The order of payment in the payment order for alimony

Fathers, who most often pay child support, are concerned about how long it will take. Up to what age child support is paid in Russia in 2021 is an extremely pressing question.

The legislator gives a clear answer to this. Thus, Article 120 of the Family Code states that alimony is paid until the child reaches adulthood. If you follow the norms of the Civil Code, then adulthood occurs as soon as the citizen turns 18 years old.

Where does the collection of alimony begin?

Alimony obligations can be fulfilled either voluntarily or compulsorily.

If the child’s parents have no disputes regarding child support, they can draw up a notarized agreement on the payment of alimony, detailing in it the amount of alimony, terms, payment procedure and other important conditions. The agreement must be drawn up in writing and certified by a notary. Therefore, when drafting it, it is better to enlist qualified legal support. Parents can prescribe any conditions that suit both of them. It is important that the agreement does not contradict the interests of the children and does not reduce the amount of payments that would be ordered by the court in this particular situation.

If a parent living separately refuses to voluntarily support his minor children, alimony is collected in court. Russian judicial practice is such that, in most cases, recovery is made from the father of the child.

Alimony is a tax on newfound freedom (folk).

So, for example, Mrs. R. turned to us for advice on the issue of collecting alimony for minor children. Our lawyers explained the following important issues to her:

Procedure for transferring alimony

The recipient of payments has the right to determine the procedure for receipt and choose at his own discretion where alimony can be transferred by indicating the details when applying, or by choosing a personal visit to the person responsible for the withholding.

The legislation provides for the following issuance procedure:

1. Transfer to a bank card or a specially opened bank account. This is the best option if the payer has a permanent place of employment. Transferring alimony from the organization's current account does not require a personal visit to the employer by the claimant and simplifies the procedure, further limiting the administration from monitoring timely delivery.
2. Sending by postal order to the specified address of the claimant. This option is used when the recipient is actually located in another territorial region or in the absence of information on where to pay alimony, if there are no details of the claimant in the document - the basis for the withholding.
3. Receiving cash from the organization's cash desk or from the creditor. Issue from the cash desk of the enterprise is carried out according to the passport with the execution of a cash receipt order, which reflects the passport data of the recipient. If the settlement is made between the parties without the participation of third parties, then it is important for the claimant to keep a receipt in order to prove the fact of transfer and the amount.

Has paternity been established?

Alimony is collected by the court only directly from the child’s parent; the fact of paternity (maternity) must be recorded in the birth certificate. If the alleged alimony debtor is not the father of the child “on paper”, in order to collect alimony it will also be necessary to establish his paternity in court.

The presence or absence of marriage between the parents of a minor does not matter; alimony can be collected even if you are in a marital relationship with the defendant.

Does the father of the children have a permanent official income?

The answer to this question is of fundamental importance for determining the form of alimony payment, whether it will be a share (percentage) of the income of the alimony payer or a fixed sum of money.

Usually, as they say, “by default,” a payment is applied as a share of income, 1/4 (25%) for one child, 1/3 (33.3%) for two children and 1/2 (50%) for for three or more children.

It makes sense to file a claim for the collection of alimony in a fixed sum of money when the debtor has an irregular, variable income, receives it in kind or in foreign currency, or is unofficially employed or does not work at all, as well as in all cases where the collection is in proportion to earnings and other income is difficult or even impossible.

During court proceedings, as a rule, at a separate request from an interested party, the judge will send court requests to the Federal Tax Service and the Pension Fund for information about the debtor’s income; this should also be taken into account. In the case of a fixed amount, if there are proven grounds, he will request other certificates about the plaintiff’s income.

The amount of a fixed sum of money must be a multiple of the subsistence minimum per child in the region. It is determined by the court based on the maximum possible preservation of the child’s previous level of support, taking into account the financial and marital status of the parties and other noteworthy circumstances.

