Is it possible to transfer alimony to the account of a child under 18 years of age or split the alimony and pay half by opening an account for the child?

There are often cases when the ex-spouse has a decent salary and alimony is paid regularly in a substantial amount, but a suspicion arises that the ex-spouse spends the received amounts not on the child, but on herself, while the child has practically nothing left from the alimony. What can be done in this situation? Is it possible to transfer child support to a bank account until the child reaches adulthood?

Is it possible to transfer child support to a child’s account?

Any intention, first of all, should not be prohibited by law, so first we turn to the provisions of the Family Code regarding the possibility for the alimony payer to transfer money to the child’s account. Article 60 of the Family Code suggests, based on the payer’s application, establishing a special procedure for paying alimony. This right is also enshrined in Supreme Court Decision No. 9 of 1996. However, you need to understand that there are also limitations here. The child’s account cannot receive more than half of the total amount of alimony. That is, it all depends on the established amount of financial assistance and how much it covers the child’s expenses. If 50% is too much and the interests of the minor dependent will be infringed, then the court will set a lower percentage.

Such lawsuits are considered on the basis of the regulations of Article 203 of the Civil Procedure Code, and can be initiated by the payer. If the claim is filed by the recipient, the entire amount may go to the child’s account.

Article 60 of the Family Code, paragraph 2, also states that money transferred to a minor’s bank account will accumulate there until he reaches 18 years of age. But, even after reaching adulthood, you cannot spend the accumulated funds anywhere. They are targeted, therefore they can only be used for educational, educational, medical purposes or for the maintenance of a child while he receives higher or secondary education. Once again we would like to draw your attention to the fact that such a decision must be secured by a writ of execution, a court order or a notarial agreement. That is, one of the listed legal documents. Otherwise, cash transfers will not relate to alimony, but will be considered other assistance or a gift, which will result in the formation of a debt in the total amount.

Amount of transfers to a minor

It is possible to make deductions in favor of a minor:

In a fixed amount. To do this, you need to prove the relevance of exactly this amount;
As a percentage of the income of the alimony payer. If for one child, then a quarter of the income , but if you need to support two minors, then a third of the income , but if there are 3 or more children, half of all income .

Of these funds, either half or another amount can be transferred to a personal account, by court decision or by agreement of the parents.

One of the frequently asked questions is: “Is alimony deducted from financial assistance and does it need to be transferred?” We have written a separate article to answer it.

How to transfer child support to a child's account

What stages of registration do you need to go through in order to ultimately pay alimony to the individual account of a minor child, which he can use upon acquiring legal capacity.

Opening an account for a child

The first thing you need to start with is to open a bank account. This service for minor children is currently provided by any banking institution. You will be required to provide a standard package of documents, usually the child’s birth certificate, parent’s passport and TIN. The procedure takes only a few minutes, after which you will be able to receive an agreement for the provision of banking services, as well as a separate certified sheet with account details.

Since the child does not have the right to sign until he receives the passport, the contract is signed by the mother or guardian, but this does not mean that anyone other than the child can use this money.

We transfer the account details or passbook to the guardianship authorities

Now you need to contact the guardianship and trusteeship authorities to obtain their permission for this procedure. This is necessary so that in the future the guardianship employee controls the expenditure of funds from the account and the parent or guardian cannot use them. After a child reaches 14 years of age and receives a passport, he has the right to withdraw accumulated money only with the permission of the parent, and after 18 years of age - freely. Permission from the guardianship authorities is submitted together with all documents when applying to court.

We receive a writ of execution or court order

After the account has been issued and approval from the guardianship has been received, you need to apply to the court with a written application to change the order of alimony payments. If there are no problems with the documents and all the rules are followed, then the judge will make a decision within a few days, which will set the percentage of alimony payments from the total amount that will go to the account. If the alimony payer is officially employed, then the writ of execution is transferred by the bailiff to the accounting department of the enterprise. From the day the decision comes into force, the responsible employee transfers the established amount of alimony to the child’s account, and the difference, as before, to the card of the mother or guardian. The same thing happens when concluding a peaceful alimony agreement. If the alimony payer is not employed, then the modified procedure for alimony payments is carried out by him independently under the control of the bailiff service.

On what basis is it permissible to change payments?

The standard situation is the award of monthly payments by court or by mutual agreement. A man rarely controls what his mother spends these funds on, the main thing is that he is not touched again and does not demand an increase in subsidies. However, based on the following situations, the father may request that child support be transferred directly to the child:

the mother leads an antisocial lifestyle (alcoholism, drug addiction) and spends the money she receives on herself;
the child needs money for personal needs, and the mother does not take his wishes into account;
the father wants to give more than what the court says, but so that the funds go to their intended purpose.

Important! Alimony is the personal money of a child, due to him until he is 18 years old. A woman cannot spend it on her own needs, the needs of the family as a whole, or providing for her other children.

You can spend alimony transferred by the alimony payer on:

purchasing food;
purchasing hygiene products;
payment for clubs, sections, excursion trips;
treatment, incl. for medicines, payment for sanatorium;
meeting other needs of the child.

