Child support: how much you can receive and what to do if it is not paid

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Alimony is a sore subject for Russia. We have a huge number of those who evade paying them. Or he pays less than necessary, hiding official income. Most often, parents view child support as a punishment, rather than an opportunity to simply provide their child with the necessities. In 2021, the possibility of paying alimony from the state will again be considered; this issue has been in the air for a long time. For now everything is according to the old scheme.

Who can apply for child support and how?

Responsibility for the maintenance of children lies with both parents.
If one of them left the family, went to another country or was deprived of parental rights, then he is still obliged to financially help his children. Sometimes a person voluntarily transfers money to support the child, sometimes he refuses to do this, and then it is necessary to draw up a child support agreement or file a lawsuit.

You can apply for child support:

second parent;
guardian or trustee of minors;
adoptive parents or foster parents (if biological parents are alive);
guardianship and trusteeship authorities;
an institution for children left without parental care.

Is child support paid if the child is studying?

There is a misconception that child support must be paid even after reaching adulthood, provided that the child is educated at school or another educational institution. Despite the fact that a logical consequence of education is the fact that a child cannot work at the same time (and, as a result, support himself), the legislation ignores this fact. In fact, the child support payer does not have to take into account whether his child is studying or not.

Many parents support their children financially during their studies, but such payments are only an optional gesture of goodwill.

How to enter into an agreement to pay alimony

You can receive alimony without going to court by agreement of the parties. The agreement must be drawn up in writing and certified by a notary. If this is not done, then the document is not considered legal, or rather, binding. No payments can be received under it if a person changes his mind about paying voluntarily.

The state fee for notarization is 250 rubles, but you will have to pay extra for consultation and drawing up an agreement - on average it costs 5,000–7,000 rubles.

Documents required to conclude an agreement:

passports of the parties - parents, guardians, trustees, adoptive parents;
child’s birth certificate, marriage and divorce certificate, paternity certificate;
bank details where to transfer alimony.

The agreement stipulates any conditions for the payment of money for the maintenance of children that will suit everyone. If the payer stops fulfilling the terms of the agreement, the recipient can present this document to the bailiffs and receive alimony through them.

It is impossible to unilaterally refuse an agreement. All disagreements will have to be resolved in court if an amicable agreement cannot be reached.

What should be in the agreement:

Amount of alimony .
The spouses themselves decide how much money the parent will pay. But the amount must not be lower than the deduction limit. The agreement can specify a percentage of earnings or a fixed payment amount.
Frequency and timing of alimony payments:
twice a month, once a month until a certain date, only on New Year’s Eve, or even once when leaving the family. You can specify any schedule, the main thing is that it is carried out.
Payment procedure :
cash, card or special savings account.
How will alimony be paid?
Helping a child means more than just cash. This could be food, clothing, paying bills for the amount of payments or property. For example, a father can transfer his part of an apartment or a car into the ownership of the child in payment of alimony.
Additional conditions
for child support expenses. For example, in addition to the fixed amount, the father pays all costs for clubs and tutors, a trip to summer camp or winter clothes. You can add any items here at the request of the parents.
Indexation of alimony .
Due to inflation, money depreciates, so the agreement must specify how the amount of alimony will increase. For example, indicate that the amount of payments increases along with the cost of living in the region. Then, along with the increase in the minimum wage, alimony payments will also increase.

The alimony agreement can be submitted to the accounting department of the company where the ex-spouse works. This is worth doing when he does not pay voluntarily and is constantly late in alimony. The accountant will take the original agreement and issue a receipt or acceptance certificate. From this day on, the company will regularly transfer money from your salary to the specified account. Take with you originals and copies of your passport and child’s birth certificate - the accounting department must check the documents for compliance.

If you don’t know the place of work, and the terms of the agreement are not fulfilled, then go to the bailiff service - they will figure out from what income to collect arrears of alimony. This does not require a separate court decision.

Form of agreement on payment of alimony in shares of earnings

The most peaceful and convenient option is concluding an agreement on the payment of alimony. In this case, there is no need to go to court; it is enough to have the document certified by a notary.

The child’s parents voluntarily enter into an agreement stating:

amount of alimony;
conditions for their transfer;
payment procedure;
method of indexing the amount of alimony.

In general, all the obligations of the parent who will pay.

At the same time, you cannot stop paying at your own will or start paying a smaller amount than the established amount. The agreement has the force of a writ of execution.

