Who is a dependent in a family according to the law, how to establish the fact and why it is necessary

Domestic legislation does not contain a clear concept of the terms “dependency” or “dependent,” and the characteristics of these concepts are scattered across various provisions of several legal acts. This complicates the consideration of legal issues related to the topic under consideration.

In our article we analyze these concepts based on the norms of the current (primarily civil) legislation. In addition, we will try to understand who can be classified in this category and under what circumstances, for what purposes this is done, and also consider situations in the event of which a citizen or his legal representative will be forced to prove the fact of being a dependent exclusively in court.

What does dependent mean?

This concept implies that a person is fully financially supported by another person. The funds received, in turn, are the main source for the full existence of this citizen.

The concept of the meaning of "dependent" under the law

In the civil legislation of the Russian Federation there is no single clear formulation of the meaning of “dependent”, however, this concept is found in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and in other legislative acts.

The fundamental interpretation is found in the Labor Code. 179. According to this definition, dependents are members of the employee’s family who are under his full financial control. The money with which they live is the only and main source of their income.
It is important to note! That disabled persons are dependents is a distinctive feature of Russian legislation. Unemployed citizens do not belong to this category of citizens.

Who is considered a dependent?

Disability goes through several stages during a person’s life:

1. The child is a dependent due to not reaching working age. Such dependency does not require confirmation and follows from family relationships.

2. In adulthood, loss of ability to work is possible, as a result of which a citizen loses the opportunity to earn his own living. Depending on the severity of the injury or illness, the inability to perform work may be temporary or permanent.

A short-term loss of ability to work (injury or illness) does not lead to disability, since health is restored in the short term. Establishing dependency in case of temporary disability has no prospects.

Also insignificant, that is, does not require judicial or other confirmation, is the establishment of dependency due to the parasitic lifestyle of a physically healthy and capable individual.

Permanent disability is characterized by the impossibility of restoring the state of health to the level necessary to perform a socially significant job duty. With a permanent loss of ability to work, a citizen is assigned a disability, which is divided into 3 groups depending on severity. It is legally justified to consider as a dependent a person with a disability of group 1 or 2, which has official confirmation in the form of a conclusion from a medical commission.

3. In old age, a person can become a dependent in the event of permanent loss of ability to work due to age-related illness or injury, as well as due to natural aging of the body.

Establishing a dependent status (Article 264 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation) allows an individual to acquire, change or terminate personal or property rights.

Who are dependents?

From the above, we can summarize briefly that if a person is physically unable to financially provide for himself on his own, then he is recognized as a dependent.

Based on the legislation of the Russian Federation and precedents of judicial practice, the following categories of persons who are dependents can be distinguished:

Disabled people. In this case, the disability group does not play a role.
Minor children. It should be noted that children have an advantage over other categories of persons. This is expressed in the fact that they do not need to establish the fact of being a dependent.
Minors studying full-time are considered dependents until they reach the age of 23.
One of the spouses raising a child. Moreover, maternity leave does not apply here. The employee, in this case, receives benefits.
Persons who have reached retirement age.
Pensioners, if the amount of their pension is less than the minimum subsistence level established by law, are also dependents who are in the care of their children.

State dependents

Based on references to dependency in the legislative acts of the Russian Federation, it can be determined that a dependent is a citizen who does not have the ability to provide for himself financially, and therefore receives material support from another person or the state. Able-bodied unemployed citizens cannot be dependent.

It is believed that people with disabilities need material support. However, a wide range of citizens are included in the category of those in need of support. The following are considered dependents:

disabled people and those recognized as incapacitated due to mental illness;
children under the age of majority;
adult students;
citizens of retirement age;
persons who have entered into a lifelong maintenance agreement.

There are 2 main categories of people in need of financial support. Dependents of the state and individual individuals are distinguished. Dependents of the first category:

orphans;
pensioners;
students receiving financial support from the state;
disabled citizens who are in specialized government institutions on full state support.

Dependents of citizens

Most able-bodied citizens have dependent relatives. The number of dependents per citizen is not limited by law. Dependents of an individual:

natural and legally adopted children under 18 years of age;
disabled relatives, regardless of age;
sister or brother who have not reached working age;
retired parents;
young grandchildren;
spouse of retirement age;
children, brothers, sisters, grandchildren under 23 years of age until graduation from an educational institution;
citizens who have signed a lifelong maintenance agreement with dependents.

Many people wonder whether a woman who does not work because she is raising a child is a dependent. Until how old can she be a dependent? Dependents are defined as spouses or other relatives who are not working to care for a child under 14 years of age. However, a spouse on paid maternity leave is not a dependent.

Is a Full-Time Student a Dependent If Working?

Citizens of retirement age who support disabled or minor persons have the right to receive dependent payments to a pensioner. Each such person, according to Russian laws, is entitled to a certain amount of a certain amount or so-called social support. These payments are made in the form of an increased insurance portion, which is included in the pension payment when calculated every month.

If they are recognized as such;

people with previously established benefits. This applies to receiving benefits and assistance under the terms of a lifelong maintenance agreement;
minor children, sisters, brothers and grandchildren;
elderly people before and after 80 years of age;
people who have reached retirement age.

How to establish the fact that an individual is a dependent?

Due to the absence of a legally established procedure for registration or registration of being a dependent, it is necessary to establish this fact.

The reason for the need is this - all the rights and privileges of a dependent person begin with the establishment of the fact about it.

As a rule, the fact that an individual is fully financially supported by another person is established by the district court. But this is not a prerequisite, since it is not stipulated in our legislation. That is why the fact of dependency has the right to be determined by local administration bodies and other government agencies.

To establish this fact, it is necessary to submit a corresponding application to one of the above authorities.

The document must contain the following information:

Identification data of the applicant for dependent status - full name, date and place of birth, registration address, passport details, etc.
Certificate of income of all family members.
Documents confirming the applicant’s incapacity for work, the time period and the reason why the citizen was not able to engage in work.
Information about a citizen who is or was supported by a financially dependent person.
Documents that confirm the fact of material support (transfers of funds, receipts, paid bills, receipts and other evidence).
Motives for being dependent.
The purpose of recognizing the fact of being a dependent.
A copy of the application.
Receipt for payment of state duty.

When establishing the fact of being a dependent, judges must take into account the presence of additional income of the applicant: earnings, receipt of social benefits, for example, a pension, or a scholarship.

Good to know! If there are any, it is necessary to find out to what extent the material assistance received from the citizen who is supporting the dependents was necessary and whether this income was the main source of livelihood.

When to claim existing dependents

The fact of being a dependent is not subject to state registration, but there are a number of situations when an able-bodied relative must indicate existing dependents.

Indication of the person's dependents may be required:

In case of bankruptcy. The size of the cost of living in bankruptcy, which is allocated by the manager for the citizen’s living expenses, may depend on the number of dependents. By indicating dependents, you can increase the cost of living and the amount available to the debtor, which will be excluded from the bankruptcy estate.
When receiving a loan. The borrower must list the persons who are dependent on him when applying for a loan. Based on this, the bank makes a decision on the credit limit approved for the person.
When applying for an increase in pension for dependents.
When reducing staff at work. Those with dependents are more likely to retain their jobs than workers without them.
When registering an inheritance. Dependents receive the right to retain their obligatory share in the inheritance.
When taken into custody. In this case, when choosing a method of suppression, the presence of dependents of the prisoner and whether there are other persons who can care for them during the period of imprisonment are taken into account.
When imposing administrative or criminal punishment. Having dependents may result in a reduced sentence.

How is additional payment made to retired parents for full-time students in 2021?

There are also age restrictions for receiving a pension supplement for a full-time student. In particular, this state aid is paid only if the full-time student’s age does not exceed 23 years. It should be noted that parents have the right to receive a pension supplement even during the period when their child is on academic leave. However, there are also exceptions here. In particular, the bonus is not paid if the student’s vacation is related to military service in the ranks of the RF Armed Forces.

In addition, the document also contains information about the student - the last name, first name and patronymic are indicated in full, without any abbreviations. Naturally, the full name of the educational institution must be indicated. The certificate is certified by the signature of the head of the educational institution (with mandatory decoding), seal and corner stamp.

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Until what age is a child considered a dependent?

Separately, it is worth defining what a dependent child is, since there are some exceptions when the status of dependent children is lost. Up to what age dependency is determined depends on the establishment of incapacity and incapacity for work of minor citizens.

For example, when a teenager is emancipated, the breadwinner status is automatically lost, and the child leaves care without waiting for his 18th birthday if:

finds employment;
registers the marriage with the civil registry office.

The termination of dependency will be confirmed by a court decision declaring the minor emancipated.

The period can be extended beyond 18 years if:

you will be studying at an institute or other educational institution without the possibility of parallel work;
there are medical indications and confirmation of a disability group with incapacity status.

As long as the child remains disabled due to a variety of circumstances, he will be considered a dependent of the parent by law. If you are a minor, there is no need to separately confirm your status - most government agencies and supervisory authorities are limited to a certificate of family composition and an extract from the house register about cohabitation.

Payments for a dependent to a pensioner: calculation procedure, calculation features

marriage registration certificate;
a certificate from the house management about joint residence or a copy of the house register;
a copy of your spouse's passport;
work book;
SNILS;
a certificate of income if one of the spouses works.

Additional financial payments are pension payments due to an increase in the insurance part, which is accrued in accordance with the established amount. If there are several dependent children or elderly parents, then payments will be assigned for each.

The purpose of establishing the fact of being a dependent

The procedure for establishing the fact of being a dependent is determined by the ultimate goal pursued by the disabled citizen, which may be as follows:

Allocation of a share in inherited property and funds, or increasing its size.
Assignment of a monthly cash benefit for the loss of a breadwinner.
Compensation for damage due to the loss of a breadwinner.
Mitigation of punishment when committing a criminal offense.
Taking measures to transfer dependents, the arrested breadwinner, into care.
Receiving social benefits provided for family members of military personnel.
Renewal of residence permit and acquisition of citizenship.

Dependency when establishing inheritance rights

The procedure for establishing dependent status is determined by the degree of relationship of the persons applying for a share in the inherited property and funds.

A person who is related to the deceased (Part 1 of Article 1148 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) or who is not a relative (Part 2 of Article 1148 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) can be recognized as a dependent.

A dependent is a relative of the deceased

If there are family ties between the applicant for inheritance and the testator, the fact of dependency may change the order of inheritance provided for by inheritance law.

That is, if the degree of relationship does not allow one to claim priority accession to inheritance rights, establishing dependency in court allows one to include a distant relative in the list of persons of first priority inheritance .

For example, if a disabled nephew was a dependent, and the legal heirs are the wife of the deceased and his children, establishing the fact of dependence allows the nephew to claim equal shares in the property of the deceased.

In order for an applicant to be recognized as a dependent, it is necessary:

So that the person claiming inheritance rights is officially recognized as permanently disabled (permanent loss of ability to work). The supporting document will be a certificate of disability of group I or II, issued based on the results of a medical and social examination.
To the duration of dependent status exceeded one year. Judicial practice has the following precedents for establishing the period of dependency:
in continuous calculation with an interval from the time of death (for example, three years before death, the sister of the deceased was dependent on him for one and a half years due to permanent disability);
in cumulative terms (for example, during his life, the brother of the deceased was dependent three times for a period of four months, that is, the total duration was 1 year and 2 months).
So that the income of the applicant for inheritance consists mainly of the maintenance allocated by the deceased . This circumstance is proven by providing certificates of income of the testator and potential dependent.

The dependent is not a relative of the deceased

In the absence of family ties, recognition of the fact that a person is dependent on the deceased allows him to be included in the list of heirs of the corresponding line. Judicial practice has a number of precedents establishing the dependent status of persons who were not legally married but lived together.

In order to claim inheritance rights in this case, you must:

Be a disabled person of group I or II, and the date of issue of the ITU conclusion must be earlier than the date of death of the testator.
Live together with the deceased. Evidence of this fact can include testimony from relatives, neighbors or officials (for example, representatives of social services).
Be a dependent, that is, supported by the deceased, for more than one year. The duration of dependency is determined similarly to the case of the presence of family ties (see above).
To be financially dependent on the deceased due to the fact that the funds allocated to him constituted the main part of the dependent’s income.

What does status give?

In ordinary life, status is not formalized unless there is a need to formalize certain rights, benefits, or confirmation of financial obligations in relation to other citizens. With the exception of minors, who do not need to confirm the fact of dependency in accordance with generally accepted norms of legislation and the courts, for other citizens there is a procedure for establishing status by a separate application to government bodies.

The following situations may require formal confirmation of status:

Participation in inheritance on an equal basis with other first-line applicants, regardless of the degree of blood relationship.
Registration of state payments in the event of the premature death of a person providing for a dependent (survivor benefits and lump sum payments).
Re-registration of a guardian in connection with the onset of criminal liability and imprisonment of the breadwinner.
The intention to mitigate the punishment by proving that the offender who committed the offense is obliged to support dependents. If there are dependent persons, a less severe sentence may be imposed on the violator.
Obtaining priority in maintaining a job if the employer wants to fire a person who has dependent minors and disabled persons.

To count on benefits and allowances, the interested person applies to the court at the address of registration with a statement of claim. The court ruling that has entered into force will become the basis for confirming the right to certain benefits and priorities for the breadwinner who has taken care of the needy person.

When applying for a pension

Disabled persons, family members of the breadwinner who were dependent on him (except for persons who committed a criminal act that resulted in the death of the breadwinner) can apply for an insurance pension upon his loss. One of the parents or a spouse is assigned a pension regardless of whether they are dependent on the deceased breadwinner.

The opportunity to apply for disability benefits arises when the following conditions are met::

The loss of one or both parents by a child before reaching adulthood.
Receiving injuries, disability, or diseases incompatible with continuing to work.
Reaching retirement age, which is provided for different categories of citizens and professions.

To assign payments to dependents, you should contact the social security authorities with an application and a set of supporting information: documents confirming relationship, disability, death of the breadwinner, etc.

Dependents are also entitled to pension supplements. They are intended for the following categories of citizens: pensioners for a disabled family member, citizens on social security, former military personnel. To receive increased payments to the fixed part of the pension, a citizen should visit the Pension Fund and write an application. The basis for the bonus will be, for example, the presence of a child in an incapacitated status, including with disabled parents.

Pensioners with dependent dependents can count on additional payments through an increase in the pension rate by 1/3 for each incapacitated person. The limit on the number of disabled persons is 3 people. If a pensioner has work experience in the Far North, financial support for dependents is provided in an increased amount.

Under what conditions is a pension supplement due for a spouse?

The law states that the spouses of a pensioner are recognized as his dependents if they are fully supported by him or receive assistance from him, which is their constant and main source of livelihood. The Pension Fund website notes that the category of dependents includes spouses who receive a pension below the pensioner’s subsistence level.

In any case, a pensioner applying for an additional payment to his pension must prove that his spouse is his dependent. To do this, you need to provide the necessary documents to the Pension Fund of Russia, for example, a marriage certificate, certificates from local governments and housing funds, certificates about the composition of the family and the income of all its members, etc. Based on them, the commission determines the degree of security of the spouses by comparing their incomes and decides whether to assign a premium or not. In case of refusal, citizens can go to court to establish the fact of dependency.

What is the amount of the pension supplement for a dependent spouse?

If there is a dependent spouse, the amount of the fixed payment increases by one third. From January 1, 2021, the amount of a fixed payment to the insurance pension for pensioners under 80 years of age and disabled people of group II is 5334.19 rubles. Thus, taking into account the allowance for a dependent, the fixed payment will be 7112.25 rubles.

When reducing staff

When reducing personnel, the employer must take into account the interests of employees, who can count on preferential retention of their jobs. In this regard, dependents are mentioned in Art. 179 of the Labor Code. It is stated here that if there are two or more persons supported, the employee has a better chance of keeping his job than citizens who do not have disabled persons supported.

When registering an inheritance

In the Civil Code, dependents are mentioned in several articles. Great importance is given to the right of such persons to inherit property after the death of the testator. Features of inheritance of property by dependents are given in Art. 1148 of the Civil Code. In order for a dependent to have certain advantages of his status and be able to receive part of the testator’s property without taking into account family ties, when entering into an inheritance he must be disabled at the time of the death of the breadwinner and be in the care of the testator for at least a year before the death of the breadwinner.

The rule on a mandatory share in the inheritance for dependents comes into force only when the inheritance is distributed according to the norms of the will. If the testator did not leave a will, then usually the dependents receive a part of the inheritance according to the law, like his relatives, as part of the heirs of the first priority. But if there is a will, then the testator can express his will in it in any order, and the norms of the law will not be taken into account. But it is unacceptable to infringe on the interests of dependents: they are entitled to ½ part of what they would receive if the inheritance was distributed according to the law.

For example, the testator bequeathed an apartment to his common-law wife. He left behind a disabled daughter, who by law would have become the only heir to the apartment. In this case, the daughter is entitled to ½ of the apartment as a mandatory share in the inheritance, regardless of the will of the testator.

Also, dependents who are not related to the testator may be called upon to inherit if there are no other relatives. Dependents act as heirs of the last eighth stage . In order to become one of the heirs of the 8th stage without family ties, the fact of dependency must be confirmed:

Living for a long time in the same living space with the deceased (cohabitants).
Being on full financial support of the deceased person.
Receiving most of the income from the deceased for subsistence, purchasing medicines and paying for utilities.

If the dependent is a relative of the deceased testator, then in order to receive a part of the inheritance the following conditions must be met:

The person is officially disabled. This fact is confirmed by the conclusion of the commission or a medical certificate.
The person was fully supported by the testator for more than 1 year; the terms may be continuous or consist of several parts.
The deceased actually supported his disabled relative.

Establishing the fact of dependentness of a relative allows him to increase the priority of inheritance : for example, the nephew of a dependent deceased will inherit property together with his mother and daughter from the first priority. Whereas if the nephew were not a dependent, then he would not have the right to receive an inheritance if there were heirs of the first priority.

Compensation for harm to a dependent

To receive compensation for the loss of a breadwinner, you do not have to be disabled; it is enough to be dependent on the deceased to qualify for payment.
To establish the fact of dependency, that is, receipt of funds that constituted the main source of income, you will need to provide:

certificates of income of the dependent and the person supporting him;
documentary or witness evidence of the relationship between the dependent and the deceased in terms of maintenance (for example, receipts or postal notifications about the transfer of funds, etc.).

Dependency is a means to mitigate punishment

To mitigate the punishment (Article 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) for a crime committed, a person who is dependent on the defendant may file a corresponding claim in court.

To establish the fact of dependency in this case, it is enough to provide the court with evidence of the very fact of the dependent’s financial dependence (receipts, receipts, etc.), loss of ability to work will be an additional mitigating circumstance.

Are there responsibilities?

The dependent status does not impose any obligations on these persons, except that in some cases they will have to officially confirm their position in court. This may be required to receive legally required payments.

An appeal to the court is usually required in inheritance cases to allocate dependents a mandatory share or confirm their right to inheritance, as well as when social security authorities or the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation refuse to provide payments required by law.

The fact of being a dependent is established in court through the collection and submission of supporting documents. The application is transferred to the district court at the place of residence.

Thus, dependents are understood as persons who are fully or partially supported by other persons or the state. Having dependent status by default does not impose any obligations or special rights. They do not have to register with the government and officially register their status. Dependents are distinguished from other unemployed persons by their disability status. They cannot work due to age (children under 18 or under 23 when studying at a university), retirement, or disability. Dependents include: disabled spouses, parents, children, grandparents, brothers and sisters.

The obligation to prove that one is a dependent or to indicate that the breadwinner has dependents arises only in certain situations: when registering a mandatory share in the inheritance by law (due to this, dependents can receive a share in the inheritance, even if according to the law they are not entitled to it), when applying for payments in the event of the loss of a breadwinner, when the breadwinner applies for a loan, when going through a bankruptcy procedure, when carrying out a staff reduction procedure at an enterprise. To establish the fact of dependency, you need to go to court.

Orphans left without a breadwinner

Orphan dependents have completely different benefits. For example, they can enter educational institutions for free if they pass the exams. They are entitled to free transport services with a special coupon, free meals twice a day at the school, visits to cultural places without paying entry - theaters, museums, etc.

Orphans left without a breadwinner

Children under three can receive free medications with a doctor's prescription, and those under two will be given free milk formula as prescribed by a doctor.

What legislation mentions dependents?

There are no separate laws and regulations dedicated to dependents. However, this term is mentioned in various legislative documents. These designations are used in civil legislation in the rules concerning the grounds for the emergence of benefits for citizens in connection with inheritance or receipt of state support.

Civil Code

In the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, dependents are mentioned in several articles. Much attention is paid to the possibilities of needy persons to inherit property after the death of the breadwinner. In Art. 1148 establishes that persons who are dependent on the testator for at least a year have the right to receive a share in the inheritance. The following article describes that dependents are entitled to a mandatory share of the inheritance, regardless of the contents of the will.

It should be borne in mind that if a citizen decides to adopt a child, then after the death of the adoptive parent, the adopted child has the right to inheritance on an equal basis with blood relatives. He will be dependent on his parents until he is 18 years old. Dependency is also mentioned in Art. 264 - it establishes the procedure for establishing dependency through the court.

Labor Code

In the Russian Labor Code, the concept of “dependents” is mentioned in Art. 179. The article describes the employee’s preferential rights to retain his job. It is established that if there are 2 or more persons on the payroll, an employee has a better chance of maintaining a job than a citizen who does not have disabled persons on the payroll.

This article also defines a dependent person. According to the law, this is a relative who cannot work and receives constant financial support from a working person. The assistance of an able-bodied citizen should be the main source of material support for the dependent.

Family code

The Family Code does not provide direct reference to dependents. However, this legal document establishes the rights and obligations of citizens in relation to disabled relatives. In particular, the obligations of parents to provide financially for their children are established. In Art. 89 states that the spouse must financially support the other half in the event of her loss of ability to work.

Chapter 15 of the RF IC describes financial obligations in relation to other family members. In Art. 155.2 states that orphans must be provided for by the state.

Sources

https://pravonaslednik.ru/nasledodatelyu/soderzhanie/naxoditsya-na-izhdivenii-chto-oznachaet-i-kto-otnositsya.html
https://expert-nasledstva.com/ustanovlenie-fakta-naxozhdeniya-na-izhdivenii/
https://SemPravorf.ru/opeka/izhdivenec-eto-kto.html
https://zakonguru.com/situacii/izhdiventsy.html
https://zakon-dostupno.ru/opeka/dependent/
https://aif.ru/money/mymoney/kakaya_doplata_k_pensii_polozhena_za_supruga-izhdivenca

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