Partial or full payment of child support to the child's account

Despite the fact that Article 60 of the Family Code defines the procedure according to which no more than 50% of the total amount of alimony can be transferred to the personal account of a minor dependent, many are interested in whether it is possible to pay alimony to a savings book or account in full?

How to transfer part of the child support to the child’s account

Half or less of the total amount of alimony may be transferred when the applicant of this request is the alimony payer. He cannot demand a larger part, since the mother with whom the child lives also participates in the maintenance of the baby and, if the amount is too cut for free use, the interests of both her and the child will suffer. That is, the part of alimony that can be sent to the personal account of a minor depends on the total amount of financial assistance assigned for alimony and how much it covers all the needs of the child. To carry out these actions, you must go to court or agree with the second parent to sign a notarial alimony agreement, which will indicate all the legal nuances.

If the court prohibits paying 50%, but the father wants a specific amount of alimony to still be transferred to the child’s account, and he could use it after the age of 18, then he can simply transfer an additional amount that will not be related to alimony. But the child will be able to use it along with the accumulated alimony amount, for example, to get an education or buy useful things.

How to transfer all child support payments to a child's account

Despite the restrictions in the law regarding a certain part of the alimony money paid to the dependent’s account, there are a number of exceptions when their amount can be more than half or even 100%.

Notarial voluntary agreement. If alimony is paid by mutual agreement between the parents without going to court and its procedure is fixed by a notarial agreement, then the mother and father can, at their own discretion, establish a part or the full amount that will go to the child’s account. The agreement also stipulates the amount of payments, frequency, responsibilities of the parties, etc. If in the future the parents change their minds regarding this alimony order, the notary makes new changes and, after certification, they come into force. If one of the parents disagrees with this order of transfers, he can appeal it in court, providing his copy of the original agreement.
When a child lives in a foster family or is under guardianship.
When the child is fully supported by the state - a boarding school, orphanage.

The last two cases refer to those family situations where a parent is deprived of parental rights, dies, is declared legally incompetent, is in prison, or goes missing. You need to understand that a child will be able to fully manage the accumulated money only after the age of 18, and when receiving a passport at 14 years old, he can partially spend it with the consent of the parent.

Initiative of the alimony recipient

Adjustment of the form of execution of a court decision, providing for the division of alimony payments, is also possible at the initiative of the parent with whom the child lives. Most often, this is resorted to by women who do not experience financial difficulties and who want their offspring to have money accumulated in their account by the time they reach adulthood. There are two ways:

the mother can independently transfer any part of the alimony received to the child’s savings book or card;
a woman has the right to submit an application to the bailiffs indicating the details of the offspring.

As mentioned above, the easiest way is a voluntary agreement. Unfortunately, it is rare that ex-spouses manage to find a common language in money matters.

Required documents

As we have already said, these issues can only be resolved legally, through the courts or by concluding a peace agreement. As for the judicial authority, it is worth contacting the magistrates’ court or the district court, if the issue of collecting alimony was initially resolved through it. You will be required to write an application to change the order of payments, that is, transfer of alimony to the child’s account, and provide the following documents:

Child's birth certificate;
Bank details where the minor’s account or Passbook is indicated;
Applicant's passport;
A certificate from the guardianship authorities, where they give their permission for future cashing of alimony transfers.

It is very important that the documents are submitted simultaneously with the application and that there are no errors in them. In addition, money to the child’s account must arrive with a specific payment purpose. Otherwise, the money can be considered as a regular transfer, for example, as additional assistance. Therefore, in the payment document when transferring alimony through the bank, be sure to indicate in the “Purpose of the document” field that these are targeted funds, namely, child support, full name, according to the writ of execution, month, year.

Changing your payment method

There are situations when the recipient of alimony needs to change the bank details for payments, for example, to receive them on a bank card.

If the parties have come to an agreement on the form of payments voluntarily and (or) agree with such a change in details, it is necessary to draw up an additional agreement that establishes a certain amount of payments transferred to the new bank details.

If the payer refuses on principle to change the bank account, he should apply to the court with a request to change the payment procedure in terms of changing bank details. It is also necessary to notify the alimony payer of his obligation to transfer payments to the old account before the court decision to change the bank details comes into force.

Control of targeted spending of funds

As we have already emphasized more than once, the recipient, that is, the mother or guardian, will not be able to dispose of the alimony payments accumulated in the account at will, even though his signature will be affixed to the bank agreement. The court limits this right, and such acts are monitored by the guardianship authorities. In addition, since these are targeted funds, they can only be used for specific purposes related to the full life of the child. The only exception when a mother can order alimony is if there is an urgent need, for example, money is needed for treatment or for the education of a child. In this case, she collects supporting certificates and sends them to the guardianship authorities to obtain their consent.

Only if there is permission from the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, the bank has the right to issue a certain amount from the account.

That is, we have decided on the question of whether it is possible to transfer alimony to a separate account of the child, which he can freely use upon reaching adulthood. This right is confirmed by law. The only limitation you may encounter is the amount of transfers, which directly depends on the total amount of child support and the monthly needs of the child.

