Apply for alimony to the MFC: step-by-step instructions 2021

Alimony and alimony obligations: concepts, difference

The Family Code of the Russian Federation specifies not only rights, but also responsibilities arising from kinship and family relationships. One of these responsibilities is financial support for relatives and disabled family members. Thus, parents must provide for their children, just as children must support their parents in old age. For a better understanding of the whole picture, check out what alimony is and who is entitled to it.

In addition, one of the spouses also has the right to financial support, and in cases provided for by law, it extends to the time when the marriage has already been dissolved.

How much alimony is paid?

There are three options for determining the amount of alimony obligations:

1. A percentage of the parent's salary or other income.
2. A fixed amount that does not depend on the income of the person from whom alimony is to be collected.
3. A combination of these two forms, when part of the funds is interest on income, and part is a fixed fee.

Since, according to the general rules, it is the percentage collection procedure that is established, a fixed amount of alimony can be established only in cases where it is prescribed by law, namely if:

• The income of a person who has alimony obligations is variable or unstable. This situation is possible if the parent is engaged in entrepreneurial activity by establishing the status of an individual entrepreneur, which quite often occurs in the practice of considering such cases.
• The person on whom the obligations are assigned receives part of his income, or all of it, in kind.
• The parent paying child support receives wages in a currency other than the Russian ruble.
• The person from whom alimony is being collected has no income at all. In this case, establishing a fixed amount is necessary for recovery from the property of this person.
• Collecting a percentage of alimony is impossible, or very difficult, or as a result of such a collection procedure the interests of any party to the dispute will be seriously violated. This is possible in cases of concealment of income by a person obligated to pay alimony, or if it is impossible to establish all the sources of income of this person.

Read also: Registration and confirmation of an account in the ESIA

To establish a fixed amount of child support, at least one of these conditions is necessary. The court may independently deviate from the general procedure for determining the amount of alimony or do so at the request of one of the parties to the conflict.

Sometimes the court may establish a mixed procedure for calculating alimony, when it is collected in two parts - interest and a fixed amount. This usually happens under the same circumstances as establishing a fixed amount of obligations in relation to the child.

At the same time, an important reason for applying such a penalty is the need to maintain the level of provision for children that was before the change in the form of their maintenance. For example, to pay for studies in a foreign country or to organize visits to certain sections or clubs, if the child had all this before the need to collect alimony arose.

The amount of monetary support, if a fixed fee is established, should provide not only the necessary needs of the child, but also maintain the provision at the level usual for him.

Moreover, it is important that such an amount is established based on the existing financial situation of the person from whom alimony is being collected.

The court should definitely establish whether the defendant, in addition to paying alimony obligations, will be able to provide himself and family members with the necessary funds. The fixed amount of funds for child support is necessarily indexed in proportion to the increase in the minimum wage.

Legislation

Issues related to alimony are regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation. For a more detailed settlement of related issues, by-laws and regulations can be adopted both throughout the country and in a particular region. In addition, the collection of alimony is forcibly carried out in accordance with the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, as well as laws and regulations adopted on its basis.

How is child support paid?

The basis for the fulfillment of alimony obligations is a writ of execution. On its basis, the amount specified in the court decision is withheld from the income of the person working and paying alimony, which is transferred to the account of the person receiving alimony within three days following the accrual of wages.

There are situations when the person paying alimony works outside our country. Under such circumstances, their payment is possible both in rubles and in any other currency.

Read also: How to get a 2-NDFL certificate through State Services?

Funds are transferred into national currency at the rate set by the Central Bank of Russia. When transferring money, the rate determined on the day the alimony is collected is used.

In the same way, military personnel who are temporarily located in the territory of another country must fulfill their alimony obligations.

Procedure for applying for alimony

In the case of forced collection of debt, until recently, filing an application with the court was possible in two ways:

• by post,
• personally.

But due to the fact that a large number of government services today can be obtained electronically, many people have a question about whether it is possible to apply for alimony through the MFC. This can be done by first registering on the appropriate portal.

The State Services information portal and multifunctional centers for the provision of state and municipal services are especially popular among the population and are a reliable assistant.

Advantages of using the State Services portal

Submitting documents to the court via the Internet has a number of advantages:

• saving time, because everything can be done on the website in a matter of minutes;
• convenience and comfort, since you can submit an application online from the comfort of your own home or office;
• ease of use of the portal and clear interface;
• assistance in streamlining the work of courts and bailiffs.

Now you don’t need to go anywhere, adjust to the established working hours of the court, wander through long corridors in search of the right office and stand in huge lines to submit documents. When thinking about whether you can apply for alimony through State Services, don’t hesitate! You can use this service right now!

When does child support stop?

The possibility of terminating the payment of these obligations is also determined by legal norms. It is not uncommon for one of these circumstances to lead to the completion of the obligation to pay alimony:

In cases of voluntary payment of alimony:

• The agreement regulating the issues of alimony payments has ceased to operate.
• Circumstances indicated as stopping the payment of these alimony arose.
• If there is a death of any party to the alimony relationship.

Provided that the funds were recovered through legal proceedings:

• Children reaching the age of eighteen.
• Adoption of children for whom alimony is paid (now the adoptive parent will support them). This clause does not apply when it comes to such methods of placing children as: guardianship, foster family, family-type orphanage, guardianship.
• The minor became fully capable before reaching adulthood.
• Subject to the death of one of the parties to the relationship.

An important point of any alimony obligations is their inseparability from the personality of the child and the person paying these sums of money, that is, it is impossible to inherit alimony or the obligation to pay it.

Circumstances that lead to termination of alimony payments

The law, of course, provides for situations where payment is terminated. Here are the circumstances leading to the end of the obligation to pay alimony:

Provided that the money was paid voluntarily:

• The current voluntary agreement, through which all controversial issues of alimony obligations were regulated, for one reason or another ceased to be valid. The parties need some time to discuss the situation and work out the terms of a new agreement.
• Circumstances leading to termination of payment have emerged.
• One of the parties involved in the voluntary agreement has died and objectively can no longer be a party to the alimony relationship.

The situation when alimony was paid by court decision:

• The children in whose favor the funds were collected have reached the age of majority (18 years).
• The parent paid child support for the child, and he was adopted. According to the law, the responsibility for maintaining the child now passes to the adoptive parent. This provision cannot apply to other legal methods of child placement. For example, a child is taken into care, he moves to permanent residence with a foster family, becomes a resident of a family-type orphanage, or is placed under guardianship.
• The child has not reached the age of majority, but is recognized as fully capable.
• One of the parties to the relationship died.

Submission of documents through State Services

Submitting documents via the Internet is quite simple; you do not need to have any special knowledge or skills. The portal is designed for ordinary users, so there should not be any difficulties with this. For a visual example, step-by-step instructions are provided below.

1. To use government services online, you must register on the portal. To do this, you need to indicate your first name, last name, mobile phone number and email address.

1. To create an account, you need to confirm your personal data with a code that will be sent via SMS to the specified number. After this, you will need to fill out your user profile and indicate:
   identity document details;
2. SNILS.
3. All information provided is checked, and a notification is sent by email about the results of the check.
4. Next, you need to confirm your account. You can do this in the following ways:
   contact the Service Center;
5. receive a confirmation code by mail;
6. use an electronic signature or a universal electronic card.
7. When the registration process is completed, you need to select your region of residence in order to determine whether you can apply for alimony online in your region. To do this, you need to go to the “Office of the Federal Bailiff Service” section, where you select the “Alimony for minors” section. In the field that appears, enter personal data and the essence of your claims against the defendant.

Even if it is not possible to submit documents to the court online in your region, do not be discouraged, because the portal is an encyclopedia of regional resources.
For example, they may tell you how to apply for benefits or provide you with the necessary information to file a claim. At the same time, do not forget that, regardless of how you decide to submit an application, before applying for alimony through State Services or personally visiting the court, you must collect the appropriate package of documents and attach them to the claim.

The process of collecting alimony payments

After a positive court decision is made to collect alimony, the plaintiff is issued a writ of execution. The writ of execution should be submitted to the Bailiff Service in person or through the portal of the State Services website. For online collection, the appropriate region and government authority is selected - the SSP Management, . Required fields:

• Full name of the plaintiff, defendant;
• number and date of the court order;
• content of the requirement.

A photo or scanned copy of the writ of execution and other required documents is attached to the interactive application. A registered appeal is reviewed within 10 days. At the moment, it is possible to use the portal to go through all stages of enforcement proceedings for the collection of alimony payments.

List of required documents

The following documents must be attached to the application to the court:

• copies of marriage and/or divorce certificates;
• a copy of the child's birth certificate;
• a document confirming the child’s cohabitation with the applicant;
• a document confirming the defendant’s income;
• copies of documents identifying the plaintiff and defendant;
• checks, receipts.

Application for collection of child support

If the obligated person refuses to pay alimony, a claim will have to be filed to initiate legal proceedings. The statement must indicate the reasons that prompted the plaintiff to go to court. It is also recommended to refer to legal norms. Below is a sample application for a court order for the collection of alimony, as well as a sample statement of claim for the collection of child support.

What determines the amount of alimony?

The amount of alimony is influenced by several circumstances, one of which is the number of children:

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

Other circumstances affecting the amount of alimony awarded:

1. The financial condition of the alimony payer, as well as the recipient of payments.
2. The need of a disabled child for special equipment, as well as medications.
3. The presence of other dependents on the alimony payer.

Application deadlines and state fees

As you know, in some cases there is a statute of limitations, that is, the time during which you can go to court to protect your rights and legitimate interests. But such terms do not apply to family legal relations.

You can file a claim to collect child support at any time before the child reaches adulthood.

In addition, you must pay a state fee to go to court. In 2021, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation established an amount of 150 rubles for filing a statement of claim in court for the recovery of alimony.

At the same time, tax legislation provides for cases where the plaintiff is exempt from paying state duty when filing a claim in alimony cases. Find out more about the specifics of paying state duty for alimony.

Reducing the amount of alimony

If alimony is assigned as a percentage of wages, the court may reduce the amount of payments. The following points influence this:

1. Does the alimony payer have other dependents?
2. The payer has a disability or illness that prevents him from working.
3. The payer has other minor children.
4. The payer has reached retirement age.
5. The child in whose favor the money transfers are made has found a job.
6. The child in whose favor payments are made requires specialized care.

Not all reasons that may affect changes in the amount of alimony paid are listed above.

Child support debt via the Internet

You can find out your alimony arrears using the State Services portal. To do this you need:

• log into your personal account;
• go to the “electronic government” tab;
• select “authorities”;
• click on “Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation” -> “FSSP”;
• enter the name of the person whose debt you want to check;
• Click on the “get service” button.

It is important to remember that arrears in child support may result in fines and penalties. In addition, evasion of such obligations also entails criminal liability.

Who receives and who is obliged to pay

Payment may be required:

• spouse for common children who have not yet turned 18 years of age;
• disabled spouse (for himself/herself), provided that he/she is officially married to this person;
• a pregnant woman who divorced her husband, but no more than 3 years have passed since that moment;
• disabled parents (both mother and father);
• children at any age who have a disability group (including the status of “disabled since childhood”).

The obligation to pay lies with parents, spouses or children (depending on the category of the recipient). In the most common case, alimony is paid by the father who left the family and does not take part in the upbringing/maintenance of the children. At the same time, the presence/absence of an official marriage in this case does not matter: it is enough to confirm the fact of paternity.