How much child support should parents pay in 2021?

Parental support obligations: what is it?

In any normal society, until reaching adulthood and full legal capacity, children are supported by their parents. Naturally, such parental responsibility is reflected in Ukrainian legislation. Mother and father are equally required to support their minor children, regardless of the nature of the personal relationship between them, whether they are divorced or married, living together or separated, or even remarried and having new children. This parental responsibility is called child support.

Alimony is a slightly different concept that describes the payments themselves made by one of the parents. They can be paid contractually and compulsorily, in a fixed amount and as a share of the alimony provider’s earnings, both before the child reaches adulthood and after it in some cases. If the payer (by agreement or court decision) evades his obligations, the law allows him to be held accountable. Read more about what alimony is.

Who pays child support?

According to the family legislation of Ukraine, the obligation to pay alimony for the maintenance of a child lies with his parents, and the obligation to support a needy family member lies with an able-bodied relative who has the ability to provide such assistance.

Thus, alimony payers can be:

• Parents of the child
• Adult children
• Spouses
• Other relatives (grandparents, brothers and sisters, stepfathers and stepmothers, aunts and uncles).

The main factor when considering such cases is a correctly compiled evidence base, which confirms that a person is avoiding fulfilling his responsibilities regarding the maintenance of a needy family member.

Legislation

The basis of the legislation containing almost everything about alimony in Ukraine is the Family Code. In particular, the obligation of parents to support children aged 0 to 18 years is expressly stated in Art. 180 of the ICC, and the basic rules by which funds are paid are determined by the provisions of Chapter 15 of the ICC.

These are, for example, methods of fulfilling alimony obligations (Article 181 of the SCU), which require consideration of circumstances when assigning payments (Article 182 of the SCU), determination of the amount (Articles 182-183 of the SCU), cases of exemption of parents from paying alimony (Art. 188 SKU), changing the amount of payments (Article 192 SKU), liability for evading alimony obligations and a number of other important issues.

Please note that on July 8, 2021, amendments to the SCU came into force, significantly changing the procedure for collecting alimony:

1. the legal status of payments was changed - they now became the property of the child;
2. the minimum payment amount has changed;
3. The procedure for assigning and changing the amount of alimony has been updated.

The new alimony law in 2021 will operate in the same way as in 2021.

The second no less important document is the Law of June 2, 2021 No. 1404 “On enforcement proceedings”. It, in particular, determines the procedure for paying alimony payments (Article 71), the rules for making deductions from the labor income of the alimony worker (Article 69), and also establishes other important rules for forcing the debtor to pay alimony.

Please note that on February 6, 2018, according to the Law, changes to the Law dated 06/02/2016 No. 1404 came into force, which expand the powers of state enforcement officers in terms of applying enforcement measures to alimony debtors. Now debtors, in particular, can be limited in the use of special rights.

In addition to these two documents, it is necessary to highlight the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code, the provisions of which provide for administrative and criminal liability for parent-deviators.

Changes in legislation

The law simplifies the mechanism for making a court decision on the collection of alimony. In particular, the right of the parent with whom the child lives is established to determine the method of collecting child support. He can receive alimony in the amount of 1/4 for one child, 1/3 for two children, 1/2 of the earnings (income) of the alimony payer when determining the amount of alimony as a share of earnings ( income) of the mother, father of the child, or in the amount of 50% of the subsistence minimum for a child of the corresponding age, if a request is made for indexation of alimony awarded in a fixed amount. However, the amount of alimony cannot exceed 10 subsistence minimums.

In addition, the document defines alimony as the property of the child, and also exempts the plaintiff from paying court fees in cases of collection of additional expenses, penalties (penalties) for late payment of alimony, indexation of alimony and changing the method of collection.

With the introduction of a new law last year, child support received for a child is the property of the child!

One of the parents or other legal representatives of the child in whose name alimony is paid disposes of alimony solely for its intended purpose in the interests of the child. A minor child has the right to take part in the disposal of alimony received for his maintenance, and also has the right to independently receive alimony and dispose of it in accordance with the Civil Code of Ukraine.

Amount of payments

Next, we suggest you figure out how much the father should pay, in what format payments should be made, who determines the amount and who can change it, as well as what is the minimum below which you cannot pay for the child. Let's look at everything in order.

Thus, alimony maintenance, at the request of a parent (guardian, custodian) living with a minor, can be assigned in the form of a fixed amount or as a share of the salary of the alimony provider. If the mother and father agree, clause 2 of Art. 181 of the SKU allows you to provide alimony in kind (food, clothing, shoes, stationery, and so on).

According to Art. 182 of the SKU, in order to calculate the amount of alimony, it is necessary to take into account the financial situation of the parties, their state of health, the presence of other dependents of the payer and other significant aspects.

As a share of salary

The procedure for determining payments as a percentage of the alimony worker’s salary is established by Art. 183 SKU. Determining the size of such a percentage is within the competence of the court, based on the requirements stated by the parent or other person who lives with the minor. What percentage of the salary the payments make up depends on the number of children being supported. According to paragraph 5 of Art. 183 SKU:

• for 1 child – 25%;
• for 2 children – 33%;
• for 3 or more children – 50%.

