What to do if your ex-husband filed for a reduction in alimony?

The Petrovs divorced. The man had already prepared to pay alimony for his son, but for some reason his ex-wife did not file for it. Petrov himself is ready to allocate money to the child, but he does not know how to do it correctly - what if one fine day the bailiffs begin to demand alimony for the period when he was already paying?

We will tell you what a spouse should do if his ex-wife does not file for alimony. For advice on calculating alimony, amounts of payments and necessary documents, contact a professional family law lawyer.

Method 2 – bank account in the child’s name

The ex-husband can make payments to his wife’s card. But it is better to create a separate bank account in the child’s name and transfer money there.

In this case, the fact that the spouse provides for the son or daughter will be precisely proven. In addition, a sum will accumulate that can be spent on something significant.

This method is also good if the father is afraid that the mother will not spend the money she receives on the child. When opening an account, ask your bank how to limit withdrawals.

The concept of need

One of the key concepts when collecting funds for a woman and/or child will be need. It is this that the court focuses on when determining whether to satisfy the plaintiff’s demands or not, as well as to what extent: in whole or in part.

There is no definition of need in the law. From experience we can say that basic needs are usually taken into account and whether the woman is able to satisfy them herself or not. That is, the court will take into account expenses for food, utilities, transportation costs, medicines, baby food, etc. But entertainment or the purchase of luxury goods are no longer considered necessary expenses.

But medical expenses are different. Let’s say a woman could take advantage of free insurance services, but preferred to go to a private clinic. In this case, it will be considered her personal choice.

When assessing need, income, existing property, and the ability to save are taken into account. For example, a woman on maternity leave is entitled to certain payments from the state. And if she has several apartments, she may be denied alimony for herself, since she is able to sell one of them or rent it out, thus solving her financial problems. The court also takes into account benefits for utilities, that is, everything that a woman is entitled to by law.

The listed factors are not always taken into account. Often they need to be emphasized separately. But for experienced family law lawyers this is not a problem. And we have former federal judges working on our staff, so there is no doubt about their qualifications.

Method 3 - voluntary alimony agreement

If your ex-spouse does not file for alimony, invite her to draw up a voluntary agreement to make payments. To complete the agreement you will need:

1. Agree on terms with your ex-wife: how much to pay, in what time frame, additional payments, etc.
2. Go to the notary with the child’s birth certificate, passports of both spouses and a document on the termination of the marriage.
3. Find out from the notary whether the conditions described in the agreement comply with the law. Remember that the prescribed payment should not be less than the one established by the court.
4. Wait for the document to be produced.
5. Apply signatures.
6. Pay for the notary's work.

After this, the spouse is obliged to pay alimony according to the approved procedure. If the agreement is violated, the ex-wife will go to the bailiffs. Then they will forcefully collect alimony.

On a note. If the wife does not go to court to legally obtain alimony, the child’s father cannot do this for her. The law does not provide for filing a claim against oneself.

Challenging a court decision: step-by-step instructions

If the court decision is not made in favor of the defendant (recipient of alimony), he has the right to file an appeal before entering into legal force. How it's done:

1. An appeal is drawn up, then, with the attached documents, it is submitted to the court that made the contested decision.
2. After a series of procedural actions and notification of the parties, the court transfers the documentation to the appellate authority.
3. The appellate court considers the complaint, and based on the results, a ruling is issued to partially or completely cancel the decision, or to send the case for re-examination by another judge.

Expert commentary

Leonov Victor

Lawyer

Appeals are heard by higher courts. If the decision of the magistrate court is challenged, the complaint is filed with the district court. To challenge the district verdict, you should complain to the regional one. The highest point is the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, and its decisions are not subject to appeal.

How to file an appeal

The legislation does not establish a unified form of appeal, but it must comply with the requirements of Art. 322 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation regarding content. What information is reflected in it:

• name and address of the court of appeal;
• the name of the court whose decision is being challenged;
• FULL NAME. plaintiff and defendant;
• details of the court decision;
• the essence of the appeal and the grounds for challenging with references to legislative norms;
• claims in the case;
• a list of attached documents;
• date of compilation and signature.

The appeal is accompanied by a passport, an extract from the contested court decision, salary certificates and other documents indicating the illegality of reducing the amount of alimony. Copies are made of the documentation, and the originals are returned to the owner.

Appeal

If the deadline for appeal is missed, the woman has six months from the date of registration of the court decision to appeal in cassation.

In order for a complaint to be accepted and considered, the following information must be included:

• court name and address;
• Full name, registration address, passport details of the plaintiff;
• Full name, date of birth of the defendant;
• information about the child for whom child support is paid;
• data of the contested court decision;
• requirements.

At the end, a list of documentation is indicated and a signature is placed. Based on the results, the judge issues a cassation ruling to cancel the decision and order a retrial.

