Collecting alimony from a non-working father: how

Collecting child support from a non-working father

Married couples do not always live in peace and harmony, love each other and raise children. Sometimes spouses decide to separate, divide jointly acquired property and decide with whom their minor children stay. Most often, after a divorce, children remain with their mother, and the father must pay certain amounts of money for their maintenance. But sometimes women are faced with a situation where the ex-husband does not work anywhere and does not receive official income. Therefore, it is worth finding out in what ways you can obtain alimony from a non-working father of the family.

Minimum size

To guarantee a child decent living conditions, the amount of alimony collected must correspond to the minimum subsistence level.

For this purpose, the courts cannot set the amount of alimony below the subsistence level for a particular region.

As a rule , the fixed amount of payments will be more than one subsistence level, and the specific amount may be influenced by the actual expenses that the claimant incurs for the maintenance of the child.

To increase the amount of alimony collected during the month, you can collect supporting documents - checks, receipts, etc.

Based on the information in these documents, it is possible to prove to the court that the previously established amount is insufficient for the proper maintenance of a minor child.

Don't know what the age limit is for paying child support? See the article about this: up to what age is alimony paid. Read about what the new law says about child support here.

Do you want to understand what the minimum amount of child support is? This is written about here.

Unemployed father - how to pay child support

According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, all issues related to family and marriage are regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation. Article 80 of the RF IC states that parents are obliged to properly support their children under any circumstances that arise. The exception is for children who are adopted - in this case, the natural (biological) father does not have to pay child support.

In all other cases, the father must allocate funds for the maintenance of the child within the prescribed period. In case of arrears in payments, a penalty will be added to the principal amount. The exception is valid reasons why the father could not make payments - for example, serious illness.

If the payer does not pay alimony on time, the following sanctions may be applied to him:

Until the debt is fully repaid, he will be prohibited from traveling abroad.
Parental rights may be revoked.
In particularly difficult cases, a willful defaulter may be brought to criminal liability.

The situations in which a non-working father finds himself are different, and in order for a woman to receive the required alimony payments, she should act according to the circumstances:

The ex-husband is officially declared unemployed. In this case, the parent contacts the employment center at the place of residence, registers there and legally receives unemployment benefits. The size of these payments is fixed; it can be the average salary from the last place of work or the average salary in the region of residence. According to data from the employment center on the amount of payments, the court sets the amount of alimony that the father must transfer monthly for the maintenance of one or more children. Sometimes spouses peacefully agree on how much and when alimony will be paid.
The payer is not registered with the employment center. In this case, the amount is set at a certain amount from the share of his earnings. The court will take into account that the parent is not officially employed and there is no information about his income. Therefore, the calculation is made according to data on his official income at his last place of work. Sometimes the average salary in the region is taken into account.
If a man has a disability or is a pensioner. Then, to calculate the amount of alimony, his entire income will be taken into account - disability benefits, pension. If the entire total income of the parent is less than the subsistence level, the child will be supported by the state.
The ex-spouse has unofficial income. The receipt of such income can also be tracked. After a court decision is made that the father must pay alimony for the maintenance of their common child, the mother can submit an application to the bailiff to track all the income and expenses of her ex-husband. This will make it possible to establish all the father’s income, and on their basis it will be possible to calculate the amount of alimony due. You can also attract witnesses who will testify about the father’s real income.

What is regulated

The grounds and procedure for assigning alimony are regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation. It is this regulatory legal act that establishes all possible ways to determine current payments for child support, as well as the procedure for determining debt.

At the stage of forced collection, Federal Law No. 229-FZ , which allows bailiffs to take a set of procedural actions to ensure the regular retention of the debtor’s funds.

How to collect child support from a non-working father

In 2021, in Russia at the federal level there is no minimum amount of alimony payments from a non-working parent.

The size of the lower payment threshold is influenced by a number of circumstances:

In the case where a voluntary agreement on a fixed payment of alimony was concluded between the former spouses, a change in the father’s income level will not in any way affect the payment of funds for child support. Therefore, whatever the financial well-being of the ex-husband, he is obliged to pay the amount of alimony specified in the agreement.
If the agreement between husband and wife specifies the conditions specified in Article 81 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, payments amount to certain percentages of income. According to the law, for one child you are required to transfer ¼ of your total income, for two children - 1/3 of your earned money, for three or more children - ½ of your total income.

