation and the Federal Law "On Enforcement Proceedings".
Debt recovery actions:
1. Handling a writ of execution or an agreement to bailiffs
2. The direction of the service to the payer of the decision from the opening of the case with the proposal to independently pay the debt.
3. Delivery of the executive sheet of the employer's administration of the defendant. The accounting department of the institution independently makes the necessary deductions.
3. Application to a malicious defaulter of a complex of measures of compulsory execution: for example, collecting rights and objects of ownership, up to the realization of the latter through an auction.
4. Possible limitation of the debtor, according to the application of the alimony recipient, in his rights to travel abroad (Art. 67 of the above-mentioned Federal Law).
5. The extreme measure is the initiation by the bailiffs of a criminal case (Article 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
If the bailiff service does not cope with the solution of the problem, it is better to go to court to collect the debt, up to and including the expropriation of the property of the debtor. Article 115 of the RF IC allows to consider the issue of charging a penalty for each non-payment day (0.5% of the debt amount).
There are many other measures that are used by the bailiffs before initiating a criminal case, unfortunately, they are not always effective and we have to use such cardinal ones.
