How to get child support for the mother of a child under 3 years old? When filing a claim for divorce in court, not only the union of two hearts collapses, but also the overall budget. A woman may be left alone with a child or several children without a means of support.
This happens when the mother is on leave to care for a child under 3 years old or is pregnant. That is, she is actually disabled.
A woman has the right to alimony not only for the benefit of her children, but also for herself. And if the husband and wife managed to get a divorce, then it makes sense to think about how to receive alimony for the spouse for up to 3 years. After all, a woman needs to support not only a small child, but also herself.
Alimony for the maintenance of the child's mother
What to do if a mother with a baby does not have enough money to live? In such circumstances, it is necessary to collect alimony for the maintenance of the mother until the child reaches 3 years of age, because there are no means of a decent living.
It’s worth noting right away that the process of receiving payments in this case differs little from how child support is collected. Meanwhile, there are some nuances that this article will talk about.
Articles 89 and 90 of the Family Code provide for the protection of the wife’s interests in obtaining funds for her maintenance, obliging the father to pay alimony to the child’s mother until he reaches the age of 3 years.
How to get child support for your mother in 2021? Let's look at it in this article.
Alimony for maintaining a wife for up to 3 years is awarded after divorce. Additionally, the payment period includes the period of pregnancy of the ex-wife.
Unlike child support, maintenance of the former spouse is carried out in payments of a fixed sum of money. Its size is calculated by the court based on the minimum subsistence level.
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Roslyakov Oleg Vladimirovich
Lawyer, specialization civil law. More than 19 years of experience.
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A former married couple has every right to sign a spousal support agreement with a notary. In this case, the agreements may contain a clearly defined figure for alimony.
General appointment procedure
You should not trust verbal agreements when one parent promises financial support to both parties (the second spouse and child). If such an intention is expressed, it is better to put it in writing and have it certified by a notary. If the ex-spouse evades alimony, payments are ordered in court.
There are two ways to obtain funding from the child’s second parent:
- Through a notary, by signing a settlement agreement indicating the fixed amount, frequency and timing of the transfer.
- Through litigation, when the court independently determines the amount of alimony, often equal to the subsistence level (1, 2, 1.5 minimums or more, based on the individual situation in the family).
In addition to the statement of claim, personal documents of the parties and certificates of income received are submitted to the court. If we are talking about assigning payments in favor of the mother, it is necessary to collect receipts, payment documents confirming the family’s expenses, and also submit documents confirming the forced impossibility of earning income. You can find a sample application, as well as the format for filling it out, on the Magistrates Court website, or at information stands in the courthouse.
Download a sample alimony agreement in Word (23.5 KiB, 357 hits)
Example of alimony agreement in pdf (82.0 KiB, 313 hits)
Sample statement of claim for collection of alimony for a child (children) (18.3 KiB, 633 hits)
How to get child support for a non-working mother up to 3 years old: conditions
The grounds for collecting alimony for the maintenance of a former spouse for up to 3 years are listed below.
Alimony for the maintenance of a child's mother after a divorce or marriage can be recovered from the father if:
- The common child is under 3 years old, and the mother is on leave to care for him.
- The wife is not employed.
- The spouse is pregnant at the time of divorce or 300 days after it.
- The defendant does not dispute paternity, or this fact has been established by the court.
It is quite natural that a woman raising a small child alone may experience objective financial difficulties. And in this case, alimony for a wife on maternity leave is intended to cover the costs of food and medical supervision.
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The court will take all these factors into account when awarding alimony to the child’s unemployed mother. Therefore, for the trial, the mother who is left alone should provide a certificate from the social security authority and other services about the amount of benefits and payments received.
Payments to wife during pregnancy.
In accordance with Article 17 of the Family Code, a marriage cannot be dissolved if the spouse is pregnant or is raising a child under 1 year old.
In this case, divorce can only take place with the consent of both spouses.
A woman expecting a child can apply for financial assistance if there is an urgent need for it.
It does not matter whether the divorce is formalized or not. To collect financial support from a spouse, it is enough only to present a certificate from a medical institution confirming her situation.
Application for maintenance of the mother of a child until he reaches 3 years of age
If you have every reason to demand this type of content, you must file a claim in court.
The application must contain information about the grounds and amount of payments.
To a claim for alimony for the maintenance of a former spouse, you must attach :
- Certificate of income, plaintiff and defendant.
- A certificate from the passport office about the place of residence.
- Birth certificate.
- Court decision to establish paternity (if necessary).
- Certificate of divorce (conclusion) of marriage.
If necessary, the magistrate may request additional documents.
Where and when to submit?
