How is alimony determined?

The amount of child support payments is determined in one of two ways:

• Judicial - the amount of payments is determined by the court on the basis of the provisions of the law (Article 81 of the RF IC);
• Voluntary – a written alimony agreement is concluded between the parents, which specifies the amount and procedure for payments. In this case, the amount of payments should not be lower than that established by law (Article 103 of the RF IC).

Alas, alimony agreements are not a very common practice in our country.

As a rule, alimony is awarded in court...

• In the form of a writ of execution , which is issued on the basis of a court decision after the trial of the case,
• In the form of a court order , which is issued in a simplified order in undisputed cases, and then collected from the payer.

The writ of execution is sent to the Bailiff Service, where enforcement proceedings are initiated and forced collection of payments begins.
The amount of alimony may be determined by the court...

• As a percentage of all types of income of the payer (25% - for one child, 33% - for two children, 50% - for three or more children);
• In the form of a fixed sum of money , if the payer’s income is unstable. When assigning a fixed sum of money, the court takes into account the financial situation of the parties - the payer and the recipient of payments, and relies on the minimum wage or subsistence level (but this does not mean that alimony will be equal to the subsistence level; depending on the circumstances, it can be assigned in the amount of ½ or ¼ of the living wage).

In some cases, the court orders a mixed form of alimony payments.

For example, according to a court decision, the payer Danilov V. is obliged to pay 1/4 of the income for a child and 0.5 minimum wage for his ex-wife, who is caring for a joint child under three years old.

How to calculate

If the court in its decision specifies that a percentage of income must be paid, then the individual entrepreneur will have to make payments based on financial statements.

Every enterprise and individual entrepreneur is required to pay taxes. The amount from which the interest will be calculated is equal to the profit minus taxes. For example, if the profit per month was 100 thousand rubles, and taxes were 6 thousand rubles, then the amount of income is 100-6 = 94 thousand rubles. It is from this amount that alimony is paid.

USEFUL INFORMATION: Documents for obtaining maternity capital

The main thing to remember is that you need to monitor all these numbers very carefully. If you make a mistake, bailiffs can recalculate the amount and charge fines and penalties.

When is small alimony acceptable?

The alimony payer can sue and achieve a reduction in the amount of monthly payments if he can prove valid reasons of a family or financial nature (clause 1 of Article 119 of the RF IC).

Such valid reasons that serve as the basis for reducing the amount of alimony may be:

• Changes in the marital status of the alimony payer. For example, the birth of a child in a new marriage or the appearance of an elderly, sick dependent (mother or father), or a supported pregnant wife.
• An illness or injury that caused the alimony payer's disability. In this case, the alimony payer himself becomes disabled and in need, and can no longer pay alimony in the previous amount.
• Entrepreneurship or other independent income of a minor child, which is sufficient to meet his basic needs.
• The high earnings of the alimony payer, and as a result, the amount of alimony, collected in the form of interest according to the law, is too high, disproportionate to the needs of the child.
• The income of the alimony payer is too low. In this case, it is possible to achieve a reduction in payments only if it can be proven that the lack of funds does not depend on the will and capabilities of the alimony payer. For example, dismissal from work, unwillingness to find a job or register with the Central Bank is not a reason to reduce the amount of alimony.

The alimony payer does not have the right to arbitrarily reduce the amount of cash payments for child support! Reducing the amount of alimony should occur only in accordance with the established procedural procedure. Incomplete payments are the reason for the formation of debt, for which a penalty of 0.1% of the debt amount .

What should the alimony payer do if the circumstances are as described above and he has a valid reason for reducing the amount of alimony ?

For more information on how to file a claim in court, read the article “Statement of Claim to Reduce the Amount of Child Support.”

Expert opinion

Semyon Frolov

Lawyer. 7 years of experience. Specialization: family, inheritance, housing law.

Judicial practice knows many cases where the amount of alimony was actually reduced at the request of payers, and of course, for good reasons. However, the problem seems to be precisely that not everyone has good reasons for reducing payments, and some parents begin illegal actions - falsifying certificates and income declarations, certificates of illness, switching to “gray” wages, concealing property and funds from collectors. And in this case, the mother has to initiate legal proceedings and seek a fair increase in the amount of alimony.

