Does the father pay child support after 18 years of age?
Adults have the same rights as adults. They can vote in elections, marry without parental consent, work and support themselves. But most often these possibilities are nominal, since in practice they are extremely difficult to implement.
Young people are still as dependent on their loved ones as before: they continue to live with them under the same roof and cannot yet find a job, as they must get an education. Often the financial situation of families, especially single-parent families, is difficult, and one mother is not able to provide an adult child with everything necessary.
Some adults remain attached to relatives for much longer, sometimes throughout their lives. We are talking about people with disabilities who need assistance, regular care or medical rehabilitation. Social benefits provided by the state are meager and most often do not provide even the basic needs of people with disabilities, not to mention full rehabilitation or a decent quality of life.
In these cases, the responsibility to provide financial support for children remains on the parents. Not only the mother with whom he remained after the divorce should take part in the child’s life. If the father does not seek to provide assistance to his son or daughter voluntarily, then the court can convince him of this.
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About alimentary obligations
To begin with, we will turn to Article 89 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, which provides clarification and clearly states that spouses bear equal responsibility and are obliged to help each other. If such support does not come voluntarily, then the other party may demand alimony for its maintenance by contacting the judicial authorities.
What is the basis for forced collection of funds?
- one of the spouses is declared incompetent. Circumstances may vary. This may be reaching retirement age or having a disabled spouse;
- the wife is pregnant or is caring for a child under 3 years old;
- one of the spouses caring for a common child who has not reached the age of majority and is disabled. At this point it can already be seen that there are no reservations regarding who provides care. Is it dad or mom?
When can you apply for child support after 18 years of age?
“Alimony for adult children is paid only in certain cases,” comments lawyer Ruzanna Khanamiryan. “This is possible if the child is a disabled person of the first and second groups, that is, unable to work, cannot move independently, or has serious chronic diseases and needs care.”
In case of disability of an adult, you can apply for payment of monthly maintenance indefinitely. The court has the right to oblige the second parent, who does not live with the family and does not help the disabled child in any way, to pay money throughout his life. The payment is assigned in a fixed amount: the minimum is 14,900 rubles, and the maximum is not limited. It is determined by monthly expenses for care, rehabilitation, and the purchase of medications, if necessary.
In this case, a parent who lives with and cares for a disabled child must prove that his income (salary or social benefits) is not enough to pay expenses related to the illness. Therefore, he is forced to turn to the second parent for financial help.
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Consequences of refusing alimony
There are no sanctions as such for refusal of alimony. The law leaves the opportunity for spouses to resolve this issue at their own discretion. However, if the child’s needs are clearly not fully met - he is hungry, poorly dressed, does not have the toys or school supplies necessary for his age, etc. - Guardianship authorities may be interested in this issue. They will conduct an inspection, and if they find out that the family is experiencing financial difficulties, while the mother deliberately refuses alimony, they have the right to initiate collection proceedings themselves.
Alimony for a student child after 18 years of age
Obliging the second parent to pay child support if the child is healthy and able to work is much more difficult. The position of the courts in this case is clear - the need for maintenance must be proven.
“If a child studies at a university or technical school, you can apply for alimony,” the lawyer clarifies. - But here it is important to comply with several conditions. Firstly, training must be face-to-face. If the child entered into a contract, payment will be denied. Secondly, it is necessary to confirm that while he is undergoing training, the young man cannot support himself, and the mother with whom he lives also does not have sufficient income for maintenance, which is why she applies for the collection of alimony from the father.”
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If the need for payment is proven, then alimony for a student after 18 years of age will be assigned in a fixed amount. And the parent will have to pay them until the child reaches 23 years of age or until the family’s financial situation changes.
Voluntary payment of alimony
To receive money from your ex-spouse, you do not have to file for alimony in court.