Is it possible to transfer funds in full?

In a situation where a man knows with 100% certainty that the mother of his child will not spend a penny on her offspring, due to the fact that she is an alcoholic, a drug addict, or simply does not consider it necessary to spend everything that the father sends on the children, he can demand that all alimony be transferred on account.

There are a number of exceptions when the law can be circumvented:

Voluntary agreement. Without bringing the case to court, parents can draw up a paper with a notary stating which amount goes to the children’s account and which amount is transferred to the mother. Items that indicate the period for which the agreement was drawn up, exact monetary payments, and what liability is required if the agreement is violated are required. Once signed by the notary, it comes into force.
If the child lives in the family of a guardian.
When children live in a state institution on full state support.

The last exception applies more to parents deprived of parental rights or in prison. A child can manage money in the same way as in standard situations.

What is hidden behind the concept of “misuse of alimony”?

According to current legislation, funds belonging to a minor (this includes alimony) and coming to the disposal of the parents must be spent only on his needs.

These needs include maintenance, education and upbringing. Accordingly, the use of funds is allowed for the following needs:

grocery shopping;
buying clothes and shoes;
purchasing office supplies;
payment for education;
payment for the child’s participation in clubs, sections, etc.;
payment for medical services and other expenses arising during the maintenance and upbringing of the child.

Misuse of alimony means that the transferred financial resources are spent not on providing for the child for whom they are intended, but on other purposes (for example, alimony payments are sent to support a child from the other parent, to meet the needs of the alimony recipient, etc.).

However, neither the Family Code of the Russian Federation nor other legislative acts contain rules providing for liability for the use of alimony for other purposes. That is, in fact, there are no measures that could force the alimony recipient to use the funds for the needs of the child.

At the same time, in some cases the alimony payer has the right to control the expenditure of alimony.

Arbitrage practice

Judicial practice in cases of this category is quite extensive.

The main feature of the court's consideration of claims to change the method of execution of a court decision is the difficulty of proving misuse or irrational spending of alimony by a parent. It is very difficult to prepare evidence that sums of money are rudely and irresponsibly spent not on the needs of the child, but on the personal needs of the parent .

Even if the alimony payer manages to prove that the money was spent unreasonably, the court does not have an obligation, but only has the right to change the method of paying alimony. After all, a court decision to transfer part of the alimony to a separate bank account, to which the parent will not have free access (or will have access only with the permission of the guardianship and trusteeship authority), can significantly worsen the financial situation of the child.

In the decision-making process, the court is guided not by the interests of the father and mother, but, first of all, by the property interests of the child.

The court must take into account the basic and additional needs of the child, for example, the state of health and the need to purchase medications, special nutrition, massage, and physiotherapeutic procedures.

The court takes into account that in most cases the amount of alimony is small, and considerable expenses for the maintenance of the child are borne not only by the payer, but also by the recipient of alimony payments, and often to the detriment of their own needs. The court must make sure that the part of the alimony (at least 50%) remaining after the division will not be below the subsistence level and will cover the needs of the child . Otherwise, the claim will be denied.

A parent who is denied by the court to change the method of payment of alimony can transfer funds in excess of the alimony payments due to his son or daughter to the bank account he opened.

Let's summarize:

The payer can transfer alimony not to the mother’s account, but to the child’s account.
The basis may be proven facts of misuse of alimony (to the detriment of children). For example, a mother spends money on jewelry, solo travel, manicures and other personal purposes.
The maximum allowable amount is 50% on the child’s account.
If the recipient declares the need for a transfer, there are no restrictions. The same is true in the case of an alimony agreement (by agreement and registration with a notary).
The second option is to go to court with a claim to transfer part of the alimony to the child’s account.
It is the court's right, not its duty, to approve such an action. They may refuse.
The plaintiff needs to prove that the current alimony is being spent irrationally. It is also important that the remaining 50% is not below the subsistence level per child.
To make payments, you need to visit the bank and open an account in the name of the minor.
If the decision is in favor of the plaintiff, he needs to contact the accounting department or the bailiffs in order to change the method of transferring child support payments.

In the modern economy, it is important that children receive financial assistance from their parents.
If there is enough of it, there are no problems. But in the absence of real support or inappropriate spending of alimony, difficulties arise. Fathers have every right to monitor how child support is spent. If there is strong evidence, you can and should go to court with a claim to transfer money to the child’s account. The catch is that the court will not accept the mother's unfounded accusations. It is necessary to collect evidence, carefully study it, build a legal strategy and competently file a claim. Most people have problems with this. To avoid wasting time and getting refusals from the court, contact a lawyer. Experts will help with drawing up a claim, collecting documents, analyzing them, citing laws and other legal actions. The assistance of a lawyer will help you quickly achieve what you want and protect the rights of the child. Attention!

Due to frequent changes in legislation, information sometimes becomes outdated faster than we can update it on the website.
All cases are very individual and depend on many factors. Basic information does not guarantee a solution to your specific problems.

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