Since the responsibility for maintaining children rests with both parents, the minimum amount of alimony in a fixed amount is half the subsistence level for the child, the rest depends on the success of proving the debtor’s income and expenses for the child in court proceedings.

If it is known that the defendant is hiding his income, but at the same time has expensive property, one should properly apply for the relevant court requests to be sent to Rosreestr and the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate for information about real estate and vehicles registered in the name of the defendant. Effective collection of evidence is almost always an individual process, requiring certain knowledge and skills.

Also, in cases where children remain with each of the parents, the amount of alimony from one of the parents in favor of the other is determined in a fixed amount.

You can’t escape fate, but if you do, you’ll have to pay alimony (folk).

Child support for studying children

Despite this certainty, many questions still arise about this. Parents are concerned about the age at which alimony is paid for their children in education, whether alimony is due to students or schoolchildren, and specifically, whether it is possible to receive alimony until the age of 23.

The answer to the question of what age child support is paid in Russia in 2021 will be unequivocal - only up to 18 years of age. In this case, it will not matter at all that the child continues to attend a regular secondary school, or that he has begun to receive education at a technical school or university.

Does the father of the children have other child support obligations?

The number of children of the debtor for whom he pays alimony is important not only for determining the share of income that will be collected for each of the children, but also for the procedural side of the civil case.

For example, if there are alimony obligations for 5 children, the share of each is 1/10; when the first child reaches adulthood, it will change to 1/8, and so on until all the debtor’s children reach adulthood.

If there is no dispute about paternity, that is, the debtor is listed on the child’s birth certificate, does not bear any other alimony obligations, and has an official stable income, then you should apply to the court to issue a court order to collect alimony in a proportion to income, which will be considered by a judge within 5 days without calling the parties.

A court order for the collection of alimony is an executive document and is subject to immediate execution. But the debtor, having not agreed with it, has the right to cancel it within 10 days after receipt. Then you will need to go to court again with a statement of claim, which will be considered by the court with the parties summoned to court hearings.

Applying to the court immediately with a statement of claim for the recovery of alimony (bypassing receiving a court order) in the case described above will entail its return, since the claim can be considered in the order of writ proceedings. This is explained in the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 27, 2021 No. 62.

If it is known that the debtor already has alimony obligations, or it is intended to collect alimony in a fixed sum of money, then a claim should be immediately filed in court; such claims cannot be considered without calling the parties.

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.

Which court should I file for alimony?

Until October 1, 2021, disputes regarding the collection of alimony were the jurisdiction of magistrates, but after amendments to the procedural legislation came into force, all claims related to alimony obligations began to be considered by district courts. Thus, a statement of claim for the collection of alimony should be filed in the district court, but if you go to the magistrate’s court, the application will be returned. An application for a child support order is still submitted to the Magistrate's Court. The territorial jurisdiction has not changed; you can apply both at your place of registration and at the place of registration of the defendant. The applicant has the right to choose the most convenient option for him (alternative territorial jurisdiction).

From what time (what date) is alimony collected?

As a general rule, alimony is collected from the date of filing the claim (application for a court order) in court.

However, if initially there was a collection within the framework of writ proceedings, the debtor canceled the court order, and then a lawsuit followed, alimony should be collected precisely from the date of filing the application for the court order.

As for the collection of alimony for the past period, the legislation allows this, but only within the last three years and only if it is duly proven that the claimant had previously taken measures to obtain funds for the maintenance of children, but they were unsuccessful , the debtor evaded payments.

Telegrams, registered and email letters demanding payment of alimony, testimony of witnesses, contacting law enforcement agencies with a statement to search for the debtor, etc. can be accepted as such evidence. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized this approach as legitimate.

A civil case for the collection of alimony for the past period can only be considered according to the general rules of claim proceedings; in this case, a court order cannot be issued.

The basis for refusal to collect alimony for the past period is the mother’s demand not only to collect alimony, but also to establish paternity in relation to her minor child; before the claim to establish paternity was satisfied, the defendant was not actually recognized as the father of the child and had no obligation to pay alimony.

