When a married couple who has children together decides to separate forever, they face a number of serious problems. The greatest difficulties for spouses arise when discussing how to provide for a child. After all, a parent who wishes to leave the family does not always agree to voluntarily transfer money for his needs. In this case, you have to file a lawsuit to recover these amounts. The first question in the mind of a parent who has custody of children is what documents are needed to apply for child support. And this is logical. After all, without providing all the necessary documents, not a single judge will consider such a case.
What documents are needed for child support?
Any documents for alimony submitted to the court or to the FSSP must confirm certain facts and circumstances. When collecting alimony, you must prove:
- the fact of a family relationship with the father (maternity is usually established immediately after the birth of the child);
- the absence or presence of a marital relationship (this is usually necessary when simultaneously establishing paternity and collecting alimony);
- violation of the obligation to support a child (this is especially important when collecting debt for previous years).
Note! After the child reaches adulthood, you can also collect alimony. For this procedure, it is not enough to confirm the fact of relationship with the mother and father. To receive money through the court, the child must prove the need for help and incapacity for work.
Special circumstances for proof arise when the form of alimony payments is changed, when payments are reduced or increased, or when a penalty is collected. For example, when changing the percentage ratio to a fixed amount of alimony, you need to confirm that the debtor does not have a stable income and a permanent place of work. To avoid difficulties in preparing documents and evidence, we recommend contacting our lawyers.
Documents for reducing or increasing alimony
The law allows you to change the size or amount of alimony payments. To do this, you need to file an application with the court, confirm the change in property or marital status, the fact of the defendant’s complete or partial incapacity for work, or insufficient funds to support the child. You can read more about the grounds for reducing or increasing alimony in the materials on our website.
When reducing or increasing the amount of payments, the parties must justify their claims. For this the following can be used:
- certificates of new marriage;
- birth certificates of new children (this will automatically entail a reduction in previously collected alimony payments);
- documents on loss of earnings or dismissal due to reduction, liquidation;
- certificate of registration with the Labor Center as unemployed;
- payment documents, checks, contracts and other forms confirming the objective amount of expenses for the child;
- ITU conclusion on the determination of disability;
- certificate of pension.
This is not a complete list of documents that can be used as evidence when reducing or increasing the amount of alimony. You can learn more about this procedure during a consultation with our lawyers.
List of documents for filing for alimony
Birth certificate
The main document confirming the child's relationship with his mother and father is a birth certificate. Even after obtaining a passport, when the child turns 14 years old, the certificate is still needed to collect child support. The passport does not indicate information about parents, so it cannot be referred to when confirming parental rights and responsibilities.
When going to court, the following problems and difficulties may arise related to the use of a birth certificate:
- if the document is in the possession of the defendant, in order to go to court it may be necessary to request a duplicate through the registry office;
- a damaged or torn certificate must also be replaced with a duplicate in advance;
- if the certificate does not contain a record of the father, you need to file a single statement of claim to establish paternity and collect alimony.
Legal advice. When applying for a child support order, you usually do not need to present your original birth certificate. If you have a copy of the document, please attach it to your application. However, if the debtor files objections to the order, or it is necessary to file a claim for other reasons, you will have to obtain a duplicate certificate through the registry office.
When filing applications and claims, you must attach copies of birth certificates for each child. This is necessary to determine the percentage of the salary, or to establish a fixed amount of payments. You will also need evidence when establishing child support for children from different marriages.
Child support order
You can receive a court order for alimony by submitting an application to the magistrate's court. An application for the issuance of a document is submitted to the judge administering justice at the place of residence of the applicant or future payer.
The application is submitted in the form specified in Art. 124, 126 Civil Code. It must reflect:
- information about the judicial authority (address and name);
- information about parents, including their residential address;
- justification and scope of the requirements;
- available factual evidence, with reference to it.
The application must be accompanied by a list of documents substantiating the stated requirements and confirming the stated facts. Among them:
- the applicant’s passport (copy), with a registration mark;
- birth certificates of joint children (copies);
- document on marriage and/or divorce (copy);
- certificate taken from the place of residence;
- documentation confirming income level.
In support of the stated requirements, the plaintiff can attach written evidence about the presence of illness in the child, the need for special support, information about the costs incurred, the cost of paid education, including additional education. All documents must be submitted in 3 copies, one of which becomes the case file, the second is sent to the defendant, and the third remains for the plaintiff.
The judge considers the application for 5 days, after which he issues a court order. Applying for a court order allows you to establish alimony only in a shared value.
The presence of a court order allows the claimant to immediately contact the bailiffs.
What documents are needed to withhold alimony?
Collecting alimony is only half the battle. Often, obtaining actual payment is much more difficult than going through the legal process. Below we will talk about the features of obtaining writs of execution and submitting them for retention.
Notarial agreement
Agreements on voluntary payment of alimony are rare. For this document to come into force, it must be certified by a notary in the personal appearance of both parents. However, if there is an agreement, and the debtor violates the child support obligations, the collection process will proceed as follows:
- a notarial agreement is equivalent to executive documents, therefore it can be sent to the FSSP or to the debtor’s place of work without additional recourse to court;
- the deduction will be carried out according to the terms of the agreement, therefore the amount of interest on earnings may be higher than the standard norms of the RF IC;
- the agreement can also provide for an increased amount of the penalty, alternative methods of paying alimony (for example, alimony can be repaid with property).
Legal advice . Unilateral refusal to execute an alimony agreement is not permitted. However, if the interests of one of the parties are obviously and significantly violated, the agreement can be terminated through the court. Such violations include a reduction in the percentage withheld below the RF IC, deprivation of the payer of all means of subsistence, and other issues.
You cannot force a parent to sign an agreement. The notary will check the absence of pressure, threats, deception, or other illegal actions. If there is no consent to draw up the document, you need to apply for a court order or claim.
When to file for child support
In order to apply for alimony, some basis is required. The main reason for filing child support is that one of the parents does not participate in raising the child. Such grounds arise in the following situations:
- Parents divorced;
- The parents were unmarried and then stopped communicating;
- One of the parents has been deprived of parental rights;
- Father or mother is hiding.
In addition, there is another good reason for payments - the child has a disability, and additional funds are required to support him. The law establishes two ways of collecting alimony: on the basis of a voluntary agreement or in court. First, let's consider a peaceful solution to the alimony issue.
Documents for alimony for recalculation, reduction and increase in the amount of collection
Under certain circumstances, the form or amount of alimony may change at the request of the claimant or debtor. Such issues can only be resolved through the courts. The list of documents that the parties may require includes:
- statement of claim;
- calculation of the amount of debt or penalty;
- objections and responses to the claim;
- certificates from the place of work;
- documents confirming the actual costs of maintaining the child;
- ITU conclusion on the disability of the child or debtor;
- other documents, depending on the circumstances of the application to the court.
Issues related to any recalculation of alimony are always associated with a dispute between the claimant and the debtor. Therefore, increased attention must be paid to the preparation of documents so as not to encounter a court refusal or delay in the case. For all the nuances related to the preparation of documents for the collection, withholding or recalculation of alimony, please contact our lawyers for a consultation. We will help even in the most difficult situation!
Documents for claim proceedings
Claim proceedings are the only way to obtain alimony payments in cases where a dispute arises between parents regarding such payments. Mandatory legal proceedings are also typical for those cases when the subject in respect of whom payments must be made is an adult but incapacitated child.
Court proceedings are the only way to establish a fixed monetary amount of alimony and collect payments from past periods.
In essence, a claim is only slightly different from an application for a court order. The claim must reflect:
- details of the justice authority (address and name);
- information about the parties indicating their place of residence;
- information and evidence about the fact of the defendant’s failure to fulfill financial obligations in relation to children;
- the amount of claims presented in the form of the claim price;
- data on the costs required to support the child, confirmation of existing expenses;
- calculation of the required payment;
- applications with descriptions.
The court accepts the claim with materials in triplicate. During the active consideration of the claim by the court, clarification may be required, which is recommended to be done in writing.
The decision resulting from the proceedings may be appealed by either party. If such a right is not used by the parties, the writ of execution issued on the basis of the decision is transferred by the plaintiff to the bailiffs.
Documents for filing for child support must be attached to the claim. This evidence must indicate the fact of the defendant’s failure to fulfill his maintenance obligations on a voluntary basis, and also justify the amount presented for recovery. Among them:
- applicant's passport;
- certificate for the child;
- document on marriage or divorce;
- information certificate from the place of residence of both parties;
- calculation of the amount;
- evidence of expenses;
- evidentiary materials about the defendant’s failure to fulfill his duties.
Voluntary alimony agreement
The simplest solution to child support disputes is to prevent them through a pre-arranged statement called a voluntary child support agreement. The essence of this agreement is that the spouses determine in advance the amount of payments, the procedure, the amount of compensation for delays and other points.
Such an agreement is drawn up by a notary; a minimum package of documents is required for drawing up:
- Passports of each party;
- Marriage certificate, if officially concluded;
- Certificates recording the earnings of each applicant;
- Documents for children (if any): birth certificate, passport, certificates of disability, etc.
Only a notarized alimony agreement has legal force. Moreover, it can be terminated at any time at the request of one of the parties or changed by mutual consent of the spouses.
Documents for calculating the amount of payments
The article repeatedly pointed out the documents that are needed to calculate the amount of alimony. According to current legislation, the amount of alimony is calculated in accordance with the payer’s earnings (a quarter of earnings for one child, a third for two children and half for three or more children). In order to establish this income, evidence will be required . Their roles are:
- Salary documents provided by the employer;
- Bank statements from the payer's salary accounts;
- Other documents (payment receipts, statements) that can reliably establish the amount of the payer’s earnings.
In cases where it is impossible to establish the exact amount of earnings (or there is none at all), the court uses the procedure for calculating alimony in a fixed amount. This procedure involves calculating alimony payments based on available data on variable income or on the basis of the average salary established in the region.
Drawing up a statement of claim
The main document for going to court is a statement of claim containing information about the case, information about the parties, requests to the court and other information. A lawsuit is written in three parts:
- Heading . Includes the address of the court, name of the court, full name, address and contacts of the plaintiff and similar data of the defendant;
- Information part . Includes a description of the situation (date of marriage, when children were born, how many there were, when the divorce took place), etc. Then it describes where the child is now, with whom he lives, what funds are allocated for maintenance by the defendant. Next comes the calculation of the amount of alimony, based on real income data. Complete the information part of the request to the court;
- Conclusion . Includes a complete list of documents and case materials attached to the claim, the signature of the plaintiff and the date the claim was filed in court.