Please note that Art. 185 of the SKU obliges parents to bear other additional expenses for their children.

If there is a serious illness or injury, as well as for other reasons that require funding in addition to alimony, the parent may be subject to additional one-time, periodic or permanent financial obligations.

It does not matter whether alimony is awarded for one or two children - additional expenses are awarded on a purely individual basis and for specific reasons.

As a fixed amount

If the applicant who files an application to recover funds for a child is not satisfied with the amount of alimony as a share of earnings, he has the right to ask the court to assign alimony in a fixed amount. Such a requirement can be put forward, for example, if the debtor does not have a permanent income, if he does not officially work or if the amount of his labor income is unstable. The advantage of a fixed amount of alimony is that the final amount will never be tied to the size of your salary, especially if it is constantly changing.

According to Art. 84 of the SKU, not only the child, but also the wife (including the former) who cares for the child until he reaches the age of three, as well as during pregnancy, has the right to payments. Alimony for a wife up to 3 years can be awarded either in a fixed amount or as a percentage, based on the needs of the spouse.

If a child has disabilities in mental or physical development, the period for paying alimony to the spouse increases to 6 years. When assigning payments to a former spouse, her financial situation and employment do not matter.

Minimum and maximum payouts

Let us also draw attention to the fact that the minimum amount of child support in Ukraine has undergone changes in 2021. Thus, the previous edition of the Family Code dated 08/04/2013, in particular, paragraph 2 of Art. 182 of the SKU, provided for a minimum amount of payments not lower than 30% of the subsistence level (ML) for a minor of a certain age. Now the law states that alimony payments must be sufficient to ensure the harmonious development of the child, and for this they must be at least 50% of the monthly minimum for a minor of a certain age.

Please note that the cost of living is determined annually in particular, from January 1, 2021, according to Art. 7 of the above law, for children under six years of age, the monthly allowance is 1626 UAH. from 01.07. 2021 – 1699 UAH. from 01.12. 2021 -1779 UAH. For minors aged 6-18 years, the monthly allowance is 2027, 2118 and 2218 UAH. respectively. That is, the alimony minimum will depend not only on age, but also on the date on which it is calculated. Thus, the minimum amount of alimony in 2021 will be:

At the same time, the law also provides for the maximum amount of payments, which is provided in the case of alimony being awarded in a fixed amount. So, according to paragraph 5 of Art. 183 of the SKU, payments cannot be more than ten times the minimum monthly wage for a child of a certain age. Therefore, the maximum amount of alimony will be:

Changing the amount of alimony payments

It is noteworthy that the amount of alimony has already been previously established by the court or by agreement between the parties, in accordance with Art. 192 of the ICC can be changed either downwards - at the request of the payer, or up - at the request of the recipient. The grounds for such a request may be:

• a significant change in the financial situation of one of the parties;
• change in marital status, appearance of new children;
• deterioration or, conversely, improvement of the health of any of the parties;
• loss of a job or, conversely, employment;
• other circumstances provided for in Art. 182, art. 185 SKU and so on.

The main condition for changing the amount of payments is the validity of such a requirement and the availability of documentary evidence of their validity. This could be anything: a doctor’s report, a tax certificate, receipts for the purchase of medicines, a certificate of family composition, and so on.

Annual indexation of payments

According to paragraph 2 of Art. 184 of the Family Code, all alimony payments, which are withheld in a fixed amount, are subject to indexation in accordance with the law. Indexation is an increase in the amount of payments by the growth rate of consumer prices, which allows to some extent to compensate for the purchasing power of alimony lost due to inflation. Indexation of payments is carried out in accordance with the rules established by the Law of July 3, 1991 No. 1283 “On indexation of cash income of the population.”

Applying to the court to establish the amount of alimony

In order for the court to establish the amount of alimony, you must write a statement. The secretary will help you formalize it. The claim contains the information of the plaintiff and the defendant. There must be a title, descriptive and pleading parts. At the end there is a date and signature.

In addition to the application, you must prepare certificates of income, place of residence, birth certificate of the child, registration and divorce. Only with the availability of a complete set of documents does the consideration of the case begin. Child support issues are usually resolved quickly.

You can always consult a lawyer regarding alimony issues. The plaintiff also has the right to file a claim. The main thing is to fill out everything correctly, because usually the application is rejected due to errors in formatting. There are some nuances regarding the assignment of alimony that the average citizen may not know. This is what the other side usually uses. Thanks to the services of a professional lawyer, you can speed up the collection procedure. This will also avoid many difficulties. The assignment of alimony protects the rights of children, which is guaranteed by law.

What you can do right now:

• Watch the video in this article to learn about changes in alimony calculations
• File a claim for alimony with the help of a qualified specialist
• Prepare all the necessary documents to receive alimony

How can I get alimony?

Provisions of Art. 182 SKU allow two possible ways to receive alimony payments:

• voluntarily - by concluding an agreement between the recipient and the payer;
• forcibly - by filing a lawsuit in court.

Since they are significantly different, we propose to analyze each method separately.

Voluntary agreement

Before filing a lawsuit, the parties should try to resolve the issue out of court. The rules for drawing up a voluntary alimony agreement between the parents of a minor are defined in Art. 189 SKU. According to it, upon reaching mutual agreement on the payment of alimony, parents can enter into an agreement by which they independently regulate the amount, timing of the transfer of funds and other important points. The conditions provided for in the contract cannot violate the rights of the child guaranteed by the SKU. We are talking, in particular, about the fact that the contract cannot establish the amount of alimony below the minimum, that the maintenance of the child must be full, and so on.

The agreement is concluded in writing and is subject to mandatory notarization - without it it will not have legal force. Moreover, if a parent refuses to fulfill a previously signed agreement, the recipient has the right to forcibly collect the due funds, having previously issued a writ of execution from a notary.

Forced collection

If an agreement cannot be reached, the only option is to force the negligent parent to forcibly pay child support. Next, we will look at where to go in this case, what is needed for this, how much it costs and in what order the trial takes place.

Which court should I go to?

The only body that, by its decision, can force a parent to forcibly fulfill their parental responsibilities is the court - this is where you should go. Of course, in compliance with the rules of jurisdiction.

So, according to Art. 107 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, alimony cases are subject to consideration in the court of first instance, that is, district (including in cities) or city court. According to Art. 110 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, claims for the collection of alimony payments can be filed in compliance with the jurisdiction of the plaintiff’s choice - that is, it is legal to file them in the district or city court both at the place of residence of the plaintiff and at the place of residence of the defendant.

What documents are needed

The first thing the plaintiff will need is an application for collection. Such a statement must be made in writing and must comply with the requirements of Art. 119 GPKU. In particular, it should contain:

• name and details of the court to which the application is being submitted;
• Full name, addresses and other data of the parties;
• a statement of the circumstances referred to by the applicant;
• evidence and argumentation of the position with references to legislation;
• the composition of the claims (for example, the issuance of a court order for the collection of alimony);
• list of other documents that are attached to the application.

Along with the application to the court, the applicant will need to provide a number of other documents in support of his claim. Documents for alimony usually include:

• copies of the application (for the defendant and the court);
• a copy of the applicant's passport;
• a copy of the birth certificate indicating the defendant as the parent;
• a document confirming the authority of the child’s legal representative (birth certificate, copy of the act of the guardianship authority appointing a guardian, etc.);
• a copy of the marriage certificate;
• parent’s income certificate and so on.

Please note that in some, readers may find information that when filing an application, plaintiffs are required to pay a court fee in the amount of 320 UAH. This information is false - according to paragraphs. 3. Clause 1 art. 5 of the Law of Ukraine "", plaintiffs in cases of collection of alimony payments are exempted from court fees.

How are court hearings conducted?

Legislative innovations dated July 8, 2017 also affected the procedure for conducting court hearings. So, now, according to paragraph 5 of Art. 183 SKU and paragraphs. 4, 4-1 p. 1 art. 96 GPKU, the process can take place in the order of writ proceedings. What does this mean in practice:

1. The process of assigning alimony will be much faster, since, according to Art. 102 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, a court order can be issued to the applicant three days after the application is accepted, without summoning the parties to court and holding a full court hearing with explanations. The fact is that writ proceedings are typical for cases where the right is practically indisputable, and the right to alimony refers to such cases.
2. The alimony provider learns about the assignment of alimony only after receiving a copy of the court order, which, according to Art. 104 GPKU, must be sent to him the very next day after the decision is made.
3. If the alimony provider does not agree with the issuance of a court order or the amount of alimony collected from him, then, as Art. 105 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, within 10 days from the date of receipt of the documents, he has the right to file an application to cancel the court order or make changes to it, for example, regarding the amount of payments. In this case, the court may change the court order, leave it unchanged, or cancel it completely.

According to Art. 105-1 GPKU, a court ruling to refuse to cancel an order or an amended order can be challenged on appeal. If an application for cancellation is not received from the defendant after three days from the end of the period for sending such an application, the court issues a court order to the applicant for execution.

Pre-trial decision

If there is mutual understanding between the former spouses, then the amount of alimony can be set by them independently. They must draw up an agreement indicating the terms and amount. Then the document is certified by a notary. It should not contain principles that violate the rights of the child.

If it is difficult to agree on alimony, then the problem is resolved in court. Parents communicate through the courts. The application procedure has the following features:

• a claim can be filed at the place of residence of the plaintiff or defendant;
• no fee is required, even if there is a period of non-payment.

How is alimony calculated?

Next, we suggest you understand how payments are calculated, who calculates them and in what order they are transferred. Thus, a court order (and previously also a writ of execution) issued in court is an executive document on the basis of which collection is carried out. A claimant who has received a court order has two options:

1. Send the court order for execution yourself to the place of employment of the payer, if known to him. In this case, the calculation of payment amounts in accordance with the amount specified in the executive document will be carried out by the accounting department of the employing enterprise (for example, 25% of the salary after taxes).
2. Send the court order to the department of the State Executive Service at the place of residence or place of employment of the debtor. If the latter’s place of employment is known, the state executor will similarly send documents for recovery to his employer. In cases where the place of employment is unknown, the state executor will calculate the amount of alimony, while simultaneously implementing enforcement measures against the debtor.

