Child support court: how to file and collect in 2021

Child support court is a difficult procedure not only from a legal but also a moral point of view. Minor children require not only time to raise them, but also money to support them. And both parents must support their children, regardless of their marital status. In other words, divorce is not a reason to forget about your child. A parent who should receive money, but does not receive it, can submit a sample application to the court to recover the due amount. When collecting alimony through the court, many nuances are taken into account. Including the correctness of collecting evidence, drawing up documents, etc.

Methods and forms of alimony payments

The collection of alimony by the court is one of the extreme measures, which is not at all mandatory. The law provides for voluntary options for paying alimony, without involving the judiciary. The payment method is chosen depending on the relationship between the former spouses, the financial situation of each party, the extent of their parental responsibility and more.

There are several payment options, taking into account the parameters under consideration:

• Unofficial payment by agreement. This agreement is not recorded legally. But it is not always possible to use the method in question. The measure will be effective if both parents made such a decision voluntarily. If a writ of execution or a court order has been issued, but the parent voluntarily pays child support without being forced, these writs of execution are revoked.
• The payment agreement was notarized. Samples of the agreement in question have the same force as a writ of execution. There are requirements regarding the amount of alimony - they cannot be less than those established in court. Regarding the method and procedure of payment, you can find out about them in Art. 104 RF IC. In particular, a share order or percentage of income is provided. You can also use a fixed amount. Money can be issued periodically or once over a long period of time, but the amount will be larger.
• Forced recovery through court. If a person has a stable official income and permanent employment, money can be collected as a percentage of income, depending on the number of children. The recovery can be fixed if there is no permanent income or in a mixed format. Such a penalty is used if the situation is non-standard. For example, if payments are made in foreign currency, a person does not have a stable income or receives payments randomly.

In order for the court to use a non-standard method of collecting from the alimony payer, evidence of interfering circumstances must be presented. If this is not done, the court will use Article 81 of the RF IC to extract funds. That is, the money will be collected as standard, although with a clause about reducing or increasing the amount.

Sometimes the court may review alimony payments. But then the recovery must be reasoned. Arguments may include changes in financial or family status. Sometimes the authority itself may consider additional grounds for reviewing the amount of alimony and the specifics of its payment.

The procedure for collecting alimony and choosing a court

An application to the court for alimony is not submitted to every department. To find out which court to go to, you need to know exactly what list of issues will be considered. In addition, it is important to find out in what form a person wants to receive alimony, whether the payer has a stable income, etc. Depending on the court chosen, one can assume how the hearing itself will proceed. As a rule, it is standardized.

To collect alimony, you can submit applications to the following authorities:

Magistrate's Court

If you are afraid of saying something wrong at the meeting, don’t worry, since the participation of the parties is not necessary here. The Magistrate's Court only considers the documents attached to the application. When applications are filed and the court is ready to issue its decision, the verdict will be in the form of a writ. The order of the magistrate's court has the distinctive features of an executive document and a decision. It will be issued if there are no controversial issues. For example, paternity is not disputed, the person does not try to challenge the amount of alimony. It is also important to pay attention to whether the payer has a permanent job and whether he disputes the child’s place of residence. In other words, if you have a dispute about what form to collect alimony - in a flat amount or in percentage equivalent, you should not file an application to the magistrates' court for alimony, since it will not be considered. The magistrate's court has a different specificity of activity. If there is at least one controversial point, you will have to contact another authority.

District Court

If the parties have unresolved issues, they should address them not to the magistrates’ court, but to the district court. In addition to the district court, you can file an application in the city court. The issues can be considered together or each separately. Much depends on the circumstances of the case and how quickly the parties want to resolve the conflict. If you want to consider each problem separately, you need to write your own separate statement.

For example, you are sure that the payer is hiding alimony payments and not paying the full amount. It will be possible to go to court to prove the concealment of the alimony in question and to prove that the collection is appropriate. Then the court will decide in what form the alimony payer will have to pay the funds. But it is important to collect evidence so that the court selects the most convenient form of payment.

Calculation of state duty for arbitration courts

Litigation in arbitration is more expensive than in courts of general jurisdiction. Economic disputes are discussed here. Participants in the proceedings: organizations, individual entrepreneurs, the state.

The amount of the state fee depends on the requirement specified in the application. In case of a property claim, it is calculated as follows:

• 4%, but not less than two thousand rubles - if the amount of the claim is up to one hundred thousand rubles;
• 3% - over one hundred thousand + 4000 rubles (up to 200 thousand rubles);
• 2% - over 200 thousand rubles. + 7000 rub. (up to 1 million rubles);
• 1% - over 1 million rubles. + 23 thousand rub. (up to 2 million rubles);
• 0.5% - over 2 million rubles. + 33 thousand rubles, but not more than 200 thousand rubles.

Thus, the amount of tax collection ranges from 2 to 200 thousand Russian money. The cost of the claim for payment of the state duty is calculated in the same way as in cases heard in courts of general jurisdiction.