Why does the father pay small child support?

Let's consider for what reasons the father can reduce the amount of alimony to the minimum, and what the mother should do in each case.

Father is unemployed

If the father has lost his job, he can register with the Employment Center and receive unemployment benefits. In this case, alimony will be collected from unemployment benefits, and since its amount is small, alimony will also become small.

Example: Citizen Stakhovsky is registered with the Central Bank and receives an unemployment benefit in the amount of 1,800 rubles. The reason for such a low amount of payments is low earnings at the previous place of work and the long period of registration. For two children, he is obliged to pay alimony in the amount of 1/3 of his earnings, which is 600 rubles.

Yes, the amount is a pittance, and it is clearly not enough to support children. But it will not be possible to achieve an increase in the amount of alimony if the father does not receive any additional income or it is impossible to prove it. There is also no reason to demand alimony in a fixed amount. It is clear that in most cases the father still works and receives “gray” pay, and applies for unemployment benefits in bad faith. But it is difficult to resist this. He will have to wait until his father finds an official job with a decent salary.

If the unemployed father has not registered with the Employment Center, he will not receive unemployment benefits, and the payment of alimony may stop altogether. But this does not mean that termination of alimony payments in this case is legal. If there is no income, the bailiff must calculate alimony based on the average salary in the payer’s region of residence and collect it even from the unemployed.

Expert opinion

Semyon Frolov

Lawyer. 7 years of experience. Specialization: family, inheritance, housing law.

Therefore, if you have not yet applied to the court for alimony, thinking that you still cannot receive it from an unemployed person, you were mistaken. File a claim quickly, and the bailiffs will calculate and collect the amount assigned by the court - from the benefit, if the unemployed person receives it, or from the average Russian or regional average salary. Which is perhaps even higher than the official minimum wage. Read about how to do this in the article “How to apply for alimony if your husband does not work.”

Father's salary is low

If alimony is assigned as a percentage of earnings, then it is quite natural: if the salary is not high, the amount of alimony will also be small.

The salary cannot be less than the minimum wage (minimum wage) established and guaranteed by the government. But employers often use workarounds to reduce the tax burden, for example, they hire at 0.5 rate . Thus, wages can be significantly lower than the minimum wage. And the alimony that is withheld from such earnings will also be small.

As an example, let’s calculate how much alimony the father will pay if his salary is equal to 1 minimum wage. As of January 1, 2021, the minimum wage in Moscow is 20,195 rubles. After taxes are withheld from wages, the salary will be 17,570 rubles. The father will have to pay for child support:

1. For one child – 4,392 rubles;
2. For two children – 5,798 rubles;
3. For three children or more – 8,785 rubles.

If the father is employed “at the minimum wage”, but receives a “gray” salary , which is two or three times higher than the minimum wage, no deductions will be made from it.

Expert opinion

Dmitry Nosikov

Lawyer. Specialization: family and housing law.

What can be advised to mothers in such cases?

Go to court with a claim to increase the amount of alimony if there is a chance to prove that the father has additional unofficial income. If in court it turns out that the father actually hid income and deliberately avoided paying child support in other ways, he may be brought to administrative responsibility.

And alimony can be...

• increased taking into account additional (unofficial) income;
• assigned in a fixed amount of a fair amount taking into account the variability of income.

If the salary is less than 1 minimum wage, the mother can ask the bailiff to check the employer for violations of labor and tax laws . For detected violations, the employer will also bear administrative responsibility. And the results of the audit can be used in court as evidence of the father’s dishonesty.

Low fixed amount of alimony

Alimony in a fixed amount is assigned in cases where the payer’s income is unstable.

When determining the amount of alimony, several factors are taken into account, and first of all, the family and financial situation of both parties, the recipient and the payer of alimony. If the alimony payer has an extremely low and unstable income, then the amount of alimony may be assigned to a small amount. For example, half the subsistence minimum established in the child’s region of residence.

Expert opinion

Dmitry Nosikov

Lawyer. Specialization: family and housing law.

What can you advise a mother who receives small alimony payments in a fixed amount?

