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• Disputes about children after divorce
• Fathers' rights to children after divorce
• Responsibilities of fathers when communicating with children

Divorce is a morally complex process for all parties involved. Children suffer the most due to family breakdown. They cannot count on a harmonious relationship if the father and mother are in conflict with each other. Children after their parents' divorce most of all need support from adults. It is because of this that ex-spouses are obliged to find common ground and compromise in communication.

All questions and disputes regarding the financial and non-material obligations of the spouses after a divorce in relation to each other and children can be resolved peacefully. The agreement must be drawn up in the presence of a notary, otherwise the document will not have legal force.

The agreement must specify all the smallest details and establish the order, as well as the main principles of communication. The document should include:

• who will the child stay with after the divorce?
• the amount and procedure of alimony payments;
• the opportunity to see children and take part in their upbringing;
• various costs for violating the terms of the contract.

To ensure that the document is drawn up as competently and legally as possible, and also reflects the requirements and obligations of the parties without infringing on their rights, it is necessary to consult with an experienced specialist in the field of family law. Legal support will be the only correct solution when resolving conflicts between spouses. The expert will help you find the right solution, explain how to get around all the pitfalls of the legislation and, if necessary, prepare and maintain documentation.

Today, there are various commercial legal organizations specializing in helping citizens with family issues. However, in order to save effort, time and money, you can seek advice from lawyers online.

Paternity rights upon divorce

Parents' awareness of their rights during separation is often low.
Maternal rights are increasingly discussed in the media, but what rights a father has during a divorce are discussed less frequently. In family law there is a concept - physical custody of a child. Mainly associated with physical care of the pupil. This guardianship determines where the child will live. Namely:

• whether the minor family member will live with both parents, spending an equal amount of time in each home;
• whether the child will live with one parent while visiting the other for a certain period of time.

In the case when the child is a teenager, he can decide (at the age of 10) who he wants to live with - with mom or dad. The basis is Article No. 57 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. This desire can become decisive in establishing the order of communication with the child and determining the place of residence of the offspring in the future.

One parent may have both legal and physical custody, while the other may have visitation rights but not have any custodial rights and therefore will not be able to make decisions that affect the welfare of the minor children.

The rights of a spouse during a divorce should not be violated if the man’s actions are aimed at improving the life of his offspring.

Responsibilities of fathers when communicating with children

Depriving a father of parental rights is one of the ways to punish a man for violating his direct paternal responsibilities. One of the main requirements for minors is to provide them with financial assistance, regardless of whether the parents were in an official or civil marriage. The amount and procedure for calculating alimony payments can be established peacefully or through a statement of claim.

Monthly contributions must be made by the father, despite his financial well-being and availability of work. The minimum amount of child support is 25% of the parent's earnings. If there were two children in the family, then the father will need to pay 33% of his income. In a situation where the mother has three or more common children, the payments will be half of the father’s monthly income.

Evasion of alimony obligations is a violation of the family and civil codes.

According to the law, violators are punished in the form of administrative or criminal liability, which is manifested by a fine, forced labor, arrest or imprisonment.

The bailiff service is responsible for enforcing child support obligations in relation to children. This organization has the right to demand debt from the payer, revise the amount of payments according to the increase in the cost of living, and seize property for malicious evasion of payments.

Only conscientious fulfillment of paternal responsibilities allows dads to count on full communication and raising children after a divorce.

What can a father demand in a divorce?

Every man who breaks off a legal relationship with a woman should know what rights the father has in the event of a divorce if the children, by mutual consent, remained to live with their ex-wife.

Here are some of them:

1. Receive reliable information about the child (health, accidents, his successes and failures).
2. Visit a common child at set hours.
3. Plan and prepare cultural events held during visiting hours.
4. Do not allow the mother to threaten or deprive the father of the opportunity to spend time with the child at the agreed time, on the basis of Art. No. 55 IC RF.
5. Call the police if the right to visit joint children is violated, request police reports as evidence, which can later be presented in court.
6. Do not give consent for the child and mother to travel to another state, etc.
7. Request a change in the divorce decree if the mother, without the consent of the second parent, changes the order of meetings with the child without prior approval.
8. Complain about child abuse and violence against them in the family by the mother (provide evidence).

Restoration of father's parental rights

The law allows the father to restore his parental rights. This is possible only if the circumstances and reasons that led to the deprivation have disappeared.

To carry out the procedure for restoring the rights of a parent, the father must file a claim in court. At the same time, he has the responsibility to prove that the circumstances due to which he was deprived of parental rights have disappeared and his behavior has changed.

The following fact should be taken into account: if the child has been adopted, then restoration of parental rights becomes impossible.

When restoring parental rights, the court must take into account the opinion of the mother, as well as those living with the child. The opinion of the child himself must also be taken into account.

Father's responsibilities and opportunities

Both the rights of the mother and the rights of the father should not be violated during a divorce.

