Debt for alimony after the death of the debtor

The death of a relative can become not only a heavy burden in moral terms, but also be associated with certain material obligations that are transferred from the deceased to people close to him. According to Russian law, inheritance also has a downside, when the heir receives not only acquired property, but also the need to pay the alimony debt after the death of the debtor.

General provisions

The termination of alimony payments due to the death of the payer is a fact prescribed by law. Therefore, on the one hand, the heirs have nothing to worry about. However, if during his lifetime the alimony provider has arrears in payments, which often happens, then the situation changes radically.

The current legislation comprehensively protects the rights of minors, and therefore the child claims to pay the financial support debt in full. And if the debtor dies, then his debt obligations are transferred to his heirs. In jurisprudence, death is a decisive factor in changing the legal relationship between the deceased and other persons.

We can talk about:

• termination of obligations (as in the case of paying alimony);
• their occurrence (we are talking about material assistance from the state for burial);
• shifting to heirs and relatives (if the deceased has debts).

But when resolving issues related to alimony, everything turns out to be far from so simple. In practice, lawyers are not always able to accurately answer regarding the payments that are due to the recipