Maternity capital when adopting a child - features of receipt by adoptive families

State policy in 2021 is aimed at improving the demographic situation. The legislator is also taking measures to increase the number of children left without parental care and transferred to the families of citizens. The priority form of placement is adoption. Financial incentives for adoptive parents are minimal. However, they are entitled to all benefits, just like blood families. Let's consider whether it is possible to obtain maternity capital when adopting a child.

Is maternity capital provided upon adoption?

By issuing maternity capital, the Russian state supports families with children. Subsidies from the federal budget can be used for the construction or purchase of housing, education of children, or savings.

Until 2021, only families with two or more children could apply for maternity capital. But this year, changes were made to Federal Law No. 256 “On additional measures of state support for families with children,” according to which families raising one child can also apply for maternity capital. It does not matter whether the child is natural or adopted.

Recipients of maternity capital can be:

Women who gave birth or adopted a child.
Men who have adopted a child on their own.
Men, parents or adoptive parents of a child, if their wife (mother or adoptive parent of this child) has died, are deprived of the status of an adoptive parent or parental rights.
Children whose parents or adoptive parents have died or have been deprived of parental rights and the status of adoptive parents.

Thus, after legislative changes, the list of opportunities to obtain maternity capital has expanded.

Who cannot become an adoptive parent

Those spouses, one of whom:

Partially incapacitated;
Incapacitated.
The adoptive parent is ill and is unable to perform his duties.
Underage.
Former convicts.
Citizens whom a judge has deprived of parental rights (even if partially limited in these rights).
Foreigners (some Europeans) who have entered into a same-sex marriage.
Those who have a family income that does not reach the subsistence level, even taking into account the income of the adoptee. When adopting stepchildren, this provision is not taken into account.
Citizens whose permanent place of residence has not been determined. An exception is for representatives of indigenous peoples, if these persons adopt a child belonging to the same indigenous people.
Those who had previously fulfilled the obligations of guardianship (trusteeship), but were removed from the performance of these duties because the performance was carried out improperly. The same provision applies to unscrupulous former adoptive parents.
Potential adoptive parents were unable to complete the training (special cases). As a result, the guardianship and trusteeship authorities do not allow them to adopt a child.

The amount of maternity capital in 2020

To date, the following standards for maternity capital payments have been established:

466,617 rubles per child.
616,617 rubles for two and three children.

If parents or adoptive parents of two or three children have already used the right to receive maternity capital before the end of 2021, then in 2020 they can receive an additional 150,000 rubles.

Indexation of this subsidy occurs if it was received but not spent and in the case of partial expenditure of the money received (the remaining amount is indexed).

What can you spend maternity capital on?

This subsidy is a type of targeted government support. Accordingly, it can also be spent only on specific purposes.

Immediately after the birth of a child, based on clause 6.1 of Article 7 of Federal Law No. 256 “On additional measures to support families,” maternity capital can be spent on:

Mortgage payment and its repayment.
Payment for preschool education.
Purchasing goods for a disabled child.
Receiving additional payments for the needs of a child under 3 years of age.

Three years after the birth of children, according to paragraph 3 of the same article of Federal Law No. 256, parents and adoptive parents have the right to spend maternity capital on:

Buying a home and building it without a mortgage.
Home renovation.
Payment for children's education.
Cumulative pension of the mother or adoptive mother.

Maternity capital is not issued in cash; it is transferred to pay for targeted expenses. But if the family’s financial difficulties are documented, a monthly payment in the amount of the subsistence minimum may be allocated from the amount of maternity capital.

It is worth knowing that any methods of cashing out maternity capital are a violation of the law, for which criminal liability is provided.

Special purpose

Maternity capital is allowed to be used in 4 different directions. You can choose one of them or a combination of them.

Improving living conditions

This includes the acquisition of apartments, rooms, houses and shares in construction (including on credit), as well as the reconstruction of premises and the creation of conditions for more comfortable living for families with children. In such cases, money is spent in the following areas:

For the reconstruction of an existing residential premises.
Self-construction of a house (the amount is transferred to the account of the certificate holder by the Pension Fund).
Construction or purchase of housing. There is a non-cash transfer of funds to the account of the developer or bank where the mortgage agreement will be executed. In accordance with it, financial assistance can be used to pay both the down payment and interest on the loan.

Payment for educational services

The point includes the education of each child in nurseries and kindergartens, creative sections, schools, technical schools and universities in Russia. The funds or part of them can be used for the education of all children in the family, both natural and adopted. The certificate is the property of not only its owner. The document applies to all family members. You can spend funds like this:

By paying for educational services from a variety of accredited educational institutions.
For food, accommodation and care for preschool children in appropriate institutions.

Directing money to mother's funded pension

This option is intended to ensure the material wealth of a woman with many children in the future. Mothers spend a significant amount of time on maternity leave, which leads to a loss of qualifications and the ability to find suitable work in the future.

It should be noted that this direction is the only one in which a woman is allowed to change her mind and change the purpose of the payment to another. This could be, for example, providing education for a child or a mortgage. This method of using subsidies is the most unpopular.

Reimbursement of costs for social adaptation of disabled children under three years of age

The method covers both technical capabilities and rehabilitation and medical procedures according to the list determined by the Government of the Russian Federation. The benefit is not intended to be spent on daily needs (hygiene items, clothing and food). For current expenses you need to rely on your own strength. This position of the state aims to provide material assistance for global needs for which its own funds may not be sufficient. Therefore, from the very beginning you should decide on the direction of using the subsidy. The only legal opportunity to receive cash from maternity capital was a lump sum payment, which in 2021 was increased from 20 to 25 thousand. Such deductions were a temporary measure. In 2019, cashing out of maternal certificate funds is not possible.

Conditions of receipt

Adoptive parents can receive maternity capital only if:

The right to it has not yet been used.
The court decision on adoption has already entered into force.

It is also necessary to take into account that the right to receive maternity capital by adoptive parents depends on its receipt by the blood mother:

When the mother receives and uses capital, the adoptive parents have the right to receive another certificate.
If the mother received it but did not use it, then the right to use these funds passes to the adoptive parents and they are not issued a new certificate.

Receiving money takes place within a strictly defined procedure.

Who has the right to manage state support funds?

A family must have at least two children for its members to count on receiving government support. The following people take part in the social program:

family;
living alone.

A second child can not only be born, but also adopted.
The same provision applies to all subsequent children. They must be born or adopted in the time period from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2021. A package of documents is compiled and an application is drawn up. Then a certificate is issued. This document confirms the presence of a conditional sum of money, which for now remains with the Pension Fund on the personal account of the document submitter.

Step-by-step action plan

For adoptive parents, the algorithm of actions to receive a subsidy in the form of maternity capital includes:

Preparation of documents.
Contacting the Pension Fund at your place of registration.
Obtaining a certificate.
Use of funds.

From April 15, 2021, certificates will be issued even without an application from the recipients. The pension fund will have the right to issue maternity capital on the basis of:

Civil registry office data.
Information issued by municipal authorities upon request.

In practice, immediately after registration of adoption, the Pension Fund will independently check the documents and send a certificate to the adoptive parents. But if they wish, they can apply for it themselves. They retain this right.

Collection of documents

Obtaining a certificate for maternity capital is possible only if you provide:

Statements.
Passports.
Marriage certificates.
Certificates of birth, adoption or adoption of children.
A court decision on adoption that has entered into force.
SNILS of adoptive parents and children.

When applying for a certificate of a child, and not his adoptive parents, he must submit documents giving the right to such an application. They are:

A court decision on the sole adoption of a child by a man.
Death certificate of his adoptive mother.
A court decision to cancel an adoption.

Local authorities will provide the missing documents upon request of the Pension Fund.

Grounds for termination

Death of a person;
carrying out the procedure for depriving parental rights in relation to a parent;
criminal acts of parents against one or more children;
cancellation of adoption;
complete waste of allocated funds.

If the certificate is lost, the state issues a duplicate.

On our website you can find other useful materials about adopting a child. We offer you to read articles about the payment of alimony for adopted children after divorce and the benefits provided to a family with an adopted child.

Appeal to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation

Only the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation has the right to issue a certificate for maternity capital.

You can submit documents to it:

Personally, at your place of residence.
Via the official website.
Through MFC.
On the State Services portal.

The application is filled out on a special form. At the end, the applicant puts his signature.

The text of the application must indicate:

Name of the local branch of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.
Adoptive parents' information.
Passport data.
Citizenship.
SNILS.
Residence and registration address.
Telephone.
Passport details of the authorized person (if he is involved in submitting documents).
Method of obtaining a certificate: in person, by mail, at the MFC or on the State Services portal.
Type of certificate (paper or electronic).
Address for sending it.
List of attached documents.
Signature.

In exchange for the application and documents, the applicant will be given a notice of acceptance of the application and the date of issue of the certificate.

MFC and Pension Fund specialists are required to keep the secret of adoption, which they learn when submitting an application for the issuance of maternity capital. Disclosure of this secret is punishable under Article 155 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Rights of adoptive parents, guardians and foster parents to special benefits

Despite the fact that adoption and guardianship/trusteeship do not imply financial remuneration for the adoptive parent or guardian/trustee, current legislation provides for a one-time payment upon the transfer of the child into foster care (Article 12.1 of the Law “On State Benefits...” dated May 19, 1995 No. 81-FZ ). The adoptive parent also has the right to receive it, although his education services will be paid. The amount of the fee is fixed in the foster family agreement.

Thus, regardless of the form used for placing a child in a family, both the adoptive family and the adoptive parent or guardian/trustee will receive the lump sum payment due for this in 2021. However, only one person can become the recipient of the payment if there are several adoptive parents, guardians/trustees or adoptive parents. In this case, such an allowance is paid for each child.

To receive payments upon adoption of a child, establishment of guardianship/trusteeship, or transfer to a foster family, the recipient of the benefit should submit an application at the place of residence to the body authorized by the region of the Russian Federation to consider this issue. Applications can be made in person, by post or electronically.

The application will need to be accompanied by a set of documents confirming the right to receive benefits (including in an increased amount) and the absence of parents for children (clauses 34, 35 of the Procedure for assigning state benefits, approved by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated December 23, 2009 No. 1012n).

Funds are paid no later than 10 calendar days from the date of registration of the fact of acceptance of the application by the authorized body or sending the required set of documents by mail (clauses 37, 38.1, 38.2 of the Procedure approved by Order No. 1012n). If the set of documents attached to the application is incomplete, the applicant will receive written explanations about this. The missing documents must be submitted no later than 6 months from the date of receipt of clarification - then the date of the application is considered to correspond to the original one (clause 38.3 of the Procedure approved by Order No. 1012n).

Obtaining a certificate and deadlines

The form of the document for the issuance of maternity capital is identical for both the parents of children and their adoptive parents. It was approved by the Ministry of Health and Social Development in Order No. 1180n of 2021.

By indicating their preferred method of receiving the document, adoptive parents will be able to pick it up:

Personally at the Pension Fund.
At the MFC.
Through the State Services portal (electronically).
Receive by mail.

The Pension Fund must make a decision on the distribution of capital within 15 days. If it is necessary to request and verify additional documents, this period can be increased to 30 days (in accordance with Part 3 of Article 5 of Federal Law No. 256).

Reasons for refusal

The legislation of the Russian Federation defines a number of restrictions on receiving maternity capital for an adopted child. These include:

There is no right to receive a subsidy, since the court decision on adoption has not yet entered into force.
Loss of such a right due to the death of the adoptive parents, deprivation of their parental rights, their commission of a crime against the child, or cancellation of the adoption.
Indication of inaccurate information about children (their number and citizenship).
Previous use of maternity capital.

The refusal must be in writing and delivered to the applicant within 30 days.
Based on this document, applicants for maternity capital can submit an application again after eliminating the reasons for the refusal or appeal the refusal in court. Facebook

How are payments made?

Payments under the certificate are also made on an application basis.
In addition to the application for the transfer of family capital funds to the seller, bank, developer, etc., you must also provide the relevant documents. Among which may be:

mortgage loan agreement;
purchase and sale of old or new housing (houses, apartments, parts of a house, shares in an apartment);
agreement of participation in shared construction, housing cooperative;
contract for the construction of a new residential building;
contract for the reconstruction of a home;
permits for construction, reconstruction;
extracts from the Unified State Register for the reconstructed facility;
title documents for the land plot being developed;
a written obligation to transfer the property to the common shared ownership of all family members within six months from the date of completion of construction work or reconstruction;
an agreement on the provision of paid educational services to a child,
medical recommendations for the acquisition of means of social adaptation, rehabilitation of disabled children, an individual rehabilitation program for a disabled person, preliminary purchase and sale agreements for such means;
documentary confirmation of the fact of purchase of goods, services for social adaptation, integration into society of a disabled child with the possibility of compensation for such costs.

Procedure for transferring funds

All payments are made by bank transfer.
Money is transferred to the bank account of an organization, company, or individual in the amount necessary to repay part and 100% of the buyer’s (acquirer’s) material obligations. This happens after the Pension Fund has approved the submitted package of documents. Pension Fund employees conduct a fairly thorough check of documentation and take measures to establish their authenticity.

Usually the verification procedure lasts at least 1 month. But if there is a need for detailed clarification of questionable or large-volume data, an extension of this period is allowed.

Important! The Pension Fund of Russia notifies the applicant in writing of the approval or disapproval of the application for transfer of funds.

The received refusal can be appealed in court.

Liability of applicants

Within a year from the date of conclusion of the transaction, it can be challenged by any interested parties, as well as law enforcement agencies or the Pension Fund itself if:

detection of forgery during subsequent checks;
falsification of documents;
other deception on the part of the applicant.

In addition, when fraudulent schemes are detected, this fact is reported to the authorized law enforcement agencies. Where is the issue of initiating a criminal case decided?