What happens if the wife does not file for alimony?

If your ex-spouse refuses to sue for child benefits, you shouldn’t relax. According to Article 107 of the Family Code, a wife can apply for alimony at any time. In this case, alimony is awarded from the day the ex-wife applies to the court. If the application for payments occurred on October 20, then from that day the ex-husband begins to pay.

Alimony may also be demanded for previous periods if the wife tried to receive payments before filing a claim in court, but the husband avoided providing for the child. If you did pay, then you can try to prove it to the court - present checks, receipts, witnesses.

For your information. The wife has the right to demand alimony for the previous 3 years.

The amount of alimony in a fixed amount

The amount of alimony payments is determined based on several factors:

• taking into account the possibilities to ensure as much as possible the legal right of the child to a decent standard of living;
• taking into account the income of the parties and whether they have other dependents;
• living wage established in a particular region.

Based on all of the above conditions, the court sets a monthly payment amount. However, despite its accuracy, it may change over time. The reason for this is a change in place of work and, accordingly, the amount of income, as well as an increase in the cost of living, determined by government bodies taking into account average prices for essential goods.

Why does the child's mother not want to file for child support?

There are several reasons why an ex-wife does not want to receive alimony. Here are the most common:

1. The mother of the child is controlled by a sense of pride - a reluctance to receive anything from her ex-husband. Here it is worth clarifying that alimony is intended to support a common child, who is not to blame for the fact that the parents separated. By law, both mother and father are required to support their children.
2. The woman believes that it is pointless to file a lawsuit. She is sure that the child's father will evade child support.

Legal payment of alimony benefits both parties. You can always contact a lawyer if you don’t want to deal with the issues yourself. Read our article about what threatens persistent alimony defaulters.

Sources:

Parents' child support obligations

Consequences of payment evasion

The court establishes a penalty and seeks to ensure the fulfillment of the obligations imposed on the father. If for some reason he refuses to comply with the law, then he will be held accountable, even criminally. This applies to cases where non-payment is intentional.

The following measures apply to persistent non-payers of alimony:

• fine;
• restriction of travel abroad;
• correctional work;
• arrest (of the violator himself or his bank accounts);
• deprivation of liberty.

The legislative framework

Failure Cases

When a wife files a claim to collect alimony for herself, it is impossible to say with 100% accuracy that the decision will be positive. The court may refuse to satisfy the claim, or satisfy it partially in the following cases (Article 92 of the RF IC):

• the marriage between the spouses lasted a short time;
• the incapacity of the applicant for alimony arose due to alcohol or drug addiction, as well as as a result of the commission of a crime;
• during the marriage, the plaintiff behaved inappropriately (immoral behavior, alcohol abuse, aggressive behavior towards the defendant or other family members);
• if it turns out that the plaintiff deliberately hid his income, and in fact does not need financial assistance.

IMPORTANT! The court may decide to collect alimony, but specify a limitation on the period of its payment.

How to win a trial?

Depends on what grounds the ex-spouse cited in the claim. For example, as practice shows, the birth of another child is not a reason to reduce child support. The plaintiff's claims are denied, arguing as follows:

1. The amount of alimony is below the minimum subsistence level established in the region and cannot be reduced.
2. The applicant has not proven (documented) that he financially supports the newly born baby.
3. The ex-husband lives with another family, on which the remaining 75% (if a second child is born) of earnings is already spent.

Family law and the court initially side with the interests of mothers who raise children on their own. This gives a small (and sometimes large) advantage in winning arguments with ex-husbands.

Of course, in order to defend the child’s rights in court, the mother will have to present:

1. A certificate from the mayor's office about the cost of living in the region for an adult and a child.
2. A certificate of your own income for the last 3-6 months.
3. Information (in writing) about the cost of school supplies, clothing, classes in the section.

If you disagree with the plaintiff’s arguments, you can state at trial that there is no evidence that the plaintiff financially supports the second child. Of course, if he did not attach to the application an order assigning alimony for the second child or an agreement with the new spouse.

Deterioration in health is a basis that requires careful documentation. A regular medical certificate from a clinic is not enough. Disability, deterioration in health, which resulted in loss of ability to work or previous professional suitability, is supported by the conclusion of a medical social examination (MSE). Without it, the ex-husband's claim will be denied. Therefore, in court, the defendant needs to focus on this.

But even the presence of all the certificates, decisions or orders assigning alimony for another child does not mean that the court will satisfy the claim. If the husband filed for a reduction in alimony, how to win in court is a difficult question more for him, and not for his ex-wife. Often the demands of ex-husbands are rejected for the following reason :

• They are employed in low-paid jobs;
• There is no evidence that the plaintiff was looking for a job with more decent wages.

Quite a fair statement. If a man decides to take a responsible step and have another child, he is obliged to provide decent financial support for all his children. Single mothers can use this argument to defend themselves in court.