If the father believes that it is better for the child to live with him after separating from his wife, but the ex-wife does not agree, then he will have to apply to the court. The guardianship and trusteeship authorities will conduct a study of living conditions, taking into account the rights of the parents, they will consider the performance of the duties of each of them, personal qualities, financial situation and much more. Namely:

• the ability of any parent who requires the child to live at his place of residence to satisfy his basic needs;
• the ability to provide a minor family member with good living conditions, loving relationships, and a decent upbringing. Here we consider whether the wife or husband has addictions, immoral behavior, etc.
• age of the child;
• mental and physical health of both parents;

Next, a court decision will determine the further place of residence of the pupil, based on the interests of the child. During the trial, a written agreement between the parties may be drawn up about how and when one of the parents will communicate with the child.

What is the procedure for depriving parental rights?

It is worth immediately identifying those persons who have the right to file a claim in court for deprivation of parental rights.

The law defines the circle of such subjects:

• directly the mother;
• trustee;
• guardian;
• Educational establishment;
• health care institution;
• other children's institution;
• prosecutor;
• guardianship and trusteeship authority;

You will probably be interested in looking at the mental map How to divide jointly acquired property if there is no agreement between the spouses?

Or find out HERE how to file a claim for divorce if there are children

The claim must be submitted in writing. The filing is made in the district court at the defendant’s place of residence.

The statement of claim contains the following information:

1. The name of the court to which the application is filed;
2. Last name, first name, patronymic of the plaintiff himself, his place of residence. If the application is submitted by a representative, then his full name must also be indicated. and address;
3. Last name, first name, patronymic of the defendant, his place of residence;
4. What exactly is the violation of the rights or legitimate interests of the plaintiff himself, as well as all his demands;
5. The circumstances on which the plaintiff substantiates the claims, as well as the evidence that the circumstances support;
6. List of documents that are attached to the statement of claim.

If a prosecutor makes such a statement, it must contain a justification for why it is impossible for a citizen to bring a claim.

The package of documents that are submitted to the court is individual for each situation.

The best option is to contact a lawyer who will help with its formation.

But you can still give general advice:

1. Attach copies of your passport, marriage certificate, divorce certificate and birth certificate. They must be properly certified. You can submit to the court either copies certified by a notary, or copies together with the originals;
2. It is necessary to provide a certificate from the child’s place of residence, as well as an inspection report of living conditions;
3. A certificate from the parent’s place of work is also required, as well as a description of the parent from the place of work and place of residence;
4. Provide written evidence confirming the grounds for depriving the father of parental rights.

In addition to the main requirement, which is to deprive the father of parental rights, you can also make a claim to collect alimony from him.

Since the law establishes that deprivation of parental rights does not relieve the father of his responsibility to support his child.

The court's decision will address this issue. The plaintiff’s position on the required amount of alimony will be taken into account by the court.

Changing a child's surname

There are situations when a mother may express a desire to change the child’s last name to another, after remarriage or simply out of anger at her ex-husband. This decision is made by both parents together. Let's face it, there are rare cases when a father in his right mind can agree to this.

Exceptional cases:

1. Deprivation of parental rights.
2. Declared missing.
3. Recognition of incapacity.

The procedure for changing a child’s surname is not one that infringes on the father’s rights during a divorce with the mutual consent of both parents. Permission to change a surname is asked from a student who has reached the age of ten.

Consequences of deprivation of parental rights

At the end of the consideration of the case on deprivation of parental rights, the court makes a decision. This court decision will serve as evidence of deprivation of the father's parental rights.

The consequence of this procedure will be the termination of the rights to the child that were obtained as a result of kinship.

The father will lose such rights as the right to determine the place of residence of the children, the right to education and communication; the father will not be able to represent the interests of the children when receiving benefits and allowances; deprivation of rights means that such a father will not be able to become an adoptive parent, guardian or trustee in the future.

Such a father also cannot count on alimony and inheritance for his children. But a father who has been deprived of parental rights is not released from the obligation to support the child.

This means that the court has the opportunity to order child support payments. A father deprived of parental rights cannot live with the child, which means he can be evicted without providing another living space (if the premises are provided under a social tenancy agreement).

The rights of the child in relation to the parent are preserved.

He has the right to inheritance, the right to receive alimony, and the right to living space.

Within 3 days after the court decision comes into force, an extract from it is sent to the registry office. Based on such an extract, the registry office employees make a note in the birth certificate of the child.

You can adopt a child after six months from the date the court made a decision on deprivation of parental rights.

When rights may be limited

Men are often interested in the question of what rights a father has after a divorce, in what cases they can be limited, and where this issue is resolved. Such nuances can only be resolved in court.

Restrictions are adopted by a court decision:

• they relate to the schedule for further communication between the father and the children, with a clear indication of the time period of these meetings and location. For example, only on Saturdays from 14.00 to 20.00 on the territory of a man.
• they involve infringement of the father’s rights to the child, after proven gross violations against the child.

Disputes about children after divorce

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If disputes about children cannot be resolved peacefully, then the question of who the minor will remain with must be resolved through the court. It is worth noting that all conflicts in the field of family legal relations must be resolved in court. Most often, disputes are heard in court about:

• division of property;
• place of residence of the baby;
• amount of communication time after divorce;
• alimony obligations.

