Alimony obligations of family members: concepts, types and features

Starting a family and having a child is not only a great joy for spouses, but also a considerable responsibility that they bear both to each other and to other family members. Even the fact that the spouses filed for divorce for some reason and do not live together does not exempt from it. If such a situation arises, the state provides for alimony obligations, which are assumed by one of the relatives. What it is and what types of alimony obligations exist will be discussed below.

Parents' child support obligations

Alimony obligation

The alimony obligation is a legal relationship arising on the basis of legal facts provided for by law:

agreements on the payment of alimony or a court decision on the collection of alimony, by virtue of which some family members have the right to demand payment of alimony from other family members, and the latter are obliged to pay them.

The obligation to maintain exists only between family members specifically specified in the law:

• between parents and children (Articles 80–88 of the RF IC);
• between spouses or former spouses (Articles 89–92 of the RF IC);
• between brothers and sisters (full and half-blooded) (Article 93 of the RF IC);
• between grandparents and grandchildren (Articles 94 and 95 of the RF IC).

Alimony obligations are also assigned to:

• actual pupils in relation to their actual educators (Article 96);
• stepsons, stepdaughters in relation to a stepfather, stepmother (Article 97 of the RF IC);
• former adoptive parents in relation to former adopted children upon cancellation of adoption (Article 143 of the RF IC).

This list is exhaustive.

Provision of maintenance (payment of alimony) is carried out in most cases if the conditions specified in the law are met. Such content is provided in a specific order.

Parents are primarily obligated to support their minor children. When parents live together and jointly take care of the needs of the family, they also take care of the material needs of their children. However, discord in the family, its breakdown, or separation of parents do not affect the obligation of each parent to provide funds for the maintenance of their child.

The responsibility of parents to support minor children arises from one fact - kinship. The law does not provide any other conditions for the emergence of this parental obligation. The absence of marriage between the parents does not matter for the emergence of the father’s obligation to support the child if paternity has been established in the manner prescribed by law (voluntarily or in court).

Parents living separately from their children do not have the right to refuse to support their children, citing their poor financial situation. Whatever it is, they are obliged to allocate a certain part of their funds for the maintenance of their children. The fact that the minor receives sufficient funds from other persons (another parent or relatives) does not serve as a basis for exemption from this obligation.

The procedure and form of providing maintenance to minor children is determined by the parents independently. A parent living separately from the child can transfer money by mail, to the child’s bank account, etc. Parents also have the right to enter into an agreement on the maintenance of minor children, which is called an “agreement on the payment of alimony.”

The possibility of concluding such agreements is a novelty in family law.

The agreement to pay alimony is concluded in writing, is subject to notarization and has the force of a writ of execution (Article 100 of the RF IC). In this agreement, parents have the right to determine the amount, methods and procedure for paying child support. Alimony may be paid in shares of the parent’s earnings (other income); in a fixed sum of money, paid periodically or at a time by providing property, as well as in other ways regarding which an agreement has been reached between the parents (Articles 103 and 104 of the RF IC).

If parents do not provide maintenance to their minor children (in any form), funds for the maintenance of children (alimony) are collected from the parents in court (by court decision).

Amount of alimony collected for children

Amount of alimony collected for children

in court, determined by law.
As a general rule, they are collected in shares of the earnings (income)
of the father or mother: one quarter is recovered for the maintenance of one child, one third for two children, and half of the earnings and (or) other income of the father or mother for the maintenance of three or more children. The amount of these payments may be reduced or increased by the court, taking into account the financial or marital status of the parties and other noteworthy circumstances (Article 81 of the RF IC).

For example, the size of the share can be reduced if minor children from a new marriage living together with the alimony payer turn out to be less well off compared to the children for whose maintenance alimony is being collected. It is possible to reduce the amount of alimony if the alimony payer is disabled. A reduction in the share is also possible if the teenager for whose maintenance alimony is being collected works and has his own income.