The legislator also established a fee for cases that are not subject to assessment. So, in case of disputes affecting the contract (conclusion, amendment, termination), as well as if the transaction is declared invalid, you will have to pay 6,000 rubles to the treasury. When challenging government acts in the field of intellectual property or patent rights - 300 rubles for individual entrepreneurs, 2 thousand for enterprises.

If you do not agree with the decision of a government body or the action of an official, then an individual. it will cost the person 300 rubles, legal. person 3 thousand rubles. For example, a bailiff came to your organization and seized all the equipment. However, you did not know about the enforcement proceedings and did not receive a decision to initiate them. Thus, the actions of the bailiff are illegal, and you can appeal them through a judicial authority, while paying a state fee of 3 thousand rubles.

If a dispute arises about the award of duties in kind, then you must pay 6,000 rubles. The organization will have to pay this same amount when filing for bankruptcy. An individual is luckier - the state duty for such a procedure will be only 300 rubles.

To review the case in the appellate and cassation instances, it is necessary to deposit three thousand rubles into the treasury. To recover compensation for violation of the terms of legal proceedings and execution of a judicial act, the individual entrepreneur must pay 300, and the organization 6,000 rubles.

For arbitration courts, the state fee is the same - 3,000 rubles. It does not depend on whether you file an application to secure a claim or challenge the decision of such a judicial body. The legislator has provided exactly the same amount of fees for cases of legalization of a decision of a foreign judicial body.

Please note: the state fee must be paid before going to court.

Sources

Amounts of state fees for cases considered by courts of general jurisdiction

Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation Article 122. Requirements for which a court order is issued

Tax Code of the Russian Federation Article 333.21. Amounts of state duty considered by arbitration courts

Filing a claim for alimony and preparing for court

You can file alimony in court only when there are grounds for appeal. The main preparatory point is a correctly composed application. It must be written in accordance with Article 131-132 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, for which a sample can be used. It must indicate not only the correct details, but also circumstances that interfere with the interests of the mother and children who do not receive decent financial support.

The application consists of several sections. The most important part is the descriptive part, where you need to set out the circumstances of the violation of the rights of children and their mothers - recipients of alimony. It is also important to attach supporting documents to your application.

Deadlines and preparation for trial

When submitting applications for alimony to the magistrate's court, the timing of its consideration is taken into account. But before you start worrying about deadlines, you should think about what the preparatory phase looks like. Preparation for the consideration of the case is a formality. It is important to consider how correctly the sample claim is drawn up and whether the stated argument is truthful. Once applications for the magistrate's court are received, the judicial procedure goes through the following stages:

• Notice of the date of the hearing is sent to the parties and witnesses.
• Information and applications are checked, as well as other additional documents on the basis of which collection can be carried out (as necessary).
• The definition of other non-standard actions depends on the circumstances of the case.

The law does not have clear deadlines for how long the consideration of a settlement case will take. But still there are some time frames. For example, the magistrate court must consider the process for a month. If the case is heard not in the magistrates' court, but in the district court, it will be studied for up to 60 days. It takes 5 days to accept a claim for clerical processing, although during the period under consideration the case may be rejected. The preparatory stage lasts about two weeks.

What is included in the claim price?

The cost is calculated in accordance with Art. 91 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation:

• requesting finance - based on the amount of money;
• challenging the right of ownership of real estate of a citizen who is the owner - the cost of housing, but not lower than the inventory value. If it is not established - no less than the amount under the insurance contract;
• disputes about the ownership of real estate of an organization - balance sheet valuation;
• increase or decrease in payments - the amount by which the payment is reduced or increased, but for a maximum of 12 months;
• urgent payments and issues – a total of amounts for no more than 3 years;
• reclaiming property – the value of such property;
• collection of alimony – the amount of payments for 1 year;
• unlimited or lifetime payments – total amount for 1 year;
• termination of a property rental agreement - the total amount of amounts for the remaining term of the agreement, maximum - 3 years.

If the plaintiff simultaneously wants to divide property and collect alimony, separate calculations are made for each claim.

What is not included in the price?

The following is not taken into account in the calculations:

1. Moral compensation. It is determined by the plaintiff independently and is subject to consideration in court, taking into account the circumstances of the case. At its discretion, if there are grounds, the court has the right to change the amount of compensation up or down. Despite the fact that it is paid in money, it does not apply to property claims.
2. Compensation in cases of protection of honor and dignity, business reputation.
3. State duty. Included in court costs, distributed between the parties by the court on the basis of Art. 98 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

Important! The above amounts are not included, but are listed in the application.

Procedural deadlines in civil proceedings (Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation)

Preliminary court hearing in civil proceedings

Actions if it is impossible to appear in court

If a court hearing is scheduled at a time when you can’t get to it, you need to figure out what to do . If you fail to attend a hearing without first notifying the court, problems may arise. The court will consider such action as absence without reason. It is clear that there will be a negative attitude towards such a participant in the case.

If the court hearing on alimony was ignored by the defendant twice, the court will consider the case without him. But this will happen if there is no good reason. But if the plaintiff who was involved in filing the application does not appear at the meeting, then the case simply will not be considered at all. He must reapply.

To avoid such problems, it is important to submit information to the court in advance, warning of an imminent failure to appear. It is also important to indicate the reason for your inability to attend the meeting. You can also request the following:

• Postponement of the meeting due to illness. This can be confirmed by a health certificate or witness testimony.
• Request a meeting to be held without your presence. This point is usually used by the applicant, not the defendant.
• Explain over the phone if force majeure occurs. Tell them why they didn’t arrive on time or didn’t show up at all.

The lack of evidence is a strong argument against not accepting the explanation.

Court hearing on alimony

Before submitting sample documents, please note that the court hearing is conducted according to a certain algorithm. First, the court checks whether the parties to the conflict have appeared. If everything is in place, then participants are introduced to the rights and responsibilities of the meeting.

They also say that the meeting is recorded on a voice recorder and on video so that the participants in the process take this into account. After technical familiarization with the circumstances and examination of sample papers, the meeting itself begins.

What questions are asked in child support court?

At the trial, various questions will be asked to find out the circumstances of the child’s support and to what extent the parents’ financial capabilities allow them to ensure a decent existence for the minor. You need to answer these questions truthfully, but often, in order to do this, you need to prepare, collect arguments, etc. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to do, since most of the questions are standard. Let's look at the most popular:

1. Do you support the lawsuit? The plaintiff must answer this question in the affirmative, otherwise the meeting will be closed. It will be irrelevant because the person who decided to submit the application refuses it.
2. Have there been any attempts to reach an amicable agreement? The parties could agree on the voluntary contribution of funds. If this happened, the court needs to be told how much was paid and when it was. It is important to honestly indicate if money was transferred, because otherwise, concealing the fact in question may play a cruel joke on you and shift the court to the side of the defendant.
3. How much money is needed to support a child? The amount of child support is calculated to support the child, not his other parent. To confirm the feasibility of the requested amount, submit documents confirming it. For example, receipts for payment for treatment, witness statements, etc. If you need personal support, the required amount cannot be included in this claim. Should be submitted separately.

If the defendant answers the first question in the affirmative, the court will not ask all the others, since the alimony payer already agrees with all points of the claim. If the defendant does not agree to reduce the amount of alimony or pay it to the minimum, it is worth pointing out the financial problems that interfere with payments. It is also important to point out that such inconsistency is temporary.

But this may not help if the reason is personal reluctance to go to work. The reasons for financial difficulties why you cannot pay alimony must be objective. For example, dismissal and search for a new job or temporary disability due to illness.

If the defendant believes that the cost of the claim is too high

An objection (response) in writing is submitted by the defendant not to the price of the claim, but to the demands. It can be sent at the stage of preparation for court proceedings, or at the main meeting, if during the proceedings the plaintiff increases the amount of demands.

The basis for filing an objection is disagreement with the wishes of the plaintiff.

It is recommended to submit evidence to support your objection:

• payment checks, receipts;
• certificates, contracts, other documents.

Example of an objection to a claim:

The woman filed a claim to recover the debt on the receipt in the amount of 200,000 rubles. from the defendant. He did not agree with this, pointing out that he had paid part of the amount - 50,000 rubles - earlier and attached a payment receipt. The objection was accepted, the amount of the demands was changed by the judge.

Sample objection

The review must contain the following information:

• name of the court;
• FULL NAME. parties;
• what the defendant does not agree with: grounds, requirements, circumstances, etc.;
• proof;
• a request to refuse to satisfy the requirements, indicating a specific point of the application.

At the end, the citizen signs.

Sample objection to claims:

How to behave in child support court

You need to behave correctly in court. Hire a lawyer and bring him to the courtroom. It will help you navigate unusual circumstances. Also, you cannot speak until it is your turn, otherwise the meeting on alimony will turn into a farce. Conduct the conversation in a calm manner, without raising your voice and without unnecessary emotions. Insults are strictly prohibited. When addressing the judge, you need to stand up. A common address is “Dear Judge.”

If you violate the judicial order and the rules adopted in court, problems may arise. For example, the violator will be given a fine or other administrative penalty, after which alimony is not the biggest problem. Sometimes inappropriate behavior of the parties can provoke them to receive a criminal sentence. Then filing an application for alimony will not be so relevant.

You can get legal assistance regarding the alimony court process on our website.

Lawyer's answers to questions about the cost of the claim

What should I do if I cannot determine the value of the claim?

In such a situation, the size is set by the judge. If during the proceedings it increases, the state duty is paid within 10 days.

My husband and I share an apartment that we bought during our marriage. We have a child, he has been allocated a share. Will his share be taken into account in the calculation?

No, the child’s property is not included in the division; therefore, only the value of the spouses’ shares is taken into account.

Is price used in calculating the appeal fee?

No. In this case, 50% of the fee for a non-property claim is paid - 150 rubles.

An acquaintance owes me $2,000. Can I calculate everything in this currency?

No, payments are made only in rubles. You need to make a conversion.

Does the court have the right to leave the claim without progress if I made the calculations incorrectly?

No. If errors are detected, the judge substantiates his arguments and determines the real value independently.