Child support from the child's mother if the child lives with the father
The legal representatives of the child, for example the father who is raising him, the guardian or trustee, can reasonably demand payment of alimony from the mother. This applies to both alimony payments after divorce and during marriage.
If the child lives with the father, then a voluntary agreement on the payment of alimony by the mother can be concluded or it will be forced by a court decision.
This is due to the norms of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, which provide for the participation of both parents in the maintenance of the child. Therefore, the father, who provides care and lives with the child, has the right to demand that the mother pay child support.
Child support if one remains with the father
Maybe someone can advise me on what to do and how to behave in such a situation. I now live with a man who has this going on. In August 2021, he and his wife took out a mortgage on their first apartment. Contribution mat. capital. After some time, he learned about his wife’s betrayal with his friend, they divorced. He began to live in a new apartment without renovation, so he paid for utilities himself, and the mortgage loan was paid in half; he continued to help the children. Then we started dating, at first his daughter received me with hostility... she was apparently afraid that they would stop paying attention to her, she was jealous... But then our relationship improved quite quickly, because... I think she understood that I in no way interfere with their meetings with their father, but on the contrary, I am for it. I also have a one-room apartment with a mortgage. He moved to live with me, and we started taking children to me. They stay with us for a week, then go back to their mother... they also spend a week or sometimes two there, and then come back to us. And when he lived with his wife, and after the divorce, he always took them to kindergarten, school and he picked them up, pays for kindergarten, contributes to school fees, took and paid for the child’s camp site on September 1, completely bought his daughter’s uniform, blouse, summer sneakers . I fully dressed my youngest son in the fall: a suit, shoes, a jacket, overalls in winter, he rents them out monthly to various theaters in the kindergarten, panic buttons, socks, tights. In addition to all this, there are countless purchases of all sorts of toys, treats, and jokes. All the birthdays of our daughter and son were with us, and on New Year’s the children were also with us. And then he decided to remind her that in addition to paying for the loan, they also agreed to pay the utilities in half when he stopped living in their shared apartment. Nobody lives there, because... They didn’t have time to take her and divorced... and the apartment is a completely bare new building. The ex-wife lives with mom and dad in a two-room apartment. She began to scare him with alimony. Alimony is not so scary... I just don’t really want to pay her money, and then we ourselves won’t be able to spend so much on the children, and the children will think that it’s their mother who is spending money on them and he’s bad... give her the money and continue to also put them in clothes and shoes, no matter how you look at it, it will be costly and not fair... he shouldn’t be the only one to provide for his children, she also has the same responsibilities to the children. She didn’t buy anything for her son... she only dressed her daughter, bought autumn and winter boots, as well as skis. The only thing you hear from children is grandma grandma, i.e. their grandmother cooks for them, their grandmother sews up for them, if they need to prepare something for school, the daughter goes to her grandmother... and they consider their mother to be kind and good, because mom never scolds and buys sweets, and either dad or when they are there, grandmother deals with problematic matters . When she is there, the child begins to get bad marks at school. Nobody controls her. The child calls me... a seemingly stranger to a woman so that I can help her with technology, sew an apron... although they have a sewing machine there, he calls his dad about other issues. Yes, dad raises them, teaches them how to behave with adults, so that they respect subordination, so that they don’t give two marks, so that they are not greedy, so that they keep order... and there mom lets them get away with everything... because there grandma does everything. And my mother is kind. He saw a correspondence from his daughter that she wrote to her mother at 11 pm, asking where she was... she didn’t answer her... Although he told his ex-wife, if you go somewhere for a walk, write to me, I’ll take the children... so that they don’t sit with their grandmother all the time. To be honest, I absolutely don’t understand what she needs. The ex-husbands of my friends don’t help with money, much less with the children, but it’s dad who takes them to the hospital, and can sit on sick leave... fortunately he has an individual entrepreneur and this allows him to get by. I advised him to file a counterclaim for alimony, because... they didn’t have any agreement about who the children would live with... and since... they live here and there, then why doesn’t he file for her himself... let her pay alimony herself. And if the children lived with us, then we wouldn’t need alimony from her... Naturally, the children love both dad and mom... and everything was fine... without getting on their nerves, the children were with dad and mom... in principle, after the divorce, the only thing that changed for the children was the fact that dad began to live in another place... But if he is forced to pay alimony, then naturally we will not be able to do much for the children. What should I do?
In what cases does a mother pay child support?
To pay child support, the mother of the child must pay attention to:
- the father and mother must document their relationship with the child. The mother is listed on the child's birth certificate. In order to qualify for child support, the father must prove his paternity. To do this, his name must be indicated on the child’s birth certificate, and if at birth a dash was placed in the “father” column, then paternity must be legally recognized;
- Not only the father can receive alimony for the maintenance of a common child from an unscrupulous mother;
- The father can count on alimony payments from the mother until the child reaches the age of majority. Upon reaching adulthood, the mother's alimony payments will automatically cease. However, an exception may be the confirmed disability of a child who has reached the age of majority;
- collect alimony from the mother for the maintenance of a common child, in accordance with the Family Code of the Russian Federation, Part 2 of Art. 107, it is possible for the past period, but cannot exceed a period of 3 years. To do this, the father will need to prove that he attempted to turn to the child’s mother for help in caring for and maintaining the child and received refusals from her.
How to cancel the collection of alimony payments?
Cancellation of alimony payments is possible only if there are emergency conditions for the debtor. Even being in places of serving a sentence is not a reason for the cancellation of payments.
The practice of considering judicial disputes is based on the following position:
- a review by the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation from 2021 drew attention to the fact that a prisoner can be released from alimony provided that there is no suitable work and wages at the place where the sentence is served;
- if the convicted person refuses to perform the work, the debt under the writ of execution cannot be suspended or reduced.
Additional circumstances in accordance with which a decision may be made to cancel payments include the debtor’s loss of ability to work. If a specialized medical institution has established a disability and assigned a pension for loss of ability to work, the obligated person may refuse to pay alimony. A possible solution is if the court significantly reduces monthly payments from 25% per month for child support to 5%-10%.
Amount of alimony
Alimony can be collected both in a clearly defined fixed sum of money, and in part from the mother’s income for one or more children. The amount of payments that can be recovered from the mother may depend on many factors.
The first of them relates to whether alimony payments are funds for the maintenance of a minor child - in this case, they constitute a share of the mother’s income. As for children who are adults but are deprived of the ability to work, alimony payments for their maintenance are made in a fixed amount, which is paid every month. However, if the mother does not have an official income, then alimony will be assigned in a fixed amount in any case.
The second factor is the voluntariness of alimony payments by the mother. If the parents voluntarily entered into an agreement, then it is important to take into account that payments must be made in the amount that is provided for by law and would be accrued by a court decision.
Note!
If the parents were unable to reach an agreement voluntarily, then alimony will be calculated by decision of the court. The amount of the share contribution for one child will be one-fourth of earnings, for two - one-third, for three or more - half.
The court has the right to regulate payment rates depending on the circumstances. For example, the mother, for her part, has the right to petition the court to change the amount of alimony in connection with the birth or adoption of another child, a decrease in income, or other reasons.
How to apply for child support for the mother of a child
Registration of alimony for the mother of a child can be implemented in two ways:
- a voluntary agreement, which must be certified by a notary, indicating the procedure and amount of payments;
- forcibly, with the involvement of judicial authorities.
To obtain alimony in court, the father must apply to the court at the place of residence of the mother or the place of residence of the common child or children with an application for the issuance of a court order or with a claim for the collection of alimony.
The claim can be filed by the father in person, sent by mail or, if such a possibility is provided by a particular court, in electronic form. There is no state duty. The court is obliged to consider the submitted application and report a decision within five working days.
Sample statement of claim for the recovery of alimony from the mother
The sample statement of claim will include the details of the parties involved:
- information about the court to which the claim or application is filed: address, contacts, court district;
- details of the plaintiff or applicant: full name, date and place of birth, address, telephone;
- defendant's details: full name, date and place of birth, address, telephone.
Also, the statement of claim for alimony indicates all the circumstances of the case that may be relevant. Evidence of the father’s attempts to resolve the issue peacefully, and confirmed facts of the mother’s dishonest performance of her parental responsibilities towards the child or children. A request for alimony payments in the amount specified by law. Links to links from legislative acts of the Russian Federation that justify the father’s right to receive alimony from the child’s mother.
The following documents may be attached to the statement of claim:
- a copy of the document confirming the identity of the plaintiff;
- a copy of the child's birth certificate;
- copies of marriage or divorce certificates;
- copies of the decision of the commission on juvenile affairs;
- certificates and characteristics from the place of residence, study or work;
- documents confirming the legal capacity of an adult child.
Collection procedure
The procedure for collecting alimony payments from the mother depends on the chosen method of calculating them. With a voluntary agreement certified by a notary office, alimony payments will be made in accordance with the form and procedure provided for in the agreement, as well as in the specified amount.
In case of forced collection through the court, a different procedure will apply. An order or decision issued by the court to collect alimony from the mother of the child or children will be sent to the bailiff service, which carries out judicial proceedings and collects alimony payments from the mother in accordance with the law.
How to collect child support from your mother
Divorcing spouses have two options for further action - enter into a voluntary alimony agreement or go to court.
Features of the alimony agreement
When concluding an alimony agreement, the document will need to indicate the following information:
- information about the payer and recipient of funds;
- the amount of alimony (% ratio to the mother’s income or a certain fixed amount of money);
- date of transfer of funds;
- frequency of remittances;
- method of transferring money - by bank or postal transfer, in cash (in the latter case, the man will need to draw up a receipt for the receipt of funds each time).
Parents can negotiate in the agreement the possibility of making a lump sum payment. In this case, the woman will either transfer to the man the entire amount of money due until the child turns 18, or transfer part of the personal property to the child in the appropriate share. You can indicate another way of fulfilling child support obligations that suits both the father and mother.
The finished document must be certified by an employee of a notary agency. Otherwise, the agreement will not have legal force.
Going to court
If a woman evades alimony obligations, then her ex-husband has the right to file a statement of claim in court, reflecting the following information:
- name of the court;
- Full name, residential address of the plaintiff and defendant;
- information about marriage, divorce, children;
- an indication of with whom the minors live after the divorce;
- request to collect alimony from the child’s mother in the specified amount;
- list of attached documentation;
- date, signature of the plaintiff.
Download a sample statement of claim for the collection of alimony for a child/children
The table below contains the rules for determining the amount of payments depending on the number of children.
Calculation of the amount of alimony depending on income by the number of children | |
Per minor | up to 25% of income |
On two minors | up to 33% of income |
For three or more minors | 50% of income |
After the court has made a decision, it issues a writ of execution to the plaintiff. The man will need to send this document to the accounting department at the employment address of his ex-wife. Accounting department employees will deduct a certain portion of funds from the salary of the minor's mother.
If a woman is not employed or receives an unofficial salary, then the man will need to seek help from the bailiff service. Representatives of the FSSP will begin proceedings to collect alimony from property, money in the bank accounts of the child’s mother, and her other income.
What to do if the mother does not pay child support
If the mother does not pay child support, the father has the right to contact the bailiff service. This right applies both to collection through the court and to alimony payments under a voluntary agreement, which was certified by a notary. It has the same legal force as a writ of execution.
In a situation where the mother does not have a job or income, she will have to look for funds to pay child support in the specified amount, based on the minimum wage, according to the minimum wage. Otherwise, bailiffs can seize the property that belongs to her.
If a child lives with his father, does he need to pay child support?
In a review of judicial practice for 2021, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation pointed to the following trial being considered in the city of Velikiye Luki.
In 2014, the plaintiff appealed to the World Court with a demand to offset alimony payments against the amounts he spent on child support during the summer holidays from June 1 to August 31. At this time, the minor, with the consent of his mother, was resting with his father.
Based on a previous court decision, the father had to pay alimony every month in the amount of 25% of monthly earnings. In the lawsuit, the husband indicated that during the summer holidays the minor received food, medical care and rest.
Accordingly, these expenses are equivalent to the conditions for payment of alimony obligations. After all, she did not have the right to spend the money that her mother received on herself personally. According to the father, the mother did not spend any money on the child’s maintenance during the said summer holidays.
The magistrate's court agreed with the father's arguments and accepted the expenses incurred as alimony payments. Thus, the father was released from part of the unpaid alimony for the summer holidays.
The Velikoluksky District Court of Appeal did not agree with the arguments of the first instance for the following reasons:
- The Family Code and legislation in the field of judicial enforcement do not provide grounds for exempting the father from alimony payments (if he is healthy, ready to earn money and has a decent living);
- Alimony is not a replaceable condition: i.e. it is impossible to count alimony against other material performance;
- Child support is a measure of strict personal liability. The release obligation can only be included when the father is unable to pay these amounts due to his financial situation or temporary disability.
Alimony cannot be excluded or reduced solely on the basis that the parent additionally financially supports the child. All expenses in excess of the established monthly payments are the voluntary right of the parent and loving father or mother.