Collection of alimony is made from those types of earnings and (or) other income of the parents, the list of which is established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 18, 1996 No. 841. These include all types of wages (monetary remuneration, maintenance) and additional remuneration as at the main place work, and for part-time work, which parents receive in cash (in national or foreign currency) and in kind, all types of pensions, scholarships, temporary disability benefits, unemployment benefits, etc.

The corresponding share is determined from the amount of earnings (income) that is due for payment after withholding taxes.

The amount of alimony can be determined by the court as a fixed sum of money

(Article 83 of the RF IC), corresponding to a certain number of minimum wages (for example, in the amount of two minimum wages). It is subject to indexation, which is carried out automatically in proportion to the increase in the minimum wage established by law (Article 117 of the RF IC).

The amount of alimony in a fixed monetary amount is determined at the request of one of the parents or at the initiative of the court itself in cases where the parent obligated to pay alimony has irregular, changing earnings or other income (for example, creative workers, entrepreneurs) and receives earnings (income) fully (partially) in kind or in foreign currency, has no earnings (income), and also in cases where the collection of alimony in proportion to the earnings (income) of the parent is impossible, difficult or significantly violates the interests of one of the parties.

Maybe

also
establishing the amount of alimony simultaneously in shares and in a fixed sum of money
in relation to various types of earnings (income) of the parent obligated to pay alimony.

Alimony is awarded from the moment you file a claim with the court to collect it. During the time preceding going to court, alimony can be collected, but not more than three years and only in cases where, before going to court, measures were taken to obtain it, but the debtor evaded paying it (Article 107 of the RF IC) .

In order to ensure the rights and interests of children, the court has the right to make a ruling on the temporary collection of alimony until the consideration of the case on the merits (Article 108 of the RF IC). Such a determination is usually made if there is reason to assume that the consideration of the case will be delayed for some reason and the child will find himself without the funds necessary to support him.

Persons filing a claim for alimony in court are provided with a number of procedural benefits. They have the right to go to court both at their place of residence and at the place of residence of the person from whom alimony is being collected (the defendant). For applications for alimony, the plaintiff does not pay a state fee. The payment of the fee by a court decision is assigned to the defendant. The courts help plaintiffs in collecting the necessary documents, and in cases where the location of the defendant is unknown, they launch a search for him. The claim for alimony must be considered by the court within a short period of time: within 10 days if the defendant lives in the same area as the plaintiff, and within 20 days if he lives in another place. The court decision to collect alimony is subject to immediate execution, i.e. regardless of whether it is appealed or not.

In the absence of a dispute between the parents (about the origin of the child, the amount of alimony, etc.), consideration of the application for the collection of alimony for minor children is carried out by a single judge, without initiating a civil case. In these cases, the judge issues a court order, which has the force of an executive document (Article 1252 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the RSFSR). In case of refusal to issue a court order, the applicant has the right to file a private complaint or bring a claim for the recovery of alimony through a lawsuit.

For malicious evasion of payment of alimony awarded by the court, the perpetrators are brought to criminal liability (Article 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

As a general rule, child support is paid until the child reaches eighteen years of age.

For adult children, alimony is collected from parents only if the children are disabled (disabled people of group I, II or III) and need help (do not receive a pension sufficient for their existence, etc.).

The amount of alimony for adult disabled children is established by the court in a fixed amount of money, paid monthly. This amount is determined depending on the financial and marital status of parents and children and is subsequently indexed in proportion to the increase in the minimum wage (Article 117 of the RF IC).

In the presence of exceptional circumstances (serious illness, injuries to adult children in need, the need to pay for outside care for them, etc.), parents may also be called upon by the court to participate in bearing additional expenses caused by these circumstances (Article 86 of the RF IC).

Payment of alimony for adult disabled children can also be made on the basis of an agreement on the payment of alimony concluded by the parties.

