Ex-husband filed for a reduction in alimony: how to challenge in 2021

Child support is necessary to meet the needs of a child whose parents have decided to separate. The amount of payments is often established in court and can be adjusted due to changes that have occurred in the life of the payer. You can submit an application to the court for a reduction in child support upon the birth of a third child in a second family. The magistrate will consider all the circumstances and decide to grant or reject the payer’s request.

Legitimate reasons for reducing alimony

According to the terms of the RF IC, Article 81, the amount of alimony payments is set as a percentage of monthly income. The same article, paragraph 2, allows for the possibility of reducing or increasing the percentage depending on the situation. There is no clear list provided, but, as a rule, the reason is a deterioration in the financial situation. When making a verdict, the court examines each situation individually.

Grounds for reducing alimony:

Significant decrease in income. The judicial authority examines the payer’s circumstances, reasons and level of current earnings. Sometimes a man quits his job and gets a job with less money to save on alimony. Such situations are quickly calculated.
The need to support dependents. The basis for reducing payments is the appearance of elderly parents or a pregnant spouse in need of care. To reduce alimony costs, it is necessary to submit evidence to the court, including the impossibility of making payments in the same amount.
A sharp increase in income. The situation is the opposite, when the payer’s salary increases and 25% per child turns into a large amount, significantly exceeding the child’s needs.
A serious illness that led to loss of previous ability to work. A reduction in payments is possible if the payer's disability (first or second group) is determined. Attention is drawn to the need to purchase medications, treatment costs, etc. The courts accept disability as a basis for changing the amount of alimony, because this really affects their financial situation.
Expanding a new family. The court may cooperate due to the birth of a child from another woman. A man has a new dependent, which leads to an increase in financial burden.
The child gets a job. When considering a case, the amount of income, type of activity and other factors are examined.
Transfer of a minor to full funding from the state. Payments can be reduced if the child stays all day in an orphanage, boarding school or other special institutions.

Important! Regardless of the circumstances, the alimony payer is obliged to support the request for a reduction in payments with evidence. Otherwise, the court leaves the request without satisfaction.

Receiving payments for children by court decision

Legislative authorities recommend applying to special bodies to establish payments for children if the spouses cannot amicably resolve this issue.

A former parent who currently supports children together can seek help from the court to assign child support payments at any time, for example, after the birth of a third child. The custodial parent has the right to file an application with the court both while married and after a divorce.

If a formal application is submitted, the paying spouse is obligated to pay benefits from the date of its filing. Recovery is possible for the time before the filing of the claim, but not more than 3 years, if the spouses were no longer living together at that time.

What grounds cannot be used to reduce payments?

In judicial practice, there are a number of reasons that do not allow the client to count on a reduction in alimony. Let's highlight the main ones:

Intentional leaving a job or transferring to a lower-paying position.
The appearance of real estate or movable property in the possession of a minor.
Increasing the ex-spouse's income.
Taking out loans or developing other types of debt.
Receiving benefits, pensions or other preferences from the state for minors.

If a man relies on such grounds in his statement of claim, he will most likely be denied.

What to do if your husband demands a review of the amount of alimony

The issue of reducing payments is being considered based on a claim filed by a man. At the same time, a woman should know how to prevent this and maintain her previous financial security. She has several tools at her disposal to protect her interests:

filing an objection to a statement of claim if there are violations, errors, incorrect information or fraud:
filing a counterclaim with a demand to change the principle of calculating alimony or increase its amount;
appeal to the court of appeal within 30 days from the date of the decision;
challenging the verdict in a cassation court within up to six months.

Further actions depend on the current circumstances.

Instructions for action
Women often ask “how to protect ourselves from a reduction in payments if we live on them due to current circumstances.” In such situations, take the following steps:

Study the court notice, which indicates information about the time of the preliminary hearing. At this stage, you can study the case materials, understand the legality of the grounds for reducing alimony, and receive explanations from the judicial authority.
Participate in court, come to meetings on time.
Complete and submit an objection to the claim. The document can be submitted at any time before the judge leaves the room to make a decision.
Draw up and register a counterclaim if there are additional claims against the man.
Wait for the court's decision.
File an appeal within a 30-day period or a cassation within a 6-month period.

To achieve the goal, it is important to correctly approach the preparation of each of the documents discussed above.

