Alimony for an adopted child after divorce in 2021

The divorce procedure is a rather painful process. The situation becomes even more unpleasant if there are children in the family, including adopted children. In this case, spouses who decide to divorce must take into account the specifics regarding the payment of child benefits.

The need for them arises due to the fact that parents are obliged to bear responsibility for the development and maintenance of a decent standard of living for the child until he comes of age. We will discuss below what the specifics of divorce are and how you will have to pay child support for an adopted child after a divorce.

The procedure for divorcing parents from an adopted child

By law, in accordance with Article 137 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, children adopted by spouses during their cohabitation are considered relatives and have all the rights corresponding to their status.
It follows that the procedure for dissolving marriage ties in families with adopted children is no different from the usual one, and if the child is adopted, alimony still needs to be paid. If a situation arises when spouses want to stop living together and begin divorce proceedings, the first thing they need to do is decide on the location of this event.

Divorce can be carried out by the following government agencies:

The first government agency that is capable of carrying out such a procedure is the Civil Registry Office. Not all couples can use its services. We'll talk about this below.
families who are deprived of the opportunity to divorce through the registry office must apply to the court.

The registry office has the right to carry out a similar procedure if:

Divorce is carried out by mutual consent of the spouses, and they do not have common minor children.
One of the spouses has the status of missing person.
The court officially recognized the spouse's incompetence.
The husband or wife is in prison, and their period of stay there is more than 3 years.

In all other cases, the spouses will have to divorce through the courts. Here they also have several alternatives:

go to the magistrate's court;
go to the district court

Can an adoptive parent abandon a child?

The legislation of the Russian Federation does not provide for the abandonment of adopted or natural children, but such a possibility exists - through the court with the involvement of a large number of participants in the process (prosecutor's office, guardianship and trusteeship authorities, witnesses).

The very fact of abandonment of a child is a precedent; in this case, the minor will have to be protected by the guardianship authorities, and the parents will have to be provided with compelling reasons for refusal.

It can be:

loss of legal capacity by parents;
a dangerous mental illness in a child that the adoptive parents were not aware of;
lack of mutual understanding and contact between adoptive parents and adopted child.

All these arguments must be confirmed documented (with the provision of photo, audio and video recordings) and with the help of witnesses.

Parents file a lawsuit with the district court at the place of residence of the child, who in this case is considered the defendant. It reflects all the above aspects.

The statement of claim indicates the details of the plaintiff and defendant, their address, names other participants in the process (guardianship and trusteeship authority, prosecutor's office), sets out the essence of the claim with the grounds and references to the relevant regulations.

In accordance with Art. 56 of the RF IC, the following must be attached to the statement of claim:

adoption certificate;
passport of the adoptive parent;
child's birth certificate;
certificate of salary of the adoptive parent;
a certificate of payment of the state duty (today it is 200 rubles).

The formal proceedings begin after 5 days from the date of acceptance of the application. The court, while considering the case, reserves the right to consider the indicated grounds unconvincing for recognizing a refusal of adoption and may make a decision according to which the minor will have to remain in the family, and the adoptive parents will have to make efforts to establish relationships. At the court hearing, the opinion and wishes of the child will be taken into account (and if he has already reached the age of majority, the case will not be considered without his presence) and consent to abandon the second spouse.

Participation in the process of guardianship and trusteeship authorities implies the protection of the interests of the minor. They conduct an examination of the living conditions and upbringing of the adopted child, study the atmosphere in the family, relationships and provide the information received to the court.

The plaintiff, in turn, can attract a qualified lawyer to his side. If the claims are satisfied, the court decision to cancel the adoption comes into force 30 days from the date of its adoption. This period is set for the possibility of appealing the decision to a higher court.

The fact of cancellation of the adoption is recorded in the registry office, where the court sends an extract from the decision within 3 days. Having abandoned the adopted child, the adoptive parents, in accordance with Art. 143 of the RF IC transfers it to the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, which are engaged in the further placement of the minor. In addition, by a court decision, you can change the child’s full name to the previous one that he had before adoption (if the child is less than 10 years old; upon reaching this age, he independently decides to change his personal data).