The place where the applicant applies depends on what other additional issues, in addition to alimony payments, need to be resolved:
- if the applicant applies only with a demand to collect alimony from the spouse, then the claim is filed in the magistrate’s court;
- if, simultaneously with the assignment of alimony for the wife and child, the spouses want to dissolve the marriage, but have no claims against each other, then the application is sent to the magistrate;
- if the spouses cannot decide with whom the child will live and what amount of money the father should pay, then the appeal is sent to the district court.
Reference. The statement of claim can be filed both at the place of residence of the plaintiff and at the place of residence of the defendant. The document can be sent by mail or submitted to the office in person.
The amount of alimony for the maintenance of the ex-wife
When preparing a claim for alimony for the child's mother, the question arises: what amount of alimony can you receive?
Alimony for an ex-wife in 2021 is paid by the father of the child until he reaches the age of 3, monthly and in a fixed form.
The amount of these payments is calculated based on the minimum wage in the plaintiff’s region of residence, taking into account the subsistence level. As a rule, the amount of child support for a mother up to 3 years does not exceed the subsistence level.
However, the indicated size may be significantly higher, taking into account certain life circumstances, for example, the mother’s prolonged illness.
If there is no established cost of living in your region, the average for Russia is used for calculation. When this indicator changes, the amount of alimony is indexed accordingly. This happens without additional statements, automatically.
When can a wife be left without alimony?
There are situations in which the court may refuse to award monetary payments to a wife or ex-wife in her favor. These include:
- leaving maternity leave and starting work;
- the child reaches the age of 3 years;
- entering into another marriage;
- unworthy behavior of the spouse during marriage (abuse, infidelity);
- whether the woman is dependent on alcohol or drugs;
- committing a crime that is intentional.
Thus, it is not always possible to obtain child support for the mother, but in order to make a decision to refuse payments, the judge must receive the relevant evidence.
The procedure for collecting alimony for the maintenance of a non-working mother
During the trial, the court, taking into account all the circumstances, if there are all the necessary grounds, will decide to satisfy the claims and collect alimony for the maintenance of the mother of a child under 3 years of age.
This decision is provided to each of the parties, and if within 30 days from the date of its issuance in final form it is not appealed, it is sent to the bailiff service by the applicant.
Where does enforcement proceedings begin to collect alimony for the maintenance of the ex-wife and children.
If the mother subsequently gets a job, she loses the right to receive this type of maintenance.
Signing the agreement
The agreement to pay alimony must be in writing and notarized. Otherwise, it will not have legal force.
You can contact a notary office to draw up the text of the agreement, or you can do it yourself. In the document, in addition to the details of the parties - the payer and recipient of alimony - you need to specify:
- the amount of payments (in a fixed amount, as a percentage of earnings, in parts of the subsistence level);
- frequency of their payment (every month, once every few months, at a time);
- method of receiving funds (in person against signature, by postal order, to a bank account or debit card).
If the alimony payment agreement is correctly drawn up, it is equal to a writ of execution and can be sent to the bailiff service if the flow of money is interrupted.
To certify the agreement by a notary, you must submit:
- Passports of spouses (former spouses).
- Marriage or divorce certificate.
- Child's birth certificate or medical certificate of pregnancy.
- Agreement.
Child support agreement forms.
Who can receive alimony
There are several conditions for a woman who has a small child in her arms to be able to count on receiving alimony.
First of all, the child’s mother can count on alimony for her maintenance up to 3 years, but on the condition that the son (daughter) was born within the framework of an official marriage.
A non-working mother will be required to provide evidence that she really needs financial assistance in raising a child. Therefore, you should collect all the necessary information in advance.
If a woman is raising a small child born into an informal family, then she is unlikely to have to count on alimony in her favor. However, she has the right to receive alimony payments on a general basis.
Expert commentary
Roslyakov Oleg Vladimirovich
Lawyer, specialization civil law. More than 19 years of experience.
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Note! Current legislation does not provide for the possibility of receiving alimony for the mother of a child outside of marriage. When filing a claim in court for the maintenance of the mother of a child under 3 years of age, the woman will be denied.
Collection conditions
A woman caring for a child under three years old can obtain payments from her husband for her maintenance under the following circumstances:
No. | Prerequisites | Note |
1. | The fact of official registration of the marriage union in the registry office. | It does not matter whether the marriage relationship is currently preserved or not. |
2. | It is possible to collect payments only when caring for a joint child. | There must be a blood connection between the baby and his mother's spouse. The law does not establish a mandatory circumstance for the birth of a child during the period of his mother and father being in a marital relationship. In this regard, if the blood relationship is not confirmed by the birth document of the baby, the fact of relationship is recognized through the court. |
3. | The period for exercising the right is until the child is three years old. | The only exceptions are cases where a mother cares for disabled children under 18 years of age, and if the child has a Group I disability, then the payment terms are not established by law. |
4. | A woman’s need for financial support from her husband or ex-husband. | If a woman, in addition to state benefits, has other decent sources of income that can fully satisfy her needs, then the court will most likely refuse to award payments. |
5. | The husband's financial ability to provide financial support to his wife. | The court also takes into account the man’s financial situation and assesses his solvency. |
All these circumstances are considered by the judge without fail when resolving each case of alimony for a mother on maternity leave.