Thus, an agreement on child support gives the child’s parents great scope for a peaceful agreement and allows them to avoid a situation where a minor would receive less than he is entitled to by law.

Exceptional cases of collecting alimony after adulthood

In accordance with Art.
85 of the RF IC, parents are obliged to support disabled adult children until the end of their lives or until the incapacity for work is lifted. The category of disabled people includes only disabled children. Restrictions on employment are established in rehabilitation cards, however, paragraph 7 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated December 26, 2017 No. 56 states that all disabled people are considered disabled, regardless of group.

Students of universities and secondary educational institutions cannot apply for mandatory payments: having reached 18 years of age, they are considered legally competent and can combine study with work. In this case, the parent has the right to try to recover additional expenses for the child in accordance with Art. 86 of the RF IC, collecting receipts for expenses and filing a claim in court.

Appointment of alimony is possible only for the above-mentioned citizens. If a disability is removed from an adult child, he is recognized as able to work, and the alimony payer’s obligations are terminated.

An exception is an alimony agreement certified by a notary (Article 99 of the RF IC). According to it, alimony can be collected at any time, including for life. The parties determine the specifics and procedure for transferring payments independently. It is possible to transfer property to pay off alimony.

For a disabled child

Mothers of disabled disabled people have the right to recover alimony for their maintenance through claims proceedings.

Payments are possible subject to compliance with several points:

The child does not work.
The disabled person is recognized as incapacitated and is over 18 years old.

Important! Simultaneously with the demand for the collection of alimony for a disabled child of group 1, the plaintiff has the right to indicate a demand for the payment of money for his own maintenance, if he can demonstrate need (Articles 89, 90 of the RF IC).

Payments must be collected only after disability has been established. People who have been disabled since childhood must undergo re-examination at the age of 18 and are assigned the appropriate group.

How does this happen:

Visit doctor. A referral is taken for a medical and social examination from a therapist. The list of specialists for examination depends on the specific disease for which disability is assigned.
Passing the ITU, taking tests.
Obtaining a certificate of disability.

The child’s mother goes to court with a certificate and other documents. She is the legal representative, payments are made to her bank details. But the child himself can file a claim.

Based on Art. 89 of the RF IC, spouses caring for disabled children while married to the payer can collect alimony for themselves. In case of divorce, Art. 90 IC RF.

Per student child

Education of an adult child is not a basis for collecting financial support from a former spouse, but by a court decision he may be required to participate in additional expenses (Article 86 of the RF IC).

How does this happen:

The plaintiff prepares receipts for tuition fees and an agreement with the educational institution, which indicates the cost of training.
The above documents, together with the claim, passport, and birth certificate of the child, are submitted to the court.
As a result of the proceedings, the defendant is required to compensate 50% of the costs incurred by the plaintiff, or a lesser amount depending on the situation. Future reimbursement is possible.

When determining the amount of payments, the financial situation of the parties is taken into account. The plaintiff's high income is not a basis for refusing to satisfy the claim.

How is alimony paid in bankruptcy?

Alimony for the maintenance of mother and child up to 3 years old

How to apply for alimony through court

A claim for the collection of alimony is filed in the magistrate's court at the place of residence. If at the same time you need to resolve the issue of division of property, then you need to go to the district court.

Statement of claim for the recovery of alimony in a fixed sum of money

What documents are needed for the court:

statement of claim for the collection of alimony in two copies;
certificate of income of both parents. If you cannot obtain a certificate of income of your ex-husband or wife, then a petition for the court to request this information must be attached to the claim;
certificate of registration of the parent and children at the place of residence from the MFC, passport office or the Federal Migration Service;
copies of children's birth certificates;
copies of marriage and divorce certificates;
a copy of the power of attorney, document on guardianship, adoption, powers of the legal representative, if it is not the parent who applies to the court.

What to do if you didn’t apply for alimony right away, is it possible to get the money “retroactively”?

Alimony is awarded from the moment you apply to the court. For the past period, alimony can be recovered within a three-year period, but only if it is proven that before going to court, measures were taken to obtain funds for maintenance, and the debtor evaded paying them.

It is necessary to go to court as soon as possible and collect alimony, and if for some reason the visit to court is postponed, try to independently demand the other parent to pay alimony.

It is better to make any requests in writing; in addition to postal messages, this can be correspondence via email, SMS or instant messengers.

Lawyer's answers to private questions

Until what age is child support paid and for mothers on maternity leave?

Payments are made to support the mother until the daughter or son reaches three years of age, then they stop. Money is paid for the child until adulthood, unless there are grounds for termination of child support obligations.

Is the age of payment of child support taken into account if both parents are minors?

Yes. In most cases, their interests are represented by their parents or guardians. But being a minor does not exempt them from the obligation to support their children (Article 80 of the RF IC). You can collect alimony if paternity is established. If not, a claim is filed to establish paternity and award payments.

Until what age do parents receive child support?

Standard - up to 18 years of age. Then the son or daughter, or the parent who is dependent on them, can collect the payments.

Will children pay child support to pre-retirement parents?

Yes, if the parent is disabled and in need. If not, the court is unlikely to satisfy the demand for recovery.

Until what age does a father pay child support to a child who has been disabled for 2 years?

The court will order you to pay alimony for the next two years until the next re-examination. If the group is removed, the child support obligations will cease.

What amount can be assigned?

When filing a claim for alimony, you can specify a fixed amount for monthly payments or a share of your ex-spouse's income. But the court will not simply assign a fixed amount; reasons are needed for this, for example, if the ex-husband has no official income, irregular earnings, or he receives a salary in foreign currency or food rations.

The amount of payments depends on the usual level of expenses for children in the family and on the cost of living for minors in the region. The court will review the claims and decide how much alimony to award.

Alimony payments according to the law:

for one child - 25% of the parent’s income;
for two children - 33%;
for three or more - 50%.

All children from different marriages are counted. If a father left his first family, leaving two children there, and then left his second wife with one child, then he will give no more than 50% of his income to the three children. This money will be divided equally between the children - each will get 16.6%. If he left five children, each will receive 10% of his father’s earnings.

The court may determine different amounts of alimony depending on the situation. For example, one of the ex-wives cannot fully provide the children with what they need, while the second can cope without the help of the child’s father. Then the court can set the amount of alimony for the first wife higher than for the second.

Parents must also share among themselves the costs of treating a child’s serious illness and paying for his care. And if the child does not have housing, then, taking into account the new amendments to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, you also need to take care of living conditions and additionally pay part of the rent for a rented apartment or mortgage payment. The amount of such payments is determined by the court.

Read on topic: Divorced mothers (or fathers) will receive additional alimony: how it works

If a parent is going to leave the country, then it is necessary to agree in advance on the amount of compensation and sign an agreement indicating how he will pay alimony: regularly, immediately allocate the amount for several months, or transfer his property to the children for alimony.

Payment of alimony stops when:

the child is 18 years old or has acquired legal capacity before this age, for example, got a job, opened his own business, or got married;
the child was adopted by another person who himself will fulfill the responsibilities for his maintenance;
the paying parent has died.

If a parent’s financial situation has changed, then the amount of alimony can be changed through the court. This is possible if, for example, the alimony worker retired and his income decreased, he changed jobs and his salary became higher, or he had a child in another family and new expenses appeared.

Most often, the court considers issues of changing the method of calculating alimony: moving from a fixed amount to a share of earnings and vice versa.

The amount of income is determined in accordance with the list of income from which alimony is paid. It includes all income from the main place of work, part-time work and running a business.

When the alimony payer officially has a low salary, but has income “in an envelope,” proof is needed that he receives more. Provide evidence in court that your ex-spouse makes large purchases, expensive renovations, vacations abroad, and generally lives beyond his means.

2-NDFL certificates for past periods will help confirm that before alimony was assigned, the payer received a higher salary at the same place of work. You can request documents through the court.

If your ex-husband is on the labor exchange and is unemployed, file a claim to recover a share of the income. In this case, part of the unemployment benefit will be withheld from him.

If he does not receive unemployment benefits and does not officially work anywhere, then it makes sense to file a claim demanding payment of alimony in a fixed amount. The amount is determined by the plaintiff, but must be justified in court. In most cases, the amount of alimony is determined at the level of the subsistence minimum per child in the region. The final amount of child support is decided by a judge.

If your ex-husband is officially employed, file a claim to revise the amount of alimony due to a change in the financial situation of the payer.

Latest news about child support

In 2021, it was planned to replace alimony with state benefits if the payer does not fulfill obligations for a long time and is declared missing. The bill was rejected, but instead the President of the Russian Federation signed bill No. 27783, according to which it is possible to assign a pension for the loss of a breadwinner instead of alimony under similar conditions.

It was also planned to establish alimony payments in a fixed amount - 15,000 rubles. per child, but the project was not adopted by the State Duma. Now alimony is assigned in accordance with Art. 81 and 83 of the RF IC.

In 2021 in Art. 86 RF IC made changes. Previously, there was no wording on the participation of a separately living parent in the costs of paying for rented housing, but in February it appeared. A parent who rents an apartment and is raising a son or daughter under 18 years of age can recover half of the child's rent from their ex-spouse. For example, if 15,000 rubles are paid monthly, the second parent may be required to compensate 3,750 rubles.

How to spend child support

Child support can only be spent on certain purposes: maintenance, upbringing and education of children. These are food, clothing, medicine, school supplies, toys, payment for clubs and trips. A wife cannot take money from her ex-husband and go for a manicure if he transferred this amount specifically to the child.

The child support agreement may include a requirement to provide a report on expenses if both parents agree to this. If someone is against it, then there is no need to provide reports.

But even when there is no such requirement, it is better to collect checks and receipts that confirm that the money was spent on the child - you can always prove where and for what the alimony went. The alimony payer may contact the guardianship and trusteeship authorities and request an inspection. If it turns out that the money was not spent on the child, the child support provider can go to court and ensure that up to 50% of the child support goes to a separate account for the child, to which the mother or father will not have access.

While the child is a minor, the decision on what and how to spend child support is made by the parent with whom he lives.

But it must be taken into account that alimony is the property of the minor. Therefore, they can only be spent on the needs of the child (food, clothing, education, treatment, recreation, etc.).

If a mother needs money for her own needs, she does not have the right to spend this alimony on herself, but she has the right to file a claim against her ex-husband for her maintenance. Alimony to the ex-wife is due if she needs money and is pregnant, is raising their common child under 3 years old or a disabled child under 18 years old, lost her ability to work during marriage or in the year after divorce, retired within five years after a long marriage.

Arbitrage practice

Courts usually satisfy demands for the collection of alimony for adult children, but different scenarios are possible:

The daughter demanded alimony from her father for her own maintenance, because... She is disabled and has high educational expenses. By decision No. 2-161/2020 2-161/2020~M-35/2020 M-35/2020 dated January 27, 2021, in case No. 2-161/2020, 0.38 of the subsistence minimum was recovered from the defendant.
The mother wanted to recover payments from her ex-husband for her adult, able-bodied daughter, explaining that she was still in school and could not work. By decision No. 2-287/2020 2-287/2020(2-3487/2019;)~M-3271/2019 2-3487/2019 M-3271/2019 dated January 22, 2021 in case No. 2-287/2020 the demands were denied.
The student son tried to recover from his father additional expenses for training and legal fees, but the court refused to satisfy the demands. The father himself never helped the child; he did not pay child support until the age of 18 (Decision No. 2-677/2020 2-677/2020~M-161/2020 M-161/2020 dated May 27, 2021 in case No. 2-677/ 2020).

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.

Age limit for collecting child support

According to Art. 120 of the RF IC, child support obligations terminate when the child turns 18 years old, and in other cases:

Adoption. From this moment on, the responsibility for the financial support of the child, regardless of his age, rests with the adoptive parent.
Restoration of ability to work or cessation of need through the court. Relevant when paying for the maintenance of an adult child.
Death of alimony obligee or dependent.
Emancipation of a child who has reached the age of 16 and has entered into a legal marriage, got a job or is engaged in entrepreneurial activity

In the last two cases, evidence will be required that the son or daughter does not need financial support.

How to deal with child support

1. During a divorce, discuss how each parent will support the child and participate in his life. If both agree with the decision, draw up an alimony agreement with a notary; if there are disagreements, go to court.

2. Agree on how to pay child support - a fixed amount or part of the income - and formalize this in the child support agreement. Have it notarized.

3. In the agreement, specify any conditions for payment of alimony, for example, additional assistance in the treatment or education of the child or re-registration of the dacha in his name.

4. If there is no agreement, you will have to go to the magistrate’s court to obtain alimony. You will need information about the income of both the recipient and the alimony payer.

5. Save all correspondence regarding child support, issue receipts for receipt of funds, keep receipts in order to have on hand all the evidence of protecting the interests of the child if the case goes to court.

Conditions for stopping payment

The main reason for termination of payment is the child reaching the age of majority. This reason is not the only one; there are exceptions: depending on how the drugs were prescribed. This is stated in Article 120 of the Family Code.

If a peace agreement is concluded and certified by a notary, the payment will stop before the age of 18 if:

One of the parties to the contract will die (perish). This does not mean that the child is deprived of support. If his mother dies, he independently goes to court to recover money from his father.
The agreement will expire . The agreement specifies a specific period until which the ex-spouse will transfer the funds. If at the end of the term the child is under 18 years of age, a new contract is allowed to be concluded. The second option is to recover through the court.
Events have occurred that, in accordance with the agreement, are considered grounds for termination of payment : the child’s marriage before the age of 18, the child receiving a permanent income.

Parents indicate any reason (by mutual consent).

If alimony was awarded through the court, the grounds for termination of payment will be:

Coming of age. The day after his birthday, the father has the right to stop transferring money. If desired, he can continue to pay assistance.
Onset of legal capacity before 18 years of age (self-support). The profit can be anything, enough to live on, but it must be official.
Stopping the need for money.
Mother's marriage. The new spouse will be required to provide for the child.
Death of a child or payer. Payment obligations are not transferred to relatives.
Adoption of a baby.

It is not possible to refuse the transfer of funds on your own.

In what cases is child support paid after 18 years of age?

We have already said earlier that alimony is paid even after reaching the age of 18, but this is a non-standard situation. Standard cases include termination of obligations after adulthood. You can extend the payment for an adult dependent under the following conditions:

A child, regardless of his age, has the right to maintenance, provided that he cannot do this himself - he is recognized as incapacitated. This rule applies to those dependents who are officially registered as disabled people of groups 1, 2 or 3. The third group is much less likely to be approved by the court, since for health reasons such adult children can earn money themselves.
If a pension or state benefit for a disabled child does not allow him to cover his needs, that is, the amount of payments is at the subsistence level or below.
If financial assistance is paid on a voluntary basis, that is, the father himself shows a desire to continue helping his child as long as he needs it.
Payments can also be received after the 18th birthday if the father has accumulated arrears on child support, and at the time of majority it has not yet been repaid. Therefore, they will continue to be paid until the debt is fully repaid to the child.

After reaching adulthood, a claim can be filed in court not only by the child’s mother, but also by the dependent himself.

Any other additional conditions under which the recipient may demand an extension of alimony payments are resolved only through the court. Remember that there must be a valid reason for this, otherwise you will be refused. And as we said earlier, obtaining an education at a higher or secondary educational institution is not considered a reason for extending payments to a healthy child, since this need is not considered vital.

According to the agreement, age does not matter

The question of up to what age to pay child support can be decided by the parents themselves, regardless of the norms provided by law. To do this, they need to enter into a voluntary agreement, which provides for all the nuances: the amount, method, procedure for alimony payments, as well as their terms.

If the child’s rights are not violated, then the notary will put his visa on this document without any problems.

If the original agreement did not address the issue of the timing of child support payments after adulthood, it can always be amended with the consent of both parents and extended.

Otherwise, you will have to go to court to request an extension of the alimony payment period. It will be possible to count on a positive decision only if the plaintiff proves his need and inability to work as the reasons why he needs financial support.

If you still have questions about up to what age alimony is paid, then ask them in the comments

Termination of the obligation to pay alimony

In addition to the cases already mentioned above, alimony payments end in the following situations:

The child was adopted by another person.

Example : The couple separated, the child remained with the mother. The father regularly paid child support, but at some point the child’s mother married another man, who adopted the child. From the moment of adoption, there is no need to pay alimony, since now the responsibility to support the baby falls on the new husband.

The child died.
The alimony payer died.

Possible changes in legislation

In Russia, for several years now, they have been wanting to amend the alimony law, according to which alimony will have to be paid even after 18 years of age if the child is studying. However, the proposals have not yet been accepted at this time. There is also no information about whether this will happen at all and what exactly it will all look like.

If the situation with the termination of alimony payments is controversial and is not obvious to all parties, then before stopping payments it is worth collecting evidence that you are right and making sure that everything is exactly as it seems. To avoid making mistakes and accidentally breaking the law, you should contact our lawyers. At a free consultation, experienced professionals will help you sort out the issue, suggest solutions, and if necessary, will even represent the client’s interests in court.

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