Child support will also be collected from an unemployed parent who is registered with the employment center and receives benefits from the state. If a wife finds out that the financial situation of her ex-husband has stabilized, she can go to court to review a previously made decision on the amount of alimony payments.

The court may award child support to a parent who is temporarily unemployed in the form of a fixed amount. For the calculation, the man’s last official salary, or the established average earnings in the region where the alimony payer is registered, will be taken. With this method of calculation, funds for child support are accrued on an ongoing basis. If a man does not pay child support, he will develop a debt that the parent must pay off as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the debt is large, the ex-wife may file a claim in court. After reviewing the case materials, the court may decide to seize the debtor’s property.

How are they calculated?

Calculation of alimony from an unemployed spouse must be done very responsibly. First, go to court with a statement of claim. We advise you to help the court by collecting as much evidence as possible of the spouse’s possible income.

Sources of income can include any income, for example, from renting an apartment or a spouse's pension. In the vast majority of cases, even if the spouse does not have an official source of income, he works somewhere unofficially. Try to find out where he works, maybe you can talk to his director or employer.

In any case, after the writ of execution is issued, the bailiffs will also look for all possible sources of income.

The court may choose two options for payment:

Payment in a clearly fixed monetary amount. This option is most often used for unemployed spouses. The amount of alimony in this case is calculated from the cost of living in this region. In most cases, it will be 5,000-10,000 rubles per child. In this case, the court will also take into account the marital status of the mother and child.
The second option is to set a certain percentage of income. The sizes and calculations here differ depending on how many children you have. If one – then 25%, if two – 33.3%, if three or more, then 50%.

Remember also that alimony can also be collected from the mother if she is raising a child under three years old or a disabled child.

Example of calculating alimony payments

In 2021, the average salary in Russia is 36,000 rubles.
It is from this amount that the court will calculate the amount of child support payments for minor children if the parent is not officially employed and is not registered with the employment center. According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, the father will have to pay the following amounts:

For one child - ¼ of the average salary. 36,000: 4 = 9,000 rubles.
For two children - 1/3 of earnings. 36,000: 3 = 12,000 rubles.
For three or more young children – ½. 36,000: 2 = 18,000 rubles.

Also, the amount of payments can be calculated based on the average salary from the father’s last official place of work or from the average salary in the region of the payer’s place of residence.

If a man is registered at the employment center, the amount of alimony will be calculated from the amount of unemployment benefits from the state. In 2021 in Russia, the minimum amount of such payments ranged from 1,500 rubles to 8,000 rubles, depending on the region of residence.

Thus, the calculation of alimony will be as follows:

For one child - 8,000 / 4 = 2,000 rubles.
For two children - 8,000 / 3 = 2,666 rubles.
For three or more children - 8,000/2 = 4,000 rubles.

Standard alimony amount in 2021

According to family law, the amount of alimony debt is calculated based on the income level of the applicant. Total profit is taken into account. Such types of income as wages and bonuses, remuneration under a contract and business income, deposit rates and real estate rent are taken into account. Unemployment benefits, age/disability pensions, and sick pay are also not ignored.

Now, regarding the amount of alimony. Art. 81. The IC determines the following points:

If the amount is not established by agreement of the parties, the court will assign the child a percentage of the salary. In the Russian Federation, the rule is valid in all subjects.
The amount of the mandatory penalty is 25% for one child, 33 for a pair of offspring, 50 for three minors. This level applies to a natural, adopted, or illegitimate child.
The amount may be revised at the request of one of the parties, upward or downward.

Alimony can be collected from the father not only for the maintenance of the children, but also for their mother. You need to pay maintenance to your ex-wife if she is pregnant with a common child, is raising an infant under 1.5 years old, needs financial support and has limited ability to work. But the wife’s right to help is lost with a new official marriage.

What to do if your ex-husband evades payment

After a divorce, some men do not want to pay alimony for the maintenance of common children, evading their responsibilities in various ways. If a parent has a debt on alimony payments for more than four months, he does not make contact with his ex-wife, does not respond to warnings from the Federal Bailiff Service, the ex-wife can file a lawsuit.

In addition to the statement of claim, evidence and materials should be provided that will prove that all this time the father was maliciously evading the maintenance of minor children.

After reviewing the documents provided, the court may make the following decision:

Repay all arrears of alimony within the established time frame.
Seize all accounts of the defaulter.
Seize the debtor's property.
Bring the willful defaulter to criminal liability.