The birth of a second child in another family: how to reduce child support

Reducing child support upon the birth of a third child in a second family But this situation is not so clear-cut. The law protects the interests of not only the first child, but also the second child, as well as the interests of the father of the children. To ensure that none of them are deprived, the law provides for a way to redistribute the father's earnings to provide for the needs of the children and himself. An application for recalculation for 1 child must be submitted to the court at the place where the defendant lives. The debtor will make adjusted payments from the day the judgment becomes final. The decision to adjust the amount of payments is sent to the court that originally made the decision.

How to file an objection and counterclaim

The success of the defense depends on the correctness of the documents and the ability to submit them within the deadline established by law.

Objection to the claim

If false or unreliable information is discovered in a claim for a reduction in payments, a woman has the right to file an objection. It is transmitted in two ways:

orally - information is recorded in the court record with subsequent review;
in writing - in the form of a document attached to the case materials.

To increase your chances, it is recommended to submit your objection in writing. The law does not provide for strict requirements for drawing up a document, so when filling it out you can adhere to general principles.

Please provide the following information:

name of the judicial structure and number of the case under consideration;
information about the parties to the proceedings (full name, place of registration, contacts);
Title of the document;
description of the reason for the objection, evidence, indication of violations;
reference to paragraphs or sections of laws;
list of attached evidence.

At the end of the document, put the date of execution and sign.

Counterclaim

According to the law, a woman has the right to file a counterclaim and thereby protect herself from a reduction in alimony. Conditions for filing a claim:

compliance with the norms of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, Art. 131 and Art. 132
submission to the address for consideration of the main application;
transfer before or after a decision on the man's claim;
joint consideration of two documents;
in the latter case, a general verdict is rendered.

According to Article 138 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the court accepts a counterclaim in a situation where the statements are related. For example, satisfying a woman’s appeal may lead to a refusal of a claim to reduce alimony.

Filing a counter-complaint allows you to save time on proceedings, immediately resolve controversial issues and obtain a fair court verdict. In addition, with such actions there are higher chances of concluding a peace agreement and avoiding challenging a court decision. The downside is that the proceedings may drag on indefinitely.

The principle of drawing up a counterclaim is the same as the main claim. It states:

the name of the court hearing the main claim;
information about the applicant and respondent (contacts, address, full name);
Title of the document;
the plaintiff's arguments and demands;
references to legal norms, substantiation of the position;
counterclaims;
list of attached documents (evidence).

The final touch of the document is the date of its execution and the signature of the applicant.

After filing a counterclaim, the court prepares the case for consideration and sets a hearing date. At the meeting, the positions of both parties and the documents attached to the claim are studied. If no settlement is reached during the proceedings, a verdict is rendered.

Based on the results of the consideration, the court gives a positive decision on one application and denies the other or partially covers both claims. If the mother's counter-petition is denied, she has the right to file an individual claim.

A reduction in the percentage of alimony in the event of the birth of a second child does NOT ALWAYS occur

How much can child support be reduced at the birth of a third child (read more...)

Art. 119 of the RF IC gives the payer the right to file a claim to reduce the amount of payments. The grounds will be the same as above. The court will carefully study the factual circumstances of the case, identify what arguments presented by each party deserve attention, what evidence confirms:

This is the most typical situation and quite predictable, but not all judges agree with the need to reduce payments. However, refusal to bring the amount of alimony for two children into compliance with the law is illegal: alimony for two children cannot be higher than 1/3 of all types of earnings, unless there are exceptional circumstances that are confirmed by evidence.

Appeal and cassation

If the court has decided to reduce alimony, you can file an appeal within 30 days, and a cassation appeal within 6 months. Both documents indicate:

name of the higher judicial authority;
information about the participants in the process;
name of the claim (appeal/cassation complaint);
description of the circumstances - amount of alimony, evidence of the parties;
reasons for disagreement with the decision of the lower court;
references to legal norms - RF IC, RF Code of Civil Procedure;
request to study and review the court verdict;
attachments in the form of evidence in the case;
date and signature.

The appeal is considered only if there is evidence of the woman’s arguments. After considering the case, the court cancels the decision or does not change anything in the decision.

Appealing a court decision

The verdict can be appealed if the decision made does not suit one of the parties:

it was not possible to reduce child support for the first child at the birth of the third;
the request to reduce the payment is satisfied, but the recipient of the alimony payments believes that the child will suffer from the reduction in the amount.

First, an appeal is filed. If in this case the decision does not suit the plaintiff, a cassation appeal can be filed.