Regardless of which option the applicant chooses, when sending documents by mail, he will have to pay a postage fee.

In the application to the writ of execution, it will be necessary to indicate not only personal data, but also the method and details for transferring funds. For example, if you want to receive funds on a bank card, you must indicate its details, and if you want to receive them by mail, you must indicate your postal address. Both the commission for transferring to the card and the postage in this case are paid by the alimony provider.

Please note that, according to Art. 191 of the ICC, alimony is calculated from the date of filing the application with the court. If the applicant was able to prove in court that he took all steps to induce the defendant to voluntarily pay, but he ignored his obligation, payments can be accrued for the past time, but not more than three years.

Setting the amount of alimony in Ukraine

Alimony in Ukraine is established by judges. Although laws and other documents are used for this, judicial practice is still important. When considering a child support case, previous cases are taken into account.

For one child, 25% of the salary is assigned, for two – 33%, for three – 50%. This has been in effect since the advent of the Code on Marriage and Family, which established minimum sizes. Since 2004, a new Family Code came into force, on the basis of which the judge has more rights to resolve such cases. But the accrual rules remained the same.

Generally accepted and maximum payment period

Next, we’ll figure out until how many years alimony payments are paid. So, according to Art. 180 of the SKU, parental responsibility for the maintenance of children in general cases lasts until the latter reaches the age of majority.

Emancipation, marriage, the birth of one’s own child and other reasons cannot shorten the period of alimony payments - in any case, they are awarded until the child reaches the age of majority.

Eighteen years of age is only the general age at which a child loses the right to parental support. Chapter 16 of the SKU defines exceptions and indicates the maximum age up to which alimony can be collected.

Child support after adulthood

The law provides for at least two cases when the parental support obligation can be extended after the child reaches adulthood:

• if, as a result of illness, the daughter or son is disabled and needs parental assistance, and the parent can provide such assistance;
• if the child continues education after reaching adulthood, regardless of the form of such education, and the parent has the opportunity to provide assistance.

Both of these cases are significantly different. Thus, alimony can be demanded for a student only until he reaches the age of 23, and even then only if he continues his studies. As soon as the education stops, the child support obligation also stops.

With disabled children, the situation is fundamentally different - the law does not provide for any deadlines for collection. It seems that collecting funds for their maintenance is permissible as long as they remain disabled and the parent has the opportunity to pay them money.

Please note that after 18 years of age, not only the parents of the children, but also the children themselves have the right to file for child support. The amount of alimony payments after reaching adulthood can also be set as a percentage of salary or as a fixed amount, taking into account the circumstances specified in Art. 182 SKU. When considering such cases, the court must determine the possibility of providing maintenance not only from one parent, but also from the other.

Alimony in Ukraine after adulthood

The law of Ukraine establishes that alimony can only be paid until the age of 18. But there are several reasons why the period is increasing. At the same time, the amount of security is also regulated by the state.

Parents are responsible for supporting their children if they:

• are disabled and need financial assistance. This is usually due to health conditions;
• are studying at a university, which is why they cannot work fully. In this case, the form of training is not taken into account.

In this case, the payer must be able to provide financial support. A claim for support of adult children can be filed against both parents. Money is accrued from the moment you go to court, and not from the time the application is considered. This allows you to accrue money for the days during which the case was considered.

Alimony from an unemployed person

The obligation to support your child applies regardless of the presence or absence of work or income - child support is collected from an unemployed father in the same manner as from a working father; no exemption due to unemployment is provided for the parent.

However, if a person does not have any earned income, the question quite logically arises: from what funds and in what amount should alimony payments be collected from him? In this situation, at least two options are possible, and how much you have to pay if you don’t work depends on the actions of the alimony provider:

• if he is registered with the Employment Center as unemployed, receives unemployment benefits, and the amount of his alimony is determined as a percentage of earnings, then payments must be made as a share of unemployment benefits;
• if he is not registered as unemployed and does not have an official place of employment, the basis for calculating the alimony share will be the average salary in the payer’s locality or region of residence, in accordance with Ukrstat data.

The rule for non-working alimony recipients on the assignment of alimony, based on the average salary for a particular area, is determined by clause 2 of Art. 195 SKU. If, after a lapse of time, the place of employment of the alimony holder is nevertheless established, the amounts of accrued alimony are subject to revision in accordance with the salary actually received by the debtor.

Fixed amount and change in the amount of alimony in Ukraine

Child support in Ukraine can be calculated in a specific amount. This is usually established when the payer does not have a permanent job or is paid remuneration in kind. An application from both parents will be required.

Such rules help protect the rights of both parties. Sometimes the payer turns out to be an entrepreneur whose income is always different. In order not to infringe on the interests of the child, a specific amount of alimony is established. But when the payer is low-income, the state assigns financial assistance to the minor.

The amount of alimony may change due to:

• inflation;
• illness of the child;
• training.

It is necessary to go to court with a statement. You need to justify your demands. The established amount can be indexed. The country's Ministry of Statistics reports on the price index every month. This allows you to determine how much money is allocated to support the child.

Payment evasion

Despite their direct responsibility to support their children, parents often avoid fulfilling it. Regardless of the reasons that push parents to such actions, they must understand that first of all they are violating the rights of their children, and only then they are taking “revenge” on their ex-wives or husbands. Let's take a closer look at what to do if the ex-husband evades paying alimony and what consequences await the evaders.

Where to contact

If the husband does not pay child support even by court decision, the first place to turn is the State Executive Service (GIS) at the place of residence of the draft dodger. It is the state executor who must carry out forced collection.

If the state executor, contrary to the duties assigned to him, improperly carries out enforcement proceedings (does not search for the debtor and his place of work, does not call him for explanatory work, does not carry out enforcement measures, does not bring him to administrative responsibility, etc.), the claimant has the right file a complaint about his inaction:

• to the head of the department or directly to the head of the highest GIS body;
• to the court that issued the writ of execution, and in some cases to the administrative court;
• to the prosecutor's office as a state supervisory body.

In addition, there is also the option of contacting law enforcement agencies with subsequent prosecution of the debtor if he evades paying alimony for six months or more.

Debt calculation

For the entire time that the draft dodger does not pay funds for the maintenance of the child, he accrues a debt, which, according to Art. 194 SKU will be collected regardless of whether the child reaches the age of majority or 23 years old. The calculation of the debt in a fixed amount is carried out by adding the amounts payable for the number of months for which the money has not been received.

If alimony was assigned as a share of earnings, the procedure for calculating the debt established by Art. 195 SKU - that is, the debt is determined based on the average salary in a particular area.

According to paragraph 4 of Art. 71 of the Law of Ukraine “On Enforcement Proceedings”, recalculation of alimony debt must be carried out by the state executor on a monthly basis. In some cases, the executor is even obliged to inform the collector about such recalculation. For example, when the claimant wishes to receive such information by submitting a corresponding application.

Penalty for alimony

One of the forms of responsibility of the parent-deviator is the accrual of penalties on the resulting debt. To calculate the penalty for alimony debt, you must refer to Art. 196 of the ICC, according to which its amount is 1% of the amount of the debt formed for each day of delay and until full repayment or until a court decision is made to collect a penalty, but not more than 100% of the amount of the debt. Taking into account the financial situation of the debtor, the amount of the penalty may be reduced, and if he is a minor, the penalty may be canceled altogether

The penalty is accrued by court decision and collected on the basis of a separate executive document - the executor is not endowed with such powers.

Let's look at a sample calculation of penalties for alimony payments using a specific example. So, according to Art. 196 IC, the following formula is to be applied: 0.01 (1%) * amount of debt per month * number of days of delay. That is, if on 01.05. 2021 the court will make a decision on the collection of penalties for alimony from the debtor, who from 01.01. 2021 must pay 1 thousand UAH. per month, the penalty calculation will look like this:

• as of 01.02. 2021: 0.01*1000*31=310 UAH.
• as of 01.03. 2021: 0.01*1000*59=590 UAH.
• as of 01.04. 2021: 0.01*1000*90=900 UAH.
• as of 01.05. 2021:0.01*1000*120=1200 UAH.

The total amount of penalties will be 3 thousand, and the amount of debt will be 4 thousand UAH.

Liability for non-payment

Next, we will consider what consequences of non-payment evaders can expect. So, the first thing that awaits alimony workers is the application of enforcement measures.

If there is a three-month alimony arrears, the executor can foreclose on the debtor’s property by seizing real estate, cars, the debtor’s bank accounts and other property.

Moreover, the adopted changes in the legislation make it possible to bring debtors to administrative responsibility (according to Article 1831 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, to community service), limit their travel abroad or deprive them of certain rights (the right to drive a car, use weapons, etc.) if the debt exceeded 6 months.

Deprivation of parental rights for failure to pay child support is another punishment option practiced in accordance with paragraphs. 2 p. 1 art. 164 SKU. At the same time, according to Art. 164 of the Criminal Code, if the debt is more than 3 months, the alimony provider can be held criminally liable for malicious evasion.

Alimony for two children in Ukraine in 2021

The amount of alimony is determined and calculated in one of two ways.

Amount of alimony by agreement

In general, an alimony agreement is the fastest and most effective way to arrange alimony. The notarized document lists all the conditions for fulfilling alimony obligations, including the amount of alimony payments.

In accordance with the law, the amounts of money that children receive from their father in accordance with the agreement should not be less than those that he would pay under a court decision.

That is, the minimum amount of alimony determined by the alimony agreement must not be lower than the legal minimum. In other words:

• if the father works constantly, then the amount of alimony cannot be lower than 33% of his official income;
• if the father works irregularly and his income is unstable, then - not less than a fixed amount of money, calculated on the basis of the subsistence level or the average income of the region where he lives.

The essence of the alimony agreement is to voluntarily determine all important legal relationships for the father and mother regarding alimony obligations.

Amount of alimony by court decision

In those rare cases when it is not possible to conclude a child support agreement, the mother can file a claim in court.

The amount of child support will be determined based on information about the income of the parents.

If the ex-husband has an official and regular income, the court orders alimony as a percentage of his salary or other income. In this case, 33% must be paid for two children.

At the same time, the amount of official income on the basis of which alimony is calculated cannot be less than the minimum wage in Ukraine. In 2021, the minimum salary is UAH 4,173. If the father’s official earnings are minimal, and the mother cannot prove the presence of other, unofficial income, then the amount of alimony for two children will be minimal and amount to UAH 1,228.59 per month.

But the court may change the amount of alimony depending on the circumstances of the case.

It also happens that the father does not work or works irregularly. To determine the minimum amount of alimony for two children, the court takes half or even a tenth of the subsistence level as a basis. It all depends on the following circumstances:

• Financial situation of father and mother.
• Marital status of parents.
• Standard of living familiar to children.

A change in the cost of living indicator entails mandatory indexation of the amount of alimony fixed by the court.

If the father has official unemployed status, then the state pays him unemployment benefits. Of this benefit, 33% is withheld - child support. If the father does not have official unemployed status, child support is calculated based on the average earnings in the region where the father lives.

If children were born from different mothers, then they have absolutely equal rights to financial assistance. True, the total amount of alimony (33% of income) will be divided equally between them. Each child will receive 16.5% of the father's income.

Since alimony for two children in Ukraine amounts to 33% of income, the final minimum values ​​are shown in the table:

Fine for late alimony payments

The payer may request an inspection by the guardianship authorities to verify the intended use of funds. If it is proven that the parent with whom the child lives is using the funds for other purposes, then the amount of the penalty for the child may be reduced.

The payer is recommended to send money by mail or through a bank, leaving documentary evidence of his actions. If the money is not received within the agreed period and a debt arises, then the recipient has every right to demand a penalty of 1%.

According to the Law, failure to pay child support for six months from the date of presentation of the writ of execution is punishable by community service for a period of 120 to 240 hours.

Such a punishment is provided if, within 3 months, child support is not paid for the maintenance of a child with a disability, and a child who suffers from diseases such as: severe perinatal lesions of the nervous system, congenital malformations, rare orphan diseases, oncological or oncohematological diseases, cerebral palsy, severe mental disorders, diabetes mellitus type I (insulin dependent), acute or chronic kidney disease of stage IV, or is supporting a child who has been seriously injured and requires an organ transplant.

Repeated offenses within a year are punishable by 240-360 hours of community service. For evading the serving of this administrative penalty, the violator faces administrative arrest for up to ten days.

Termination of payments

The Family Code defines both general and exceptional cases when alimony payments must be terminated. Thus, termination of payments occurs in the following cases:

• the child reaches adulthood;
• the child reaches 23 years of age or graduates from education;
• if the child’s income is many times higher than the income of the parents paying alimony, payments may be terminated by a court decision (Article 188 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• if an agreement is signed between the parents on the transfer of residential real estate into the ownership of the child by the alimony parent (Article 190 of the ICC);
• death of the payer or child for whose maintenance the funds were paid.

How to get rid of alimony

Despite parental responsibility, many of our readers are interested in how to avoid paying child support legally. In fact, it is impossible to get a full answer to this question, because if the alimony obligation has already arisen, then failure to pay alimony in any case will be illegal. In the understanding in which alimony fathers see the legal mechanism of non-payment, it is possible in two senses:

1. In the event that the alimony-paying parent “buys off” his child by providing real estate as his property, and in exchange for this the mother signs an agreement on the loss of rights to alimony. By the way, such a mechanism only provides for the waiver of alimony - the obligation to participate in additional expenses for the child (if he is sick or in need) is not removed.
2. In case of contesting paternity. According to Art. 136 of the SKU, a man registered as the father of a child has the right to challenge his paternity if he does not consider himself a parent. If he manages to prove his case, the court will cancel his paternity in relation to a specific child (children). And if a person is not considered a parent, then he cannot have a child support obligation.

How to get child support?

Child support is the main responsibility of both parents. Even in cases where they are deprived of parental rights, they are not exempt from financial support for their child until he reaches adulthood.

The minimum alimony in Ukraine is 813 UAH for children under 6 years of age and 1013.50 UAH until the child reaches adulthood.

An upper limit for the payer has also been established. They cannot deduct more than 10 minimums established by law.

After the divorce, you can conclude an agreement on the payment of alimony with a notary or resolve this issue through the court. The claim is filed by the former spouse with whom the child remains to live.

The claim is filed by the former spouse with whom the child remains to live.

Women often don’t even know where they can turn and how to apply for alimony. You can go to court at the place of registration or residence of the parent from whom penalties will be assessed on the child. The following institutions do this:

• district court. This is where they help resolve all issues, establish paternity, and review the results of genetic examinations;
• Bailiffs Service. Here a document is drawn up for recovery if the place of work is unknown.

To avoid wasting time, you need to collect a complete package of documents:

1. Indicate the address and name of the court to which the application was filed.
2. The full name of the person from whom payments will be collected.
3. The actual residence address of each of the former spouses, their telephone numbers.
4. All the recipient's requirements and justifications for them.
5. Providing evidence.
6. List of all attached documents.
7. The required amount from the intended payer.

Sample application for alimony in Ukraine

Sample statement of claim for the collection of alimony in Ukraine:

The following documents are attached to the application:

1. Copies of marriage, divorce, and birth certificates for each child.
2. You need to make a copy of your passport with the pages indicating your place of residence and marriage registration.
3. You must also provide a copy of the passport and identification code of both parents.
4. Provide documents on the income of both parties.
5. A certificate of the actual place of residence of the parent from whom child support will be collected.

The court fee is paid in the amount of 768.40 UAH. Sometimes additional information may be required about the child and the parent with whom he will live.

What surprises await the plaintiff in court:

• First you need to prove the obvious fact that a child needs a certain amount of money for his maintenance and development. It is in this part of the process that the court decides whether the demands of the parent with whom the child will live are too high.
• Often, the required amounts are collected from persons who conduct business activities or are unofficially employed.
• Sometimes husbands also pay alimony to their wives if the child is under three years old and she cannot provide for herself.

From what income is alimony paid?

The payer is not required to pay alimony for all types of income. And the question of what types of income alimony is paid from is of interest to both payers and accountants who make the appropriate deductions. For some it is control of their income and expenses, for others it is the correct introduction of accounting.

The exact list of income from which alimony is subject to write-off is specified in the article and approved by Resolution No. 146 “On the list of types of income taken into account when determining the amount of alimony for one of the spouses, children, parents, and other persons.”

In addition, this document also determines the list of income from which alimony is not collected.

How to collect alimony

The law provides for two procedures for one party to pay alimony to the other party:

• voluntary
• forced

Voluntary payment of alimony implies an agreement between the child’s parents. Such an agreement is usually concluded orally on a confidential basis. However, it does not insure the recipient in any way in case of non-payment of alimony under the agreement.

Taking this into account, our lawyers recommend concluding an agreement on the payment of child support. In case of failure to comply with this, alimony will be collected forcibly on the basis of this document.

A forced form of collection of alimony occurs in the event of a dispute regarding the provision of maintenance funds. It consists of one of the child’s parents applying to court in the following order:

• punitive proceedings - through filing an application for a court order
• claim proceedings - through filing a statement of claim for the recovery of alimony

The first option is a simplified procedure and is used in the absence of a dispute regarding the establishment or appeal of paternity, and the need to involve third parties. The second is used in more complex situations when the parties have disagreements regarding the method, amount and contract for paying alimony.

You can find examples of the claim you need on the sample application page.

The court, in turn, considers the application you submitted, examines all available evidence, and makes a decision to collect alimony from the father/mother for the child. Based on the court decision, a writ of execution is issued, which is presented to the enforcement service at the place of residence. The state executor opens proceedings based on this sheet and sends orders to collect alimony to the place of work.

How is alimony collected?

Following the consideration of the case in court, the applicant receives:

• court decision or court order
• performance list

Based on these documents, alimony will be collected.

Having received documents from the court, you will need to contact the enforcement service and write an application to open enforcement proceedings for the collection of alimony.

The state executive will open enforcement proceedings, about which they will issue a resolution that will be sent to the recipient and payer of alimony. Further, the collection of alimony will be carried out by the state executors, who themselves will determine both the amount of income and the amount of alimony.

Child support 2021: how the amount of payments from parents per child will change

When parents are unable to independently resolve the issue of further upbringing of the child, they need to go to court. To do this, the parent who will live with the child must draw up a statement of claim and submit it to the court at the place of registration. This statement implies the collection of alimony. Please note that all legal fees must be paid by the defendant.

Let’s not stretch this issue, because it depends solely on the number of dependents. The more children the spouses have in common (most likely, former ones), the larger the amount of payments will be deducted from the salary of the alimony provider.

The amount will be calculated depending on the number of children in the following way:

• 25% of total income – for 1 child;
• 33% of total income – for 2 children;
• 50% of the total income – for 3 or more children.

However, the amount of alimony does not necessarily coincide with the percentage indicated above. The amount of payments can be negotiated between the parties or determined by the court in a specific amount of money. Moreover, such payments can be indexed, like regular alimony (twice a year after increasing the cost of living).

In Ukraine, even alimony recipients are protected by the state, so not all of their income falls under the category of “alimony”. Part of the income cannot be used to calculate the final amount of alimony payments. In 2021, according to the law, the following incomes of citizens are not taken into account:

• Cash compensation for unused vacation at work;
• Cash compensation for transfer to work in another city/country;
• Cash compensation for business trips;
• Severance pay in case of dismissal;
• Help for treatment;
• Assistance in connection with childbirth and pregnancy.

In addition to the above, to “select” the amount of alimony, other important factors are taken into account:

• The defendant's health status;
• The financial situation of the defendant;
• The child's health status;
• Financial situation of the child;
• The defendant has other children;
• The defendant has disabled relatives;
• The defendant's possession of movable and immovable property or funds.