In Russia, no one is exempt from responsibility for alimony payments for the maintenance of their children. Even unemployed fathers have this responsibility. Each case is considered individually, taking into account the needs of young children, the financial situation and health of the payer.

Documents for court

If you decide to go to court, do not forget to prepare a package of documents that must be submitted along with the statement of claim:

Marriage certificate.
Child's birth certificate.
Copies of passports.
Documents about the place of residence of the spouses.
Documents confirming the spouse's income.
You can also collect and record in writing witness statements.

If the spouse does not pay the required alimony, it will be possible to go to court to collect the debt. Also in this case, you can add penalties and penalties. In some situations, he may be subject to criminal liability.

Pros and cons of recovery as a percentage

Alimony, which is paid as a percentage, may in some cases violate the interests of the mother (second parent) or child. These conditions may serve as the basis for the authority to determine a fixed amount of payments for minor children, which, in this case, amount to the amount necessary for a comfortable existence. If the alimony worker starts earning good money, he will have to reapply for payments.

Processing payments is a rather difficult process that requires proper paperwork and patience with the authorities. An agreement to pay by mutual agreement saves money and time. What alimony (in percentage or a certain amount) will be paid is determined by the type of work of the alimony provider.

Decor

If the spouses do not come to an agreement, then in order to apply for alimony to the court, you need to prepare the following documents:

Papers confirming family ties;
Marriage documents
Lawsuit

Already when going to court, documentary evidence is needed (amount of income, pensions, documents confirming the child’s residence with the mother);

Violation of payment terms

If the alimony evaders from paying money, the spouse has the right to go to court and receive a charge of 0.5% for each day of delay. This amount is added to the entire amount of debt that has accumulated. Compulsory collection for non-payment is carried out in court. What forms of punishment are there for those who violate the terms of alimony payments?

Civil type of punishment

Civil liability implies the payment of a penalty, that is, an additional payment of certain percentages to the basic amount of alimony, depending on the length of the period during which alimony was not paid. The amount of the penalty, as already mentioned, is calculated for each day of delay and amounts to 0.5% of the total debt. To bring the alimony worker to this type of responsibility, he needs to apply to the court with a special statement, which will state the requirement to achieve the necessary payments.

Criminal law punishment

Criminal liability is a serious punitive measure that threatens malicious non-payment of child support over a long period of time if the negligent parent could not be forced to pay according to the law.

Article 157 of the Criminal Code of Russia states that such inaction is punishable by correctional labor for up to 1 year, compulsory labor (120-180 hours) or arrest for up to 3 months. Sometimes only after such measures the mother of a minor child receives money for his maintenance from a negligent parent.

Evidence that the unemployed payer has income

If the child’s mother and his father are in a difficult relationship, then trusting the child support payer is not the best financial thing to do. He can, having some income, specifically register with some institution as a “dead soul.” This is necessary so that, according to the documents, he is accrued a meager salary, on the basis of which alimony will be calculated, and the payer himself can safely earn a lot of money without registering in any way.

To prove the fact that an unemployed payer is getting money somewhere, you need to take the initiative:

Help the bailiff identify sources of income, assist him in this by recording information about his guesses about possible jobs

If there is some doubt that a job exists, but the person is not officially listed as such. You can ask law enforcement for help.

Tax authorities can identify illegal business activities

If the facts of falsification of documents about jobs are proven, then the alimony payer faces sanctions and even criminal liability. Timely measures taken to find sources of income will allow you to receive more than the minimum alimony if the father does not work.

Procedure

So, where to start the procedure for collecting alimony from an unemployed person?

Step one. We are trying to negotiate with an unemployed father on drawing up a voluntary agreement on child support. The unemployed parent may have other sources of income, such as dividends from bank deposits or income from renting out a house.
Step two. If a parent refuses to voluntarily provide help, we will find out whether he is registered as unemployed. If so, we ask him to request a certificate from the Employment Center about the amount of benefits received. We attach it to the package of papers for the court. We also clarify when exactly he lost his job, and whether a year has passed since that moment. This information is relevant for determining the amount of alimony.
Step three. We are collecting a package of documents for the court. Their detailed list is presented below.
Step four. We estimate the monthly costs for the child and draw up a detailed calculation.
Step five. Let's go to court.

The main goal is to prove in court that the requested amount of alimony is completely justified. To achieve this, it is important to correctly calculate the costs for the baby and not miss a single detail.