Nuances

Filing an application for payment of different types of alimony is accompanied by a number of features that should be taken into account:

1. If the claim contains only demands for the collection of alimony payments in shared terms, then you need to contact a magistrate. When it is necessary to simultaneously establish paternity, divorce or divide property, and also determine payments in hard cash - to a district or city court.
2. The accrual of funds occurs from the moment the claim is filed in court. It is allowed to accrue funds for the previous period, but no more than 3 years before the claim.
3. As evidence of the indifferent attitude of one of the parents towards the child, testimony of witnesses, letters and calls from the mother if she remained with the baby are accepted.
4. After the court has made a decision, the enforcement process begins. You need to contact the court office, which will issue a sheet; the document can be sent either to bailiffs for forced retention of obligations, or directly to the employer.
5. Failure to pay alimony may result in administrative liability and subsequent punishment. The main thing is to prove the intent of the perpetrator.

Quite often, a situation arises where citizens are left in a helpless state without adequate financial support from other wealthy family members. In this case, the right to receive alimony payments begins to apply - a form of financial support that applies to people with family ties. The article lists all types of alimony that are valid in the Russian Federation, some of them are used more often, others less frequently. The above classifications have exclusively theoretical significance and are needed in order to understand the essence and features of the obligations to provide for those in need.

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Child support obligations for adult children

Able-bodied children who have reached the age of eighteen must take care of their disabled parents - this is enshrined in Art. 38 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In accordance with this provision of Art. 87 of the RF IC establishes the obligation of able-bodied adult children to support and care for their disabled parents in need of help. The fact that parents are supported by a state institution does not relieve children from the obligation to take care of them and provide them with financial assistance.

If children evade the obligation to support their parents, alimony may be collected from them by court.

The court has the right to exempt children from paying alimony if it finds that the parents at one time (before the children reached adulthood) evaded parental responsibilities. At the same time, parents deprived of parental rights do not have the right to receive child support at all and do not have the right to demand their payment in court.

Amount of alimony

Amount of alimony,

recovered from each of the children is determined by the court based on the financial and marital status of the parents and children and other noteworthy interests of the parties. Thus, different amounts may be recovered from each child. If a claim for alimony is made against only one (or several) of all children, the court has the right, when determining the amount of alimony, to take into account the obligation of other children to support their parents and, accordingly, determine the specific amount to be collected.

Child support for parents is collected in a fixed amount

and are payable monthly with subsequent indexation.

If the financial or marital status of parents and children changes, each of them has the right to ask the court to increase or decrease the amount of alimony accordingly, or to exempt them from paying them (Article 119 of the RF IC).

In cases where children do not fulfill their obligation to care for their disabled parents in need of help, the court, at the request of the latter, may, in addition to alimony, collect additional funds from the children to cover the necessary expenses for caring for elderly or sick parents, for the purchase of medicines, medical equipment and etc.

Adult children and disabled parents in need of assistance can enter into an agreement on the payment of alimony, which determines the procedure and amount of payment of both alimony and the necessary additional funds.

Caring for elderly parents and their material support is not only the legal responsibility of adults and able-bodied children, but also their moral obligation and civic duty. It should not be forgotten, especially since parents themselves, for moral reasons, rarely resort to judicial protection, not considering it possible for themselves to remind their children of their existence with the help of the court.

How much exactly does it pay?

When it comes to child support, the law determines the shares of income that the other parent (usually the father, although there are cases when the child remains with the father and the mother pays child support) must pay:

• if the parents have an only child - 0.25 of the earnings of the one who pays;
• if there are two children - 0.33;
• if three or more - 0.5 income.

Alimony obligations of spouses and former spouses do not know such a rule: the specific amount of monthly payments is determined by the court or the parties to the agreement. Neither the minimum nor the maximum amount of payments is established by law, so everything depends only on the specific life situation.

Alimony obligations of spouses (former spouses)

Spouses

(former spouses)
are obliged to provide maintenance to each other subject to the conditions
(legal facts)
established by law.
This duty stems from the general principle that spouses must provide each other with material and moral support.

The conditions (legal facts) for the provision of maintenance are the incapacity and neediness of the spouse, i.e. inability to provide for one’s own maintenance with one’s own resources.

The spouse retains the right to receive alimony even after the dissolution of the marriage, provided that his incapacity for work occurred before the dissolution of the marriage or within one year from the date of dissolution of the marriage. In cases where the spouses have been married for a long time, the court has the right to collect alimony in favor of the spouse who has reached retirement age no later than five years after the divorce.

The wife also has the right to receive alimony during pregnancy and for three years from the birth of the child. A woman retains this right even if the marriage is dissolved, but provided that the pregnancy occurred before the divorce. In this case, the wife (ex-wife) does not need to prove the fact of her disability and need. They are assumed because during pregnancy, working capacity gradually decreases, and by the end of pregnancy, during childbirth and for a certain time after it, it is completely lost. During pregnancy and after childbirth, costs increase dramatically. A woman needs additional funds for food, special clothing, rest, treatment, etc. Both spouses must bear these costs. Payment of state benefits to a woman for pregnancy and childbirth, for the care of a young child, as well as payment of funds (alimony) for the maintenance of a child do not relieve the husband of the obligation to support his wife.

The right to alimony also has a spouse (former spouse) caring for a disabled child until the child reaches the age of eighteen or for a child disabled since childhood, group I.

Spouses (former spouses) have the right to independently determine the amount of alimony and the procedure for its provision by concluding an appropriate written agreement and having it certified by a notary. In the absence of such an agreement, the amount of alimony is established by the court when making a decision to collect alimony at the request of an interested party (disabled and needy spouse, pregnant wife, etc.). The amount of alimony is established by the court in a fixed amount,

corresponding to a certain number of minimum wages. When determining the amount of alimony, the financial and marital status of each spouse and other noteworthy interests of the parties are taken into account. Alimony collected by the court is paid monthly (Article 91 of the RF IC) and is subject to subsequent indexation.

The court has the right to refuse to award alimony at all or limit its payment to a certain period:

• in the event that the spouse’s (former spouse’s) incapacity for work occurred as a result of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, or as a result of his committing an intentional crime;
• in case of a short stay of the spouses in marriage (in practice, as a rule, less than five years);
• in case of unworthy behavior in the family of the spouse (former spouse), requiring payment of alimony (neglect of family responsibilities, constant adultery, cruelty to wife and children, etc.).

List of documents for filing a claim for alimony collection

Alimony obligations of other family members

A family is not only spouses, parents and children, who are primarily obliged to provide each other with financial assistance. Other family members are also obliged to help their family members in need, regardless of whether they live together or not. The law includes other family members: brothers and sisters, grandfather (grandmother) and grandchildren, stepsons (stepdaughters), actual pupils. Alimony obligations

the specified family members are alimony obligations
of the second priority and have a subsidiary
(additional)
nature to the alimony obligations of the first priority
(parents, adult children, spouses). As a general rule, they can be charged with maintenance only if they have the necessary funds to pay alimony.

Maintenance obligation of adult and able-bodied brothers and sisters

(Article 93 of the RF IC) in relation to minor brothers and sisters (full and half-blooded) arises only if the latter cannot receive maintenance from their parents (death of parents, their unknown absence, evasion of paying alimony, lack of necessary funds), and in relation to disabled needy brothers and sisters - in the absence of the latter’s ability to receive alimony for their maintenance from their children (able-bodied and adults), spouses (former spouses) or from parents. Another condition for imposing alimony obligations on brothers and sisters is that they have the funds necessary to pay alimony. They are recognized as having these funds if the payment of alimony does not lead to a significant decrease in their standard of living. In each specific case, this issue is decided by the court.

Similar conditions determine the imposition of alimony obligations on grandfathers (grandmothers)

in relation to their grandchildren (granddaughters) (Article 94 of the RF IC). In this case, the obligation to provide maintenance to grandchildren (granddaughters) rests with both able-bodied and disabled grandparents.

Adult and able-bodied grandchildren (granddaughters) who have the necessary means, in turn, are obliged to support their disabled grandparents and those in need of help,

but only in cases where alimony cannot be obtained from the children or spouses (former spouses) of these persons (Article 95 of the RF IC).

Persons who actually raised a child without formalizing this relationship (the so-called de facto educators) can demand alimony from their former and now adult pupil if they themselves have become disabled and need help and cannot receive alimony from their adult able-bodied children or from spouses ( former spouses).

The responsibility for maintaining actual educators rests with actual pupils

if they were raised and supported for at least five years, and their upbringing and maintenance were carried out by actual educators in a proper manner. In the absence of these conditions, the court has the right to relieve actual pupils from the obligation to support actual educators (Article 96 of the RF IC).

The law does not currently provide for the alimony obligation of actual educators in relation to their former actual pupils.

Adult and able-bodied stepsons and stepdaughters

(children of one of the spouses from a previous marriage)
are obliged to support their disabled stepfather or stepmother in need of help,
if the latter supported and raised them (Article 97 of the RF IC). The responsibility for maintaining the stepfather (stepmother) is assigned to the stepson (stepdaughter) only when he himself has the necessary means for this, and the stepfather (stepmother) cannot receive maintenance from his own adult and able-bodied children or from his spouse (former spouse).

The court has the right to release a stepson (stepdaughter) from the obligation to support his stepfather (stepmother) if the latter fulfilled his duties in raising and supporting his stepson (stepdaughter) improperly or if he raised and supported him for less than five years.

A stepfather (stepmother) is not required by law to support his adult disabled stepsons (stepdaughters).

Amount of alimony,

recovered from brothers (sisters), grandchildren (granddaughters), grandfathers (grandmothers), de facto educators, stepfathers (stepmothers),
is established by the court in a fixed sum of money
based on the financial and marital status of the person obliged to pay alimony, and the person in whose favor alimony is collected, as well as other interests of the parties that deserve attention (for example, the need of the person applying for alimony for treatment, additional food, outside care, etc.).

In cases where several persons are required to pay alimony at once (for example, a brother, sister and grandfather), they are all required to pay in equal shares. However, the court, taking into account the financial and family situation of each of them, has the right to determine different amounts to be paid. If a claim for alimony is filed against only one of them, the court has the right to take into account all persons obligated to pay alimony and determine its specific amount accordingly.

Alimony collected by the court is paid monthly and is subject to subsequent indexation (Article 98 of the RF IC).

What is alimony?

Alimony payments are a type of financial support for disabled persons, provided in the manner established by family law. At the same time, the family member who has the opportunity to do so and lives separately from the financially unprotected citizen must provide funds to a needy relative.

Attention

The procedure for assigning and organizing alimony payments is provided for in Section 5 of the RF IC. Not only children, but also disabled parents and spouses can receive funds.

Procedure for paying alimony

Payment of alimony is made under the control of the court by the organization where the citizen who is obliged to pay alimony (debtor) works (studies, receives a pension, benefits, etc.).

The responsibilities of the administration of the organization, regardless of its organizational and legal form and form of ownership, include withholding from the wages due to the debtor (his other income) the amount of alimony in accordance with the amount specified in the writ of execution (writ of execution, court order or agreement on the payment of alimony), and no later than three days from the date of payment of wages or other payments for which the penalty is applied, hand over or transfer them to the person specified in the writ of execution. The costs of transferring alimony are carried out at the expense of the debtor - the alimony payer (Article 109 of the RF IC).

Alimony is withheld primarily before other material claims against the same debtor (for damages, etc.). The total amount of deductions for alimony payments can be 70% of the debtor’s earnings (Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”).

If the debtor is dismissed from work, the administration is obliged to notify the bailiff at the place of execution of the decision and the recipient of alimony within three days, as well as notify them of his new place of work or residence, if known to it. If these rules are not observed without good reason, the guilty officials may be subject to a fine of up to 100 times the minimum wage (Article 111 of the RF IC).

When the debtor takes another job, alimony is withheld from him from the moment the collection ceases at his previous place, i.e. simultaneously with current alimony payments, the debtor pays the accumulated debt for the elapsed time.

Control over the correctness and timeliness of deductions from wages (other income) of the debtor, as well as the transfer of withheld amounts to the recipient of alimony, is carried out by the bailiff.

If a citizen obligated to pay alimony does not have sufficient earnings to pay it, the writ of execution is handed over to the bailiff, who ensures the collection of alimony from the citizen’s cash accounts in banks, other credit institutions or from his funds transferred under agreements commercial and non-profit organizations (Article 112 of the RF IC).

Execution for alimony can also be applied to any other property of this citizen, with the exception of property that cannot be levied by law (for example, items of clothing, home furnishings and utensils, children's supplies and other property necessary to meet basic needs debtor and his dependents).

According to enforcement documents, payments are collected, both current and past, for a period of no more than three years. If the alimony debt arose due to the fault of the debtor (for example, the debtor was hiding and was wanted for this reason), it is collected for all the time that has passed.

When alimony debt arises, its size is determined by the bailiff based on the amount of alimony determined by a court decision or an agreement on the payment of alimony (Article 113 of the RF IC). The court has the right to release (in whole or in part) the debtor from paying the debt if it finds that the failure to pay alimony was due to his illness or other valid reasons, and his financial and family situation does not make it possible to pay off this debt. When paying alimony based on the agreement of the parties, release from the debt (or reduction of its amount) is possible by their mutual agreement, with the exception of the case of paying alimony for minor children (Article 114 of the RF IC).

Compensation by a person obligated to pay alimony for the resulting debt does not relieve him of responsibility for late payment of alimony. Penalties for late payment of alimony

established in Art. 115 RF IC. The rules on the property liability of the alimony payer are new to family law and are aimed at protecting the property rights and interests of minors and disabled persons receiving alimony.

If a debt arises due to the fault of a person obliged to pay alimony by a court decision, the guilty person is obliged to pay the recipient of the alimony a penalty (penalty) in the amount of one tenth of one percent of the amount of unpaid alimony for each day of delay. In addition, the recipient of alimony may demand from the debtor compensation for losses caused to him by the delay in the part not covered by the penalty. Only damage actually suffered by the recipient of alimony (for example, payment of interest on a loan provided to him) is subject to compensation.

Cases when alimony obligations are terminated

Alimony obligations are terminated

in cases established by law (Article 120 of the UK).

When alimony is paid by court decision, its payment stops:

• upon the child reaching the age of majority (18 years old) or in the event of acquiring full legal capacity before reaching this age (upon marriage or emancipation);
• when adopting a child;
• when the court recognizes the restoration of working capacity or the cessation of the need for assistance of the recipient of alimony (for example, a disabled needy parent, spouse or adult children);
• upon entry into a new marriage of a disabled ex-spouse receiving alimony in need of assistance;
• in the event of the death of the recipient of alimony or the person obligated for alimony.

Alimony obligations established by an agreement on the payment of alimony are terminated by the death of one of the parties, the expiration of this agreement, or on the grounds provided for by this agreement (Article 120 of the RF IC).

Normative base

The main legal act regulating issues of alimony obligations is the Family Code of the Russian Federation. Considering the structure of the law, it is worth highlighting Section V - the procedure for paying funds to various family members. The section consists of several chapters, which are allocated depending on the recipient. For example, it is devoted to the obligations of children and parents, spouses, and other family members.

For your information

In addition to the RF IC, there is also the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”. It regulates the procedure for the forced collection of funds from the debtor in the event that the payer does not voluntarily pay the obligations for the maintenance of needy persons. The law affects the activities of bailiffs who are engaged in this activity.

The Code of Administrative Offenses establishes liability for non-payment of alimony obligations without good reason. For example, Art. 5.35.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation allows one to be held accountable and, as punishment, forced to perform compulsory labor for up to 150 hours, or subject to arrest for up to 15 days.