An officially unemployed citizen (who is not registered with the employment service) will not be able to avoid paying money for his child. This citizen will be awarded alimony based on the average salary in his place of residence.

If the alimony recipient is registered, then the amount of payments is calculated in the usual way: as a percentage of income (in this case, government payments).

You can go to court regarding a monetary recovery for child support while you are officially married. This is possible if the spouses live separately or maintain a separate household. The application procedure is the same as for a formal divorce.

Alimony from an unemployed person

If the parent who must pay child support does not work or is not officially employed, the collection process will be more problematic. But this will not help him avoid child payments.

Alimony can be withheld from the following types of income:

• social assistance for unemployment;
• scholarship;
• pension;
• rental of housing;
• economic activity.

In the case of non-permanent earnings, the applicant can apply for the recovery of alimony in the form of a fixed amount, rather than a percentage of income.

Alimony 2021: how the amount of payments will change

In 2021, the Ukrainian authorities submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada to tighten penalties for parents who do not pay child support and do not fulfill their financial obligations to the child:

1. If the husband does not pay alimony for 6 months, traveling abroad will be prohibited; any travel that requires crossing borders will be subject to careful customs control.

2. Parents who owe their children child support payments cannot drive a car or motorcycle if this vehicle is not their source of income; the law also stipulates other exceptions. For example, if the alimony defaulter has a 1st or 2nd degree disability, is in military service, or has a deferment for the payment of alimony.

3. Parents who have arrears in paying child support do not have the right to shoot firearms or pneumatic weapons, or use non-lethal throwing weapons on the territory of Ukraine. They are also unlikely to receive permission to hunt.

Often, the calculation of alimony is agreed upon without drawing up written documents or receipts, and after that the father who stayed with the child can re-sue for alimony.

Review of payments can last for years, so the payer does not always know when alimony and fines were accrued and learns about delays at the border or from fiscal services.

In order to avoid such situations, every Ukrainian can check whether he is a debtor for alimony in a specially developed online resource - Opendatabot.

To do this, you need to open the program in any messenger, enter your full name, date of birth and check whether there are any debts, fines or penalties.

In 2021, fines and censures are provided not only for non-payers of alimony, but also for those parents who live with the child and use alimony payments and state social assistance for other purposes.

Social welfare authorities regularly conduct raids and control of single-parent families and child benefits.

How not to pay alimony in Ukraine? To do this, the father or mother who gives these payments can submit an application to the guardianship and trusteeship authorities to conduct an unscheduled inspection. Raids can be no more than once every 3 months.

The minimum cost of living at the legislative level determines how much a parent will pay in a given case. At recent meetings , the Government agreed that a number of drastic measures are required to improve the well-being of the population. 4723 hryvnia is the current minimum wage figure.

If the other parent refuses a peaceful settlement of disputes, the amount of assistance is calculated separately. This will be the difference between half the cost of living per child according to age and the average monthly family income over the last 6 months.

Rules and procedure for payment of alimony

If you are a defendant in a child support case, then completely different information will be useful, for example, how and where to pay the described amounts. If you do not want the executive service to come to you, alimony in Ukraine should be paid strictly in the specified amounts and on time. There are two options here - voluntary payment or judicial collection. Let's take a closer look at each of the options.

Voluntary payments

Parents can agree to pay child support on their own, without court intervention. Even an oral agreement will do, but experts recommend drawing up a full-fledged written agreement in the event of a confrontational relationship. It is necessary to specify the terms and amounts of payments, and then have the document certified by a notary. This method allows you to avoid the costs of litigation and save personal time and nerves.

The contract must disclose all points in as much detail as possible:

• The amount of payments taking into account the current minimum. If this is a percentage of earnings, you must indicate what exactly is considered income. If this is a fixed amount of money, then do not forget to indicate the indexation condition.
• Method of payment. The contract can clearly state exactly how a person will transfer funds - by postal transfer, transfer to a personal bank account, or something else.
• Payment terms. The minimum period is one month, but no one in the contract prohibits specifying quarterly or annual payments.

To certify this agreement with a notary, you will need the passports and TIN of the parents, as well as the child’s birth certificate. You can find a sample on the Internet. It will be enough to fill in personal information, as well as add or remove specific items from the list.

Forced payments

If a peaceful agreement cannot be reached, then you have to go to court. It is necessary to draw up and submit a statement of claim. In the previous section, we described in detail what documents are needed for this, and where you can send a statement of claim. Guaranteed payments can only be achieved through the courts. As a rule, if all the necessary documents are available, the court makes a decision that is positive for the plaintiff. The main difficulty is to prove that the defendant, despite all measures of influence, evades payments.

Alimony within and without marriage

A couple living without formal marriage is a fairly common phenomenon in our country. And sometimes, in connection with this, some difficulties arise, for example, regarding the collection of alimony without marriage, raising children, or even recognizing paternity of a common-law husband.

The relevant sections of our website will provide you with comprehensive information. And if you still have questions, online consultants will answer you.

In addition, thanks to our legal portal, you will be able to understand the intricacies of collecting alimony without divorce.