Ask the bailiff to index the amount of alimony if the cost of living in the child’s region of residence has increased. Or he will go to court with a claim to increase the amount of alimony if circumstances have changed, for example, the payer’s income has increased, or with a claim to change the procedure for collecting alimony.

Low or variable alimony by voluntary agreement of the parties

There are very common cases when the father asks the mother not to sue for child support, but to agree verbally or in writing, and then pay the funds in accordance with this agreement. But if at first the agreements are fulfilled, then subsequently the amount of alimony may gradually decrease or stop altogether. If the parents have not executed a notarized agreement, it is very difficult to achieve forced collection of unpaid amounts.

Expert opinion

Semyon Frolov

Lawyer. 7 years of experience. Specialization: family, inheritance, housing law.

What should a mother do in this case?

Apply to the court with a claim to collect alimony for the past time. If the mother manages to prove that the agreements were and were not fulfilled, that the mother took all the necessary measures to get the father to pay child support, the court can collect alimony for the last three years (clause 2 of Article 107 of the RF IC). Receipts, receipts and cheques, letters and recordings of conversations, and witness statements can be presented as evidence. If not, alimony will be assigned from the day you go to court.

Another option is to give oral agreements a legal form, that is, draw up a written agreement on the payment of alimony , and be sure to have it certified by a notary office. This document can provide for the amount and procedure for payment of funds, as well as any others that suit both parties, for example, grounds for reducing or increasing the amount of payments. If the agreement is not fulfilled, the mother will be able to recover funds forcibly, with the help of the Bailiff Service.

Alimony from a small salary: what to do if you pay small alimony

The volume is calculated depending on the number of children to whom the payer provides financial assistance:

• one child – a quarter of income;
• two children – a third of income;
• three children or more – half the earnings.

It follows that the amount may even decrease if the payer has other children who also need financial support. For example, if a father’s salary is only 10,000 rubles, and he has three children to whom he contributes money, then each minor will receive only 1,660 rubles. As for payments in a fixed amount of money, they are also not tied to the subsistence level. The only thing is that the fixed amount should not be less than the percentage of income established by law. There is no minimum financial assistance for the maintenance of minors fixed by law.

How to collect a larger amount of alimony?

So, above we listed the reasons why fathers pay low child support, and looked at what measures the mother can take to correct the situation. Now we will take a closer look at how this can be done in practice.

In some cases, the problem of low alimony can be solved by bailiffs (for example, if it is necessary to index a fixed amount or identify an additional source of income for the payer).

In other cases, you cannot do without a court (for example, if you need to increase the interest rate or instead of the interest rate you need to assign fixed alimony), and then the mother will need a strong evidence base, which, again, bailiffs can help with.

If you need advice or personal consultation from a lawyer to assess the situation and determine the further course of action, write to us via chat or call the hotline! Our lawyers will advise you free of charge.

Contacting the Bailiff Service

It makes sense to contact the Bailiff Service only if you have a writ of execution for the collection of alimony:

1. Parental agreement certified by a notary.
2. Court order.
3. A writ of execution issued on the basis of a court decision.

The bailiff assigned to conduct the case must find all the income of the payer that can be foreclosed on, as well as property belonging to the payer and funds in his accounts. As practice shows, bailiffs work much more effectively if alimony collectors cooperate and help them: they provide information about the alimony payer, his property and sources of income. If the mother believes that the father’s income is much higher than stated in certificates and tax returns, this must also be reported to the bailiff.

In order for the bailiff to initiate an inspection or conduct a search, you need to write a statement . By writing an application, you can also achieve indexation of alimony (if it is assigned in a fixed amount), calculation of the resulting alimony debt and the accrual of penalties, and bringing the debtor to administrative responsibility.

The law does not provide for a strict and standardized form of application, but it is advisable to draw it up in accordance with the rules of document flow and include the following data:

• Full name of the SSP institution, position, full name. the official to whom the application is addressed;
• Full name, procedural status (alimony collector) and residential address of the applicant;
• Heading: “Statement on... (indication of procedural actions to be performed by the bailiff);
• Data on the progress of enforcement proceedings (when it was initiated, in whose favor the collection of alimony was started, how the collection took place, etc.);
• Information about the alimony payer: his location, sources of income known to the applicant, material assets, savings;
• Link to documents and other evidence confirming the data stated in the application;
• Request: carry out procedural actions in accordance with the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”;
• List of attachments depending on the circumstances of the case and the applicant’s request;
• Date of;
• Signature.

If the bailiff is inactive and does not fulfill the duties assigned to him by law, the mother has the right to complain - first to the senior bailiff, and then to the court. For more information on how the alimony collector can contribute to the work of the bailiff, see the article “How to get alimony if the bailiffs are inactive?”

Going to court

Only the court can decide to increase the amount of alimony previously prescribed by the court. You must apply to the same court that made the original decision or order.

If the amount of child support was determined by a voluntary parental agreement, and it is not fulfilled by the payer, you must also go to court. The mother can appeal to the magistrate’s court both at the place of residence of the alimony payer and at her own place of residence if minor children live with her (Clause 3 of Article 29 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

The mother must prepare a legally competent claim, which will set out all the circumstances of the case (unscrupulousness of the father, low payments, lack of funds to support the child) and argue for an increase in the amount of payments.

How to correctly draw up a statement of claim to increase the amount of alimony?

The claim is drawn up in accordance with the rules provided for in Art. 131-132 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. It should have the following structure and contain the following information:

1. Name and location of the judicial authority;
2. Full name, residential address of the plaintiff and defendant;
3. Document title: “Statement of claim to increase the amount of alimony”;
4. Statement of the circumstances of the case:

• when and in what amount was alimony awarded?
• when enforcement proceedings were initiated,
• how alimony obligations were fulfilled,
• why there was a need to increase the amount of alimony payments - reasons and reference to supporting documents.

1. A reference to the provisions of the law that provide for the right to ask for an increase in the amount of alimony;
2. Petition to the court;
3. List of documents attached to the claim;
4. Date of compilation and signature.

A statement of claim requesting an increase in the amount of alimony must be supplemented with documents - as we mentioned above, the evidence base is crucial.

The main package of documents will include:

• Copies of the claim (to the plaintiff and the court, to the defendant – in a separate letter before going to court);
• Copies of the parties’ passports, birth certificates (passports) of children for whom alimony is being collected;
• A copy of the original court decision/order for alimony;
• A copy of the parental agreement on the payment of child support;
• Documents submitted by the bailiff (protocols, debt calculation, certificates of indexation, letters of search for income, cash savings, property of the debtor, about conducting an audit of the debtor's employer, about submitting requests to the tax office).

We also need documents that confirm the information stated in the claim and the grounds for increasing alimony, such as...

• increasing the salary of the alimony payer;
• unchangeable financial situation of the payer and unreasonable failure to fulfill the obligation to support the child;
• the emergence of additional income;
• changes in the marital status of the alimony payer (for example, the death of a dependent relative, the return to work after maternity leave of the wife who was supported by the alimony payer, the coming of age of another child who was also supported by the payer);
• the need of the mother and child for additional funds due to illness, loss of work, the appearance of dependents, and other unforeseen circumstances.

It can be:

• letters,
• receipts,
• medical reports on the state of health of the child or mother, prescriptions for the purchase of medicines,
• checks and receipts for the purchase of goods for children or payment for services (for example, the services of a nanny, nurse, tutor, massage therapist or rehabilitation therapist),
• work book (with a record of dismissal) or certificate of salary,
• other documents that confirm changes in the financial or marital status of the payer or recipient of payments, giving the right to ask for an increase in child support.

If you do not know what documents are needed specifically in your case, write to the chat or call the hotline number - a lawyer will advise you free of charge and help you create a package of documents and create a strong evidence base.

Contacting the tax office (IFNS)

Contacting the tax service is not a difficult task, but here the recipient of underestimated alimony payments first of all needs to clearly decide for himself whether it is worth dealing with this issue, because the consequences may be different:

• positive (if official wages are nevertheless increased);
• negative (an employee who has caused the company problems with the tax inspection may simply be laid off altogether, or such violations will be revealed at the company that it will not be able to continue working in the foreseeable future).

Before contacting the tax office, the recipient of low alimony payments should remember that this is not always a winning case.