If a good relationship remains between the spouses, they can resolve this issue on their own, by mutual agreement. The agreement can be oral - they jointly decide what amount, how often and how the father transfers to the mother. In these situations, lawyers recommend keeping all payment slips, and if funds are transferred from hand to hand, taking a receipt. This will help prove the fact of payment and avoid possible problems in the future. However, it is better to formalize voluntary agreements in the form of a notarized agreement. Of course, you will have to pay for the services of a specialist. But the presence of a document gives both parties guarantees that the agreement will be fulfilled. While oral agreements are very difficult to prove, after some time disputes may arise regarding some fundamentally important points. Another advantage of this method is that the agreement has the force of a writ of execution. Therefore, if the payer begins to neglect his duties or violate the terms of the agreement, there will be no need to go to court with a claim to collect alimony. It is enough to hand over the alimony agreement to the bailiffs.
Agreement on payment of alimony (sample)
Also in the agreement, you can formalize a waiver of alimony in exchange for a one-time transfer of a large sum of money or registration of valuable property (usually real estate or a car) in the name of a minor (Article 104 of the RF IC). In fact, this is the only case when the refusal to receive alimony extends to the entire period of their payments. The parent’s obligations to the child are fulfilled in full in advance, and child support requirements will not be satisfied in the future.
Article 104 of the RF IC - Methods and procedure for paying alimony under an agreement on the payment of alimony
- The methods and procedure for paying alimony under an alimony agreement are determined by this agreement.
- Alimony may be paid in shares of the earnings and (or) other income of the person obligated to pay alimony; in a fixed sum of money paid periodically; in a fixed sum of money paid at a time; by providing property, as well as in other ways regarding which an agreement has been reached. The alimony agreement may provide for a combination of different methods of alimony payment.
Expert commentary
Kolesnikova Anna
Lawyer
The amount and frequency of payments are determined by the spouses independently. But they should not be lower than those that the court would award. Thus, it is impossible to prescribe alimony in the amount of 2 thousand rubles if the father’s salary is 20 thousand rubles.
If we can agree...
Fathers do not always refuse to support their children. If a parent left the family, but wants to help his son or daughter while studying at a university, an agreement can be reached. For example, agree on a monthly amount to pay for the student’s current expenses: living in a dormitory, buying groceries, paying for travel. There is no longer any need to transfer money to the mother - an adult can receive it directly from the father and use it for his own needs.
Typically, such agreements are concluded orally: an amount is agreed upon, and then the father transfers the money to the account or gives the child in cash. You can also enter into a written agreement, where you need to indicate the form of payment: a percentage of the father’s income or a certain amount that he is willing to pay monthly, the regularity of payments, their terms. Both parents and an adult can enter into an agreement with their father or mother.
The peculiarity of such an agreement is its voluntariness. It is impossible to force a parent to pay, even if he signed the paper. The only way to achieve guaranteed payments is to collect alimony after the age of 18 for a student at a university or college through the court.
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Restrictions on both parents' right to children
There are cases of forced reduction in the rights of a father or mother. There are two such situations:
- there is a possibility of loss of health, and sometimes even the life of adolescents: husband and wife have chronic infectious diseases or have a mental disorder;
- there is no proper care for children or the actions of parents threaten the lives of children.
180 days are given to correct the situation, but sometimes the guardianship and trusteeship authorities insist on depriving parents of their rights ahead of schedule, before the time runs out.
Collection procedure
“The collection of alimony for adults by court order is not carried out,” comments Ruzanna Khanamiryan. - This is only a claim proceeding. You need to go to court and prove that maintenance is necessary, since the second parent cannot independently pay for the child’s education and other expenses, and the child himself cannot yet provide for himself either.”
When filing a claim in court, you must provide supporting documents:
- birth certificate;
- an agreement with an educational institution, which states that the student is a full-time student and necessarily on a budget;
- documents of the mother's solvency.
It is important to understand that the arguments presented in court must be convincing. It is necessary to confirm the difficult financial situation of the family, to show that the mother has a small salary, which she cannot cover the costs of maintaining and educating the child. Provide other evidence, for example, that there are several children in the family, and the father does not help financially. If the court supports the mother's demands, the bailiffs will collect the money from the father's official income.