Ignorance of the laws of nature does not exempt you from paying alimony (folk).

In what cases is alimony paid - what does the law say?

Expert opinion

Stanislav Evseev

Lawyer. Experience 12 years. Specialization: civil, family, inheritance law.

The legislator not only establishes the mutual obligation of parents to participate in the financial support of their children (Article 80 of the RF IC), but also clearly regulates the rules for the payment of alimony. The procedure, amount, features and nuances of recovery are set out in Section V of the RF IC.

In case of evasion of his obligation, the defaulter may be subject to sanctions provided for by administrative and criminal legislation.

At the same time, the law does not provide for the father’s exemption from paying alimony due to the absence of a registered marriage or due to the negative behavior of his wife, as can often be found in various myths on the Internet.

Child support is paid for the child, without regard to the behavior or subtleties of the relationship of both parents.

What documents are needed to collect alimony?

It is advisable to attach to the statement of claim for the collection of alimony a calculation of child support, indicating how much is spent and on what, based on the amount stated in the demands. Almost always, judges ask to provide checks and receipts to confirm the indicated expenses. The statement of claim is prepared in three copies, on one of which the court office employee marks the acceptance of the documents and returns it to the plaintiff. Also attached are copies of children's birth certificates, registration of minors (registration certificate or extract from the house register), copies of marriage/divorce certificates (if available).

Please note that if previously a statement of claim was submitted to the court with copies of all documents attached according to the number of participants in the process, now you need to independently send them all the documents by registered mail before filing a claim with notification and a list of the attachments, and attach documents about sending to the claim.

Sample payment order

As mentioned earlier, the payment order form is approved by law, but you can deviate from it and use your own samples.

The document must contain the following information:

• number and date of registration of the PP;
• amount to be received by the bank and written off;
• payment type;
• information about the payer. Individuals indicate their full name and registration address, legal entities - name and address;
• recipient's name;
• recipient's account number;
• name of the payer's bank;
• name and address of the recipient's bank, BIC, subaccount number;
• payment queue – 1;
• code, signature and seal of the payer;
• bank marks - stamp and signature of employees. If the form is electronic – the date of execution of the order;
• date of receipt and debit from the bank. To be completed by authorized employees of the financial institution;
• checkpoint between payer and recipient;
• KBK, code OKTMO.

It is important to take into account that the order is drawn up in 4 copies:

• the first one remains in the bank after debiting,
• the second is kept in the documentation for the recipient bank,
• the third is attached to confirm the bank transaction to the recipient’s account statement,
• the fourth is returned to the payer to confirm the transaction.

What to do after the court announces a decision on alimony?

After the court makes a decision, the stage of enforcement proceedings follows.
It is important that the court decision to collect alimony and the court order are subject to immediate execution, therefore, immediately after the judge has announced the operative part of the decision, you can apply to the court office for a writ of execution, without waiting for the decision to enter into legal force. But the defendant, as expected, has a month to appeal. The decision and writ of execution (court order) may be presented:

- firstly, at the debtor’s place of work with an application for acceptance of the writ of execution, where the data of the parties to the alimony relationship and the bank details of the claimant should be indicated for the transfer of alimony by the employer’s accounting department;

- secondly, to the bailiff service, which will initiate enforcement proceedings and monitor the payment of alimony, and, if necessary, apply sanctions against the debtor.

Alimony established in a fixed amount must be indexed

If alimony is established in a monetary amount, then its size must be periodically indexed.
This helps to protect, on the one hand, alimony payments from inflation, and on the other hand, to avoid repeated appeals to the court to change the amount of alimony. The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation reminded of this obligation. Namely, when the cost of living increases, the organization indexes alimony, established in a fixed monetary amount. Indexation is carried out in proportion to the increase in the cost of living for children in the region where the recipient of alimony lives. If there is no regional minimum, alimony is indexed in proportion to the increase in the national subsistence minimum.

Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated September 3, 2018 No. 03-05-06-02/62540

Editor's note : indexation of alimony collected in a fixed sum of money is provided only in proportion to the increase in the cost of living, therefore, if the cost of living decreases, indexation is not carried out.

It is the employer who is obliged to index alimony payments established in a fixed amount.
Previously, the obligation to independently index alimony collected from the debtor by court decision in a fixed sum of money was provided only if the writ of execution was brought to the accounting department of the enterprise by the claimant. In all other cases, indexing was the concern of the bailiffs. They had to calculate the amount of indexation, make an appropriate decision and send it to the debtor’s place of work. The accounting department could only accept this resolution for execution. But from November 25, 2017, with the entry into force of amendments to the RF IC introduced by Law No. 321-FZ of November 14, 2017, it became unimportant from whom the employer received the writ of execution with a fixed amount of alimony - from the claimant or from the bailiff service.

Failure to fulfill the obligation to index alimony risks a considerable fine from bailiffs under Part 3 of Art. 17.14 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:

• for an organization - from 50 to 100 thousand rubles;
• for its manager (or individual entrepreneur) - from 15 to 20 thousand rubles.

Methods of paying alimony

Depending on the relationship between the parents and their mutual agreements, there are a number of ways to pay child support.

1. From hand to hand. The transfer of funds occurs directly from the alimony payer to the recipient.

It is important to understand the fact that no matter how good the relationship between the former spouses is at the moment, the transfer of money or other things must be recorded. In this case, a standard receipt will be suitable, which will confirm the fact of receipt. It must indicate passport details, date, amount transferred (or other material assets), and signature of the recipient.

This precaution allows you to avoid problems if relations deteriorate in the future.

2. By bank transfer. This method is convenient for everyone. The payer and the recipient independently, or by court decision, can open a bank account into which alimony payments will be received monthly.

This money can be transferred both by the payer himself and by the accounting department of the organization in which he works from his salary. Often they come to this option if the parent paying the money was able to prove that the other spends it not on the maintenance of the child, but on his own needs. In this case, funds from the account can only be used by agreement of the parties.

3. Transfer to a bank card. The payment method can be chosen independently or determined by the court.

The payer either transfers the funds himself or reports the bank account to the accounting department of his enterprise. In the first case, the date of receipt of funds and their amount are determined. In the second, the accounting department is obliged to transfer alimony no later than 3 days after the payment of wages and other income to the employee.

4. Postal transfer. Most often, this method is used by payers living in different cities from the recipient.

If payments occur by agreement of the parties, the details and the amount paid are sufficient. But if alimony is ordered by a court decision, the following must be indicated on the postal form:

• Month for which penalties are paid
• Salary amount in a given month
• How many days were worked in the reporting month?
• Income tax amount
• Amount of alimony
• If there is a debt, provide objective information

Another convenient way for the payer is to deduct funds from wages. In this case, you must bring to the accounting department: a court order, a writ of execution or a notarized voluntary agreement. In this case, the company’s accountant is personally responsible for the timely payment of alimony.

Procedure for registering voluntary payment of alimony

Based on an oral agreement or a written contract

This form of agreement has no legal force, since it is not enshrined in law, therefore the alimony recipient cannot refer to an oral agreement or an ordinary written contract as evidence and demand that the bailiffs take measures to collect alimony from the obligated person.

However, if the parties feel trust in each other and can rely on the word given during negotiations on the terms of alimony payment, no one has the right to prohibit them from doing so.

However, in this case, the alimony provider should exercise some caution so as not to suffer due to his excessive gullibility. Therefore, he needs to take into account the nuances described below:

1. If, by agreement, alimony is paid every month in cash, you need to take a receipt from the alimony recipient. The receipt must contain the name of the city and the exact date of writing, full data from the passport of both parties (full name, passport series and number, when it was issued and by whom, as well as registration information), the transferred amount in numbers and words and the signature of the alimony recipient.
2. If, by agreement, alimony is paid every month electronically, for example, through Internet banking, then you must fill out a note or purpose of payment. Example of filling: “Alimony for son Egor for November 2021.” In addition, it is necessary to periodically generate an account statement and save a file with it on several media (cloud storage, flash drive, computer hard drive).
3. If, by agreement, alimony is paid by transferring any property in favor of the alimony recipient, then you should also take a receipt indicating that the property is transferred for the purpose of paying alimony. It is also necessary to write down the estimated value of the transferred item, agreed upon by both parties. If agreement on the assessment could not be reached, the issue should be resolved by inviting an appraiser. Expensive things (real estate, jewelry, antiques, cars) are transferred to pay alimony only after an assessment has been carried out and a detailed report has been received from the appraiser with the value of the item indicated in it.

Why is this necessary? The fact is that trust depends on relationships between people, which can deteriorate at the most unexpected moment. Some alimony recipients, in anger, may take advantage of the situation with unsettled alimony payments to take revenge on the payer. In the event of a trial, receipts, appraisers' reports, and bank account statements prove the fact of past payments and can protect the obligated person from unnecessary payments.

Based on alimony notarial agreement

This method is suitable for cases where the parties are ready to negotiate and resolve issues peacefully, but, at the same time, do not trust each other so much as to rely only on verbal agreements. If there is an alimony agreement certified by a notary, the alimony recipient has legal measures to influence the alimony provider, for example:

1. The ability to transfer the agreement to bailiffs for forced execution, since the agreement is equal in force to a writ of execution and is freely accepted by bailiffs for execution.
2. The opportunity to transfer this agreement to the accounting department of the enterprise or organization in which the alimony worker works as an employee and receives a salary, in order to withhold alimony from him. The employer does not have the right to refuse to accept this document, since otherwise he will bear administrative responsibility for violating family law.

Before making a call to make an appointment with a notary for a certain time, the parties are required to discuss the following nuances:

• Determine the amount of alimony to be paid, i.e. a specific amount of money, or a share of monthly earnings, or a list of property assets transferred to the alimony recipient. The parties are free to establish the amount of alimony allowance, however, there is one exception in the law: when the recipient of alimony support is a young child, then an amount no less than the child could receive in court must be paid to support him. This means that at a minimum, according to the court, 1 child could receive 25% of the salary, 2 children could receive 33% of the salary, 3 children or more could receive 50% of the salary. If the alimony holder does not have an official job, but is engaged in business, works irregularly or does not work at all, then the minimum amount of alimony in court is half the child’s subsistence level established in the subject of Russia where the minor is registered.
• Determine the period for payment of alimony. The solution to this issue is at the discretion of the alimony provider and the alimony recipient (once every 2 weeks, every month, once a quarter, once a year, one time, another period at the choice of the parties). If a monthly payment period is established, it is better to indicate the deadline for receipt of payment, for example, payment must be transferred before the 20th. This will facilitate the process of calculating penalties for late payments.
• Resolve the issue with the payment method (cash, bank transfer, transfer of real estate or other property). If the issue has been resolved in favor of non-cash payment, you should discuss which account the money will be transferred to. If the parties have agreed to cash, arrangements should be made to receive a receipt. A sample receipt can be downloaded from here.
• Decide which notary you should sign up with. The law in this case does not restrict citizens, so interested parties can use the services of any notary registered as such in Russia.
• Find out from the selected notary the price of certification of the agreement. As a rule, it fluctuates in the range of 5-10 thousand rubles.
• Ask the notary if his office has a form with an approximate text of the agreement, or use the samples offered here: for a child - in shares of income; per child; in a fixed amount; for the spouse (ex-wife); for a disabled parent.

If the parties have agreed that they will draw up an agreement on their own, then they need to take into account the nuances described below:

1. The document must indicate the place where it was concluded, for example, the city of Moscow, the village of Perevolotsky, the village of Vishnevskaya, etc. Simply put, the name of the locality where the parties to the agreement will visit the notary is indicated.
2. Date of writing, i.e. date, month and year.
3. The title of the document must clearly indicate its legal meaning, so the title “Agreement on the payment of alimony” is given.
4. Information about the parties. Full name must be written without abbreviations. As additional information, it is allowed to indicate passport data, for example, place of registration, place and date of birth.
5. If the alimony recipient is a young child, then you should write his full name with date of birth, and also indicate who the alimony payer and alimony recipient are for him (parents, adoptive parents, guardians).
6. The amount of alimony to be paid. When the parties decide to count it as a share of earnings, it is allowed to indicate the share only in the form of an ordinary fraction, for example, 1/3 or 2/5. If the parties decide to count it as a fixed amount, then the amount is first written in numbers, for example, 7,000 rubles, and then in words - seven thousand rubles 00 kopecks.
7. Payment deadlines. If payments occur monthly, then it is advisable to specify a payment deadline, for example, before the 20th of each month.
8. The procedure for transferring alimony payments. This could be cash against receipt, or transfer of property to the recipient of alimony, or a non-cash transfer of money to the account specified in the agreement.
9. Other conditions, if the parties wish to fix them.
10. Indexation of alimony payments (optional item).
11. Signatures of the parties to the agreement, certified by the signature of a notary and his seal.

When visiting a notary, the parties must have with them their passports, three copies of the alimony agreement (optional, since the document can be drawn up at the notary's office) and the amount of money necessary to pay for his work.

Next, the alimony recipient has 3 options for what to do with the completed agreement:

1. Do nothing. This option is suitable when the obligations are fulfilled in a timely manner by the alimony provider.
2. If the alimony payer works in an organization, then you can simplify your life in terms of receiving money. You need to bring the original of the alimony agreement to your employer. The manager will issue an order to withhold alimony from the employee and submit a copy of the agreement to the accounting department. In the accounting department, the recipient of alimony must provide the details of the bank account to which the alimony will be transferred. After this, every month during the accounting entry for the salary, the amount specified in the agreement will be withheld from the alimony recipient and then sent to the account of the alimony recipient.
3. If you have problems with payments, you do not need to go to the magistrate. You should contact the bailiffs directly, namely the department at the place of registration of the alimony worker. You should take the original child support agreement and completed application with you. After the bailiff begins enforcement proceedings against the defaulter, he will count the accumulated debt and take the measures provided for by law to force the alimony payment. These are measures such as seizure of his property, suspension of his license to drive a car, confiscation of his property to cover debts, and a ban on traveling abroad. There is no point in delaying a visit to the bailiffs, because they can only collect debts for the past 3 years from the date of contacting them.

Also, the parties to the agreement need to know some nuances related to the issues of changing the terms of the alimony agreement or its termination.

One of the parties cannot arbitrarily change its terms, for example, refuse to pay alimony within the period of time established in the document, i.e. change, for example, monthly payments to quarterly payments, or pay a smaller amount, or change the payment method, for example, from cash to non-cash.

In addition, the parties do not have the right, even if there is an agreement among themselves, to refuse to fulfill the agreement. Therefore, the parties can only change the text of the agreement or refuse to execute it in a notary office, otherwise the changes will not have legal force. Simply put, until the notary certifies the changes agreed upon by the parties or certifies the fact of termination of the agreement, the old text of the agreement is valid.

In the event that the financial situation of the alimony recipient has changed for the worse, or when an additional burden fell on him in the form of new dependents and the parties to the agreement could not come to a common denominator on the question of whether it is worth changing or completely terminating the alimony agreement, a dispute about this should be taken to court. A sample application for amendment of the alimony agreement can be downloaded here, and at this link you can view the text of the application for termination of the alimony agreement.

From what income is alimony paid?

Alimony is withheld:

• from wages, bonuses, rewards and other types of payments to wages;
• from all types of pensions, scholarships;
• from benefits for temporary disability, unemployment;
• from amounts paid for the period of employment to those dismissed in connection with the liquidation of the organization;
• from income from business activities, from the lease of property, income from shares;
• from amounts of material assistance, except for one-time financial assistance in connection with emergency situations, a terrorist attack, in connection with the death of a family member, as well as in the form of humanitarian assistance and for providing assistance in solving terrorist acts and other crimes;
• from amounts paid in compensation for harm caused to health;
• from compensation payments to victims of radiation or man-made disasters;
• from amounts of income received under civil contracts;
• from monthly payments made to doctoral students;
• from an amount equal to the cost of the issued (paid) food, as well as other payments made by the employer in accordance with labor legislation.

Withholding of alimony is made from the salary of military personnel, police officers and other similar categories of persons.

Collection of alimony is made only after taxes have been withheld from this type of income.

The only thing more expensive than a wife is an ex-wife (folklore).

What is the order of payment?

The order of payment is a kind of algorithm that indicates the degree of importance of deductions from a legislative point of view. All payments are divided into 5 stages; first of all, money is transferred to recipients whose interests, according to the law, are most important.

To understand the order in which funds are deducted from your salary, just look at the table:

By law, alimony is the priority payment. If the organization has a limited amount of money and it can be spent either on alimony payments or on government payments, the choice should be made in favor of transferring the child’s support - his interests are put first.

Penalty for late payment of alimony

You should start working with alimony arrears when alimony has already been collected by the court or established on the basis of a notarial agreement on the payment of alimony, but no payments are received from the debtor. It is important in this case to establish the debtor’s guilt in creating the debt, i.e. he is aware of the occurrence of alimony obligations, but he deliberately evades payments.

Civil liability in relation to the alimony debtor involves the collection of a penalty for late payments, namely:

0.1% of the debt amount for each day of delay.

To collect it is necessary:

- firstly, contact the bailiff with an application for debt settlement;

- secondly, with a statement of claim to the district court at the place of registration of the debtor or at your own place. In addition to the above documents, when collecting a penalty, the following must be attached to the application:

• court decisions on the collection of alimony or a notarial agreement on alimony;
• resolutions of the bailiff to initiate enforcement proceedings;
• resolution of the bailiff on the calculation of debt.

In this case, the state duty is not paid.

The calculation of the penalty is made independently; it can be attached separately or stated in the statement of claim.

The Office of the Federal Bailiff Service, which was responsible for conducting this enforcement proceeding, should also be involved as a third party.

We remind you that copies of the statement of claim for the recovery of a penalty, with copies of all the above-mentioned documents attached, should be sent to the defendant and to the Office of the Federal Bailiff Service before filing the claim. Shipping receipts are attached to the statement of claim to the court. Compliance with this legal requirement is mandatory.

An example of calculating a penalty when collecting alimony in the amount of 1/4 of earnings (after deducting 13% personal income tax) from January to March.

Method 1:

• January – salary 30,000 rubles, debt – 7,500 rubles, penalty for 1 day – 0.001 * 7,500 = 7.5 rubles, penalty for January – 7.5 * 31 = 232.5 rubles.
• February – salary 30,000 rubles, debt 7,500 rubles. + 7,500 rub. (alimony for January, February), penalty for 1 day - 0.001 * 15,000 = 15 rubles, penalty for February - 15 * 28 = 420 rubles.
• March – salary 30,000 rubles, debt 7,500 rubles. + 7,500 rub. + 7,500 rub. (alimony for January, February, March), penalty for 1 day - 0.001 * 22,500 = 22.5 rubles, penalty for March - 22.5 * 31 = 697.5 rubles.
• Total for three months a penalty was formed: 232.5 + 420 + 697.5 = 1350 rubles.

Method 2:

• Salary January - March - 30,000 rubles.
• Debt for January 7,500 rubles, penalty for three months 0.001 * 7,500 rubles* (31+28+31 days of delay) = 675 rubles.
• Debt for February 7,500 rubles, penalty for two months 0.001 * 7,500 rubles * (31+28 days of delay) = 442.5 rubles.
• Debt for March 7,500 rubles, penalty for the month 0.001 * 7,500 rubles. * (31 days of delay) = 232.5 rubles.
• Total = 1,350 rub.

For a year at such a salary, the penalty will be 17,895 rubles, for two years - 68,820 rubles, for three years - 149,820 rubles.

The amount of the alimony penalty has changed several times; in June 2008, the alimony penalty was increased from 0.1% to 0.5% of the amount of unpaid alimony for each day of delay. For ten years it was collected in this amount, until the Federal Law of July 29, 2021 No. 224-FZ “On Amendments to Articles 114 and 115 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation” was adopted, by which the penalty was again changed, only now in the opposite way: from 0 .5% to 0.1%.

The debtor, in addition to the amount of the principal debt, will be required to pay the entire amount of the penalty, in accordance with the court decision. But the legislator also protected the debtor in such cases; the court is empowered to reduce the amount of the penalty if it considers that it is disproportionate to the consequences of the violation. Reasonably influencing the court's decision on the amount of alimony penalty to be collected is an important task for a qualified lawyer.

Alimony that may oblige the ex-husband to pay

1.1. Child support

According to the Family Code of the Russian Federation (FC RF), the father of a child, like the mother, is obliged to financially support his children, both before the children reach adulthood, but also after reaching adulthood - in case of their incapacity for work.

There are several forms of determining and collecting alimony:

a) as a percentage of income;

b) in a fixed amount of money;

c) in mixed form.

If the ex-husband has a stable “white” salary, then alimony, as a rule, is approved as a percentage of it. The law does not strictly establish the upper and lower limits of the amount of alimony, however, the approximate limits of this amount are still indicated in the law:

a) one quarter of income - to support one child;

b) one third of income - to support two children;

c) half of the income is for the maintenance of three or more children.

However, it must be remembered that the RF IC obliges the judge to consider the financial situation and marital status of each parent in order to finally determine the amount of alimony for a particular case. That is, theoretically, the different income levels of ex-husbands, as well as the different number of children or other dependent relatives, should be taken into account in the amount of finally approved alimony. In practice, however, this is not the case, and child support is most often stated as standard, that is, simply depending on the number of children.

If the ex-husband has unstable earnings, a “gray” or “black” salary, determining the amount of alimony as a percentage will be unprofitable for the child. In this case, lawyers advise demanding in court alimony in a fixed amount of money, a multiple of the subsistence minimum approved in a particular region of Russia. As a rule, based on the fact that two parents must financially support the child, the judge does not approve the amount of alimony lower than half the minimum subsistence level.

The same form of collection is also used to pay alimony for adult able-bodied children if they are in a state of need and cannot independently provide all their vital needs.

1.2. Alimony for ex-wife

Family law obliges the ex-husband to participate in the financial support of his ex-wife in the following cases:

a) if the ex-wife is pregnant - within 3 years from the date of birth of the common child (children);

b) if the ex-wife is raising a disabled child together - until this child reaches 18 years of age;

c) if the ex-wife is raising a common child who has been disabled since childhood;

d) if the ex-wife is disabled and is recognized as needy (in this case, disability can occur either before the divorce or within 1 year from the date of divorce);

e) if the needy ex-wife reaches retirement age no later than five years after the divorce, provided that the marriage of this couple was long.

Moreover, this type of alimony is approved in the same ways as child support:

a) an agreement on the payment of alimony;

b) within the framework of writ proceedings;

c) within the framework of claim proceedings.

However, remember that alimony for the maintenance of an ex-wife is established in a fixed amount of money paid every month, and not as a percentage of the ex-husband’s income.