If you decide to apply, you need to carefully study the guidelines for action . The basis for the appeal will be:

• letter of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation dated July 28, 2006 No. BE-6-04/ [email protected] “On the direction for analysis and use of documents in work”, illustrating the text of the decision of the arbitration court on the claim of tax service employees about the evasion of taxes by one enterprise, which became the starting point in initiating similar inspections of enterprises;
• a copy of the salary certificate of the person liable for alimony (it can be obtained from the bailiff conducting your enforcement proceedings);
• a copy of the response from the government agency. statistics with information on average wages in the labor sector of interest to us in the region;
• a thesis statement of the situation in connection with which this appeal was needed: when alimony was collected;
• what amounts are paid monthly?

A sample application to the tax office can be found below:

Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Bryansk Bryansk, st. Krakhmaleva, 53, 241037

Laponova Natalia Vladimirovna Bryansk, st. Frunze, 9-26, 241000

I am writing to you regarding the alimony obligations of Maxim Igorevich Laponov in relation to his son, Oleg Maksimovich Laponov, born in 2005. According to the decision of the bailiffs of Bryansk, the amount of monthly alimony payment from Laponov M.I. must be 1/4 of (or 25%) of all types of income of the debtor. Since Laponov M.I. has no other income other than wages. not available, the amount of alimony as a percentage of wages is 2,340 rubles. - therefore, the monthly earnings of Laponov M.I. (a certified specialist with 10 years of experience) at the Stroyplus LLC enterprise is 9,360 rubles/month.

According to data provided by the Territorial Office of the Federal State Statistics Service, the average monthly salary of employees of organizations by type of economic activity (namely, the production of machinery and equipment) is 25,000 rubles/month.

Based on the above, guided by the letter of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation dated July 28, 2006 No. BE-6-04 / [email protected] “On the direction for analysis and use of documents in work,” I ask you, within the framework of your authority, to conduct an inspection of Stroyplus LLC, which pays wages to its employees below the industry average, take the necessary measures and notify me of its results.

I am enclosing the following:

1. A copy of the resolution to initiate enforcement proceedings;
2. A copy of the certificate from the place of work of Laponov M.I. about the amount of salary;
3. A copy of Bryanskstat's response.

“___” __________ 2021___________ N.V. Laponova

Based on such a request, the tax inspectorate is authorized to conduct an audit of the enterprise and notify the applicant of its results.

Arbitrage practice

Judicial practice shows that it is quite possible to achieve an increase in the amount of alimony payments. But without understanding the law and procedure, you can, if you end up with nothing, spend too much time and effort for an insignificant result.

Example: Citizen Anisimova filed a lawsuit in the magistrate's court to increase the amount of alimony that her ex-husband paid for their joint minor sons. The defendant, the father of the children, turned out to be unemployed and registered with the Employment Center. His only official income was unemployment benefits of only 1,800 rubles.

Anisimova indicated that the alimony she receives in the form of a percentage of her father’s official income in the amount of about 600 rubles is not enough to meet the needs of two teenage children. She was convinced that her ex-husband was conducting unofficial business activities.

The court rejected the claim because there were no grounds for increasing the amount of alimony - the father paid 1/3 of the only official income, and the plaintiff could not provide evidence of additional income.

Perhaps the mother should have first contacted the bailiffs with a request to search for additional income of her ex-husband , and then asked the court to change the procedure for paying alimony: instead of an interest rate - in the form of a fixed amount.

The procedure and choice of legal position depends on specific circumstances - the family, financial situation of each parent, sources of income, number of children, need for additional funds.

Thus, in order to achieve an increase in child support, the mother needs to be well prepared - both in organizational terms and in legal fees - to cooperate with bailiffs and other government agencies, form a legal position, collect documents, prepare a claim, and take part in court hearings.

All this can be difficult, given that the mother devotes a lot of time directly to the children - their upbringing and financial support. But protecting children's rights and increasing wages is also an important contribution. Therefore, our lawyers are ready to provide you with professional support and relieve some of the worries and bureaucratic hassles. Write or call us - we will advise you on the issue of increasing alimony for free.

Watch the video on what to do if your husband pays small child support:
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Author of the article

Irina Garmash

Family law consultant.

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