In most cases, the court decides in favor of the mother. The minors remain to live with her, and the father is given the right to see them. To make a decision, the court is guided primarily by the interests of minors, and also takes into account the family and financial situation of the parties, the child’s attachment to one of the parents, the presence of several children in a marriage and a number of other factors.

In rare cases, a son or daughter is left to the father. To do this, he is obliged to provide evidence in court that the mother leads an immoral lifestyle, does not raise children, spends alimony funds for other purposes, etc. Today, about 5-6% of all legal proceedings involving children end in favor of the fathers. When deciding on the place of residence of a minor, the advantage will be given to the party that proves that the child will be more comfortable with her, for example, there is no need to change the place of study or the guardian will be able to provide better living conditions.

Often mothers use the father's right to see their children as a tool for blackmail and extortion of money. A woman in such a situation must understand that in this way she is only making things worse for the children and causing them moral trauma.

In any issue regarding communication with minor children, when going to court, you need to have good reasons, as well as documentary evidence of your words and claims to the opposite party.

Kidnapping

When wondering what rights a father has after a divorce, some men may assume that they can simply steal a child from their mother, and with impunity. This is a big misconception. In Russian legislation there is no concept of stealing one’s own child, but often fathers who do not agree with the court’s decision on the cohabitation of mother and child may decide to keep the child by force. It is very difficult for women to resist such actions.

Recently it was proposed to establish a type of criminal liability for family kidnapping. Legislators propose to fine the parent in the amount of 50,000 rubles for the first abduction. If this happens again, it is proposed to prosecute under Article No. 126 of the Criminal Code of Russia (“Kidnapping”).

Neither the rights of the mother nor the rights of the spouse should be infringed during a divorce. Every parent has the right to continue to communicate with their child legally. If a child remains with the mother, then she should not interfere with the father’s meetings with the baby or teenager. Psychologists say that after a parent’s divorce, a child feels a real loss, a change from a familiar life to an unknown one. The rights of parents after divorce always smoothly turn into responsibilities. The main goal of mom and dad should be care, attention and love for their own child. It is important, even in the most difficult situation, to maintain common sense and direct all efforts to improve the child’s living conditions.

What does "single father" mean?

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation lists the following categories of workers with children who are provided with labor guarantees:

• women with a child under 3 years of age;
• single mothers raising a disabled child under the age of 18 or a young child under the age of 14;
• persons raising these children without a mother;
• parents (other legal representatives of the child) who are the sole breadwinner of a disabled child under 18 years of age or the sole breadwinner of a child under 3 years of age in a family raising three or more young children, if the other parent (other legal representative of the child) is not a member labor relations;
• guardians, trustees.

That is, a single mother is mentioned among the preferential categories in the Labor Code. But the single father is not. But a single father can be classified as a person raising a disabled child under the age of 18 or a young child under the age of 14 without a mother.

The reasons why a mother raises a child alone and which allow her to be assigned the status of a single mother are not specified in the code. Previously, a single mother was considered a woman who had a child, in the birth certificate of which there was a dash in the “Father” column or an entry made in the prescribed manner at the direction of the mother. This fact was confirmed by the relevant certificate. And this was practically the only sign of a single mother.

But the concept of a single mother is much broader. It is explained in paragraph. 2 clause 28 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated January 28, 2014 No. 1 “On the application of legislation regulating the work of women, persons with family responsibilities and minors” (hereinafter referred to as Resolution No. 1).

Thus, a single mother is considered a woman who raises her children (natural or adopted) and is engaged in their development independently without a father, in particular if he:

• died, declared missing;
• deprived of parental rights, limited parental rights;
• declared incompetent (partially capable) or due to health reasons cannot personally raise and support a child;
• serves his sentence in institutions executing sentences of imprisonment;
• evades raising children or protecting their rights and interests, or refuses to take his child from an educational, medical organization, organization providing social services, or a similar organization.

“Other cases” are also mentioned. These include the case if the parents are divorced, one parent is raising the child, and the other not only does not raise the child, but also does not pay child support. This is the conclusion made by the courts (see the Appeal ruling of the Moscow City Court dated November 20, 2019 in case No. 33 52672/2019).

Based on the provisions of the Labor Code and Resolution No. 1, a single father is a person raising a minor child under the age of 14 or a disabled child under the age of 18 without a mother for the reasons listed in paragraph. 2, paragraph 28 of Resolution No. 1. Such persons can include the guardian (trustee) of a minor, and other persons, taking into account specific circumstances indicating that these persons are raising a child.

An employee may be classified as a person raising children without a mother and in other situations. What matters here, in particular, is the type of current benefits and compensation (labor, tax, social) and the region in which the single father lives. Thus, in order to provide labor guarantees, the status of a single father or mother is determined in accordance with the norms of the Labor Code and Resolution No. 1. To provide social support and tax benefits, the status of a single father or mother is established by regional regulations, and it is somewhat different.