Appeal procedure

The appeal must be filed with the judicial authority that considered the application requesting a reduction in the amount of alimony. The test must indicate the reason for filing the appeal. In addition to the wishes of one of the parties, there must be compelling reasons for the appeal:

The court decision was made in violation of the law. If a decision was previously made on alimony payments not only for the child from the first marriage, but also for children born in the second marriage, then the share of deductions must be recalculated. According to Art. 81 of the RF IC, the payer cannot withhold more than 1/2 of the income.
The attached documents were misinterpreted.
The decision contains inappropriate regulations.

The clerk of the magistrates' court must accept the appeal and forward it to the other party and to a higher authority. Based on the results of the appeal, the judge may cancel the previous decision in part or in full.

Cassation procedure

A cassation appeal can be used to appeal a court decision that has entered into force. You can file a complaint with the cassation body only after considering the appeal. It is important to follow the application procedure and the filing deadline - 3 months from the date of entry into force of the appeal decision.

A copy of the complaint must be sent to the other parties to the case by the plaintiff in advance, before filing an appeal to the court. The papers are filed in the magistrate's court and from there forwarded to the higher authority. During the first 5 days, the attached documents are checked to ensure compliance with the deadlines for filing the cassation. If everything is in order, the complaint is considered by a panel of judges within 2 months.

A reduction in alimony when a third child is born in a new marriage is possible if sufficient evidence is provided. Use the standards specified in Art. 81 of the RF IC is possible only if alimony payments are made for all children by court decision. If the payer has firmly decided to have children with a new spouse, he can apply for alimony for younger children without divorce.

Arbitrage practice

Each situation is studied individually, so there are no uniform rules for protecting against alimony reduction. In practice, the court accommodates a man halfway when he becomes disabled or has a justified reduction in income. If the payer, for example, quit his job but lives with his new wife in an expensive apartment, the claim will be denied.

When considering a case, judges evaluate the following factors:

level of costs for treatment or training;
the degree of deterioration in the child’s material security;
arguments from both sides;
attached documents;
position of legislation and judicial practice.

In most cases, the court takes into account the rights of the child and the degree of financial difficulties of the alimony payer.

Alimony for three children from different marriages

When setting the amount of alimony for children from a second marriage, the court must rely on Article 81 of the RF IC. Thus, the amount of alimony for three children from the same or different marriages, by law, should not exceed 50 percent of the income of the alimony provider or 16.6 percent for each. The size of the share can be increased due to the increased needs of a particular child (for example, disability) or assigned as a fixed monetary amount. As for a fixed amount of money, the starting point will be the cost of living in the region. Also, the amount of alimony can be reduced if the alimony payer has a very high income and the monthly amount paid is higher than what is necessary to provide for the basic needs of the children.

For example, Nikolai Tsvetkov paid child support to his ex-wife in the amount of 25 percent of his earnings. Tsvetkov worked as a junior engineer and had a salary of 50 thousand rubles. He has two children from his second wife, and this marriage eventually also broke up. But something good still happened in Nikolai’s life - he received a promotion to chief engineer, and his salary increased to 200 thousand rubles. Realizing that the potential amount of alimony (that is, 100 thousand rubles for three children) significantly exceeds the needs of the offspring, Nikolai turned to a lawyer. The court ordered alimony not in shares, but in a fixed sum of money in the amount of the subsistence level - 10,783 rubles. 60 kopecks for each child.

Results

The child’s mother should not give up if her ex-husband filed for a reduction in alimony. She has many defense tools in her hands, from filing a counterclaim to filing a cassation appeal. The main thing is to act immediately upon receiving a notification and involve an experienced lawyer for help. He will help in collecting documents and defending his personal position in court.

Each situation with the collection of alimony is individual and depends on a number of factors. We offer a free consultation to help you sort out the main controversial issues. Solve your problem here and now!

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Is it possible to reduce

An increase in the number of dependents often leads to the fact that the payer wants to reduce the amount of payments. The law in this case is on the side of both the payer and the recipients. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount, but this should not violate the interests of young children.

In practice, few parents use the legal method of reducing child support. Many, as soon as payments become unbearable, simply stop paying. But this only leads to debt. This means that sooner or later the defaulter will be held accountable.

There are several options for how you can absolutely legally reduce the amount that is paid for several children from different marriages. At the same time, do not forget that you can request alimony without a divorce. That is, even if the spouses are married, the mother can sue the father to recover child support.