Cancellation of adoption after divorce

There are situations when, after a divorce, one of the parties wants to deprive the other of parental rights or relieve themselves of parental responsibilities. The state has identified a number of reasons, the occurrence of which makes it possible to realize such a desire that arose in one of the parents:

The spouse avoids fulfilling the obligations imposed on him by the state after the adoption of the child.
Abuse of parental authority was revealed, which negatively affects the child. Examples of such actions may include excessive use of physical force on a child or other acts of violence.
The spouse has been diagnosed with a chronic dependence on alcohol or drugs.

Note! The court may make a decision based on other reasons in situations where it is best for the child and consistent with the child's wishes.

The state has also determined the circle of persons who have the right to submit such a petition . It includes:

Adoptive parents.
Biological father or mother.
A child, provided he reaches 14 years of age.
Persons representing guardianship and trusteeship authorities.
Prosecutor.

You can read more about this in Articles 141 and 142 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

New law

Since January 1, 2021, a new law on “bad” parents has been in force in Russia, which amends the Family Code and the law on the data bank for children left without parents. According to it, information about former adoptive parents and those persons who lost their adoptive parent status through their own fault is entered into regional and federal data banks for orphans. Information is also entered about people deprived of parental rights or limited in them.

In accordance with the RF IC, the court sends an extract on the cancellation of adoption both to the registry office and to the guardianship authorities at the address where the decision was made.

People on this registry will not be able to re-adopt children or become guardians. This will prevent situations where unscrupulous families take in children (especially disabled children) in order to receive government benefits, while the minors themselves live in unsuitable conditions and experience violent treatment from their adoptive parents.

In addition, when moving, guardianship officials must first examine the living conditions in the new place. Only after this will the adoptive parents be able to change their place of residence.

Child support payments upon adoption

When calculating alimony as a percentage of income, the following standards will apply:

A quarter of the income will be allocated for one child in the family.
For two children - one third.
If you have three or more children – 50% of income.

The fixed payment is determined according to the following principle:

the court sets a certain coefficient, which will need to be multiplied by the cost of living established by the state;
if the cost of living changes, the amount of payments will also be changed taking into account the new provisions.

Can the court refuse alimony and what to do if it is refused?

The court may refuse to pay alimony in several cases, including:

the minor child has reached the age of 18 or has been emancipated (emancipation);
an adult child's disability has been removed;
in the event of the death of a child or alimony payer;
adoption of a child by another person with the consent of the former parent.

If a court refusal was received on one of the above-mentioned grounds, it will not be possible to change it, but if the ground does not fit any of the above reasons, the plaintiff has the right to challenge it in court.

If the child is adopted, does the father have to pay child support?

The main difference in paying child support to an adopted child will arise in a situation where the parents decide to renounce their rights to it. In this case, even if the judge grants their request, they will be required to pay the monetary benefit necessary to ensure a decent standard of living for the child. This responsibility will fall on both parents, since upon adoption they take on equal responsibilities for upbringing. Spouses do not have the right to refuse to pay alimony if it has been ordered by the court.

Note! The only opportunity to be exempt from paying financial benefits to the child will be the situation when he is re-adopted by other parents or a new spouse.

How to terminate obligations?

The dispute over whether alimony is paid to an adopted child is transferred to the level of judicial proceedings if there are grounds to assert that the obligations for maintenance and upbringing have been terminated. This is possible in several cases:

reasonable suspicion that the transferred funds do not go to the needs of the child;
full maintenance and provision of children by the new parent;
the fact of abuse of rights when demanding the payment of alimony from a subject deprived of parental rights.

In disputes of this category, the court proceeds solely from the interests of the child. If the circumstances of the case indicate that the children need financial assistance from all parents, including the biological father and mother, current and former adoptive parents, the child support obligations of these persons may be preserved.

If the court considers it necessary to remove such an obligation, the decision serves as the basis for termination of enforcement proceedings.

The procedure for collecting alimony for adopted children

Depends on how the amount of payments was determined and the parent who will make them:

according to a mutual agreement, which was secured by drawing up a contract;
By the tribunal's decision.

In the first case, the collection procedure is determined by the agreement itself, which will determine all the nuances of this procedure. In the second case, to determine the order of payments, you must perform the following steps:

The first step is to file a claim in court. The plaintiff can be either an adoptive parent or a biological one.
After consideration of the claim in court, a certain decision will be made.
The court draws up a writ of execution on the basis of which alimony payments will be made to the child.
The document is transferred to the bailiff, who will be responsible for its implementation.
Direct transfer of alimony.

How to calculate the amount of alimony

The same general rules apply here, since the grounds for acquiring parental status do not change the amount of alimony in any way. That is, alimony can be collected by voluntary agreement of the parties or on the basis of a judicial act that has entered into full legal force. The law allows them to be set in a fixed amount or in proportion to the level of income. This means that 1 child is usually entitled to a quarter of all income of the alimony payer, 2 – a third, and 3 or more – half. Depending on the financial situation of the payer and his total income, the amount of payments by the court in the interests of the child may be increased or decreased.

The amount of alimony is subject to indexation in the order specified in the alimony agreement, or in the general order determined by law. It is clear that those payments that are indicated in a fixed amount or in relation to the minimum wage, for example, are subject to indexation.

Video: Judge on child support

Exemption from alimony payments

When filing a petition for refusal to pay cash benefits to a child, the parent must apply to the court at the place of residence. The court may grant the plaintiff’s request if it manages to confirm the following facts:

the spouse currently supporting the child fully copes with his responsibilities independently and does not need additional financial support;
collection of payments is carried out from a parent who is deprived of his rights, and such an action can be considered abuse;
the spouse suspects that the money will not be used to meet the needs of the child - if the court finds such fears not unfounded.

Important! Do not forget that when making a decision, the court is primarily guided by the benefit that will be given to the child.

It is not uncommon for a court to decide that a child needs to be provided with financial assistance to the maximum extent possible. In this case, child support payments will be assigned to all parents, without exception.

Rights of adopted persons

Adoption is one of the forms of placing a child into a family. The procedure is carried out in several stages and ends with the registration of a record that the parents of the minor are his adoptive parents.

As for the legal status, adoptive parents and adopted children are considered equal to relatives by origin. And at the same time, such children lose their legal connection with their biological parents.

The court in its decision may indicate, at the request of one of the relatives, the preservation of the connection between him and the child.

conclusions

In conclusion, I would like to note that, despite the disagreements between spouses, it is not necessary to lead to a situation where children, especially those who have gone through the adoption procedure, will suffer from this.

If such a situation does arise and you do not know what to do, do not hesitate to seek help from lawyers who have the necessary knowledge in family law. Today, there are many free legal consultations that will help you resolve your problems and give you practical advice.

Do not neglect this opportunity, because it can help the further well-being of both you and your child.

How alimony is collected from debtors

If the alimony debt is less than 100,000 rubles, then you need to bring a writ of execution to the debtor’s employer so that the accounting department can deduct the necessary amounts from earnings to pay off the debt. If the debt is more than 100,000 rubles, then the writ of execution or alimony agreement is provided to the bailiffs. But you need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to go to an appointment with the bailiff so that the collection work can be carried out more actively.

What bailiffs can do:

Send a request to the bank to seize and write off funds from the defaulter’s account, card or deposit.
Require the employer to transfer part of the alimony worker’s salary directly to the former family, without handing over the entire amount to him.
Seize the debtor's property and put it up for auction in order to transfer the proceeds to offset the alimony debt.
Prohibit the alimony debtor from using a car, traveling abroad, or conducting real estate transactions.

If there are no necessary documents to collect alimony, you need to go to court with evidence that the father (mother) does not support the child.

How can you “knock out” alimony debt?

The Law “On Enforcement Proceedings” provides for a number of enforcement measures. The most effective are restrictions on the use of the special right to leave the Russian Federation. Many debtors pay their alimony payments right at the airport so that they can be allowed to go on vacation. To apply such measures, submit a petition to the bailiff.

Also, to influence the debtor, you can file an application to initiate a criminal case under Article 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for punishment for failure to pay child support.