Thus, the following may apply for payments for their own maintenance in connection with child care:
- wives raising a child with their husband until he is three years old;
- ex-wives raising a child with their husband until he is three years old;
- wives, as well as ex-wives, caring for a common disabled child of group II, III until he comes of age;
- wives and ex-wives caring for a shared group I disabled child until he is restored to health and ability to work.
The list of categories of persons is exhaustive.
Is it possible to collect a penalty?
If alimony is not paid on time, then the law provides for a penalty. The Family Code stipulates a penalty of half a percent for each day of delay.
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You can also calculate the approximate amount of sanctions on our website online. A special alimony penalty calculator has been created for this purpose. The calculation results can be compiled into a separate document, printed and attached to the lawsuit.
However, before presenting it, you should take a certificate from the bailiff regarding the amount of the debt. It is advisable to order it by month. This will make it much easier to calculate the total amount of sanctions.
It is also necessary to remember about the existence of a statute of limitations in relation to the collection of penalties. It is 3 years after the child reaches three years of age. In addition, the former spouse has the right to reduce the amount of alimony, if there are grounds.
Deadlines and fees
After the plaintiff applies for alimony, the court reviews the documents within 5 days, after which it makes a decision to accept them and begin legal proceedings or refuse if the application is made with errors or not all necessary documents are provided.
After the start of court proceedings, the case is considered within one month. The court issues summonses to the parties to appear at a hearing where a decision on the case will be made. When filing a claim for the recovery of alimony, the plaintiff is exempt from paying state duty (Article 333.36 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
If my husband doesn't pay, what should I do?
Most mothers ask the question: My husband does not pay alimony for my maintenance, what should I do? Where should I go?
In fact, there are several ways to force a debtor to fulfill his obligations to his ex-spouse. The penalty has already been mentioned, but there are several other methods (domestic and legal).
You can write a complaint to your ex-husband at your place of work. It is possible that the administration will use certain leverage against him.
And also in some cases, contacting the prosecutor’s office helps. They themselves have no right to collect alimony. But instructions that must be followed will be sent to the necessary authorities.
The form can be viewed on the page: Sample complaint to the prosecutor about the inaction of the bailiff.
Through the bailiffs, you can try to deprive your ex-spouse of his driver's license until he pays off the debt.
However, in this case, it is necessary that the amount of unfulfilled obligations exceed the threshold of 10 thousand rubles.
With the same amount, the question of limiting freedom of movement can be raised. With this option, the ex-spouse will be prohibited from leaving the Russian Federation.
We should also not forget about administrative or criminal prosecution of the debtor. First come administrative sanctions. If they do not help, then the bailiffs have the right to initiate a criminal case.
In any case, the mother herself has the right to decide how best to protect her rights.
Application for maintenance of the mother of a child until he reaches 3 years of age: what needs to be taken into account, recommendations
The court determines payments for the mother and small child separately. Several factors are taken into account. First among them is the financial situation of the alimony recipient.
In addition, I would like to give practical advice:
- In the claim, the woman must justify her need for maintenance from her ex-husband. If there are documents to support the arguments, copies of them are also attached.
- Evidence of ongoing expenses for the child may be required. Therefore, it is advisable to keep copies of checks, receipts
- It is not superfluous to place special emphasis on the fact that the ex-spouse has sufficient capabilities both to support the baby and his mother.
The court issues separate writs of execution for 2 types of alimony. The fact is that bailiffs can work with them in different ways. Consequently, further monitoring of the progress of enforcement proceedings should not be neglected.
Author: Oleg Vladimirovich Roslyakov, source.
Alimony for wife in case of disability.
A man is assigned the obligation to pay alimony to his disabled wife if she has been recognized as needy and unable to work.
Both of these statuses must be confirmed in court. Disability is recognized when a woman is assigned a disability of group 1 or 2, as a result of which she is unable to perform work duties.
In addition, in order to assign alimony, it is necessary that the former or current spouse be recognized as in need.
This only happens if the income received (pensions, benefits) is not enough to ensure a normal standard of living.
When a woman has additional income that covers her expenses, she cannot claim alimony from her ex-spouse even if she has a disability.
applications for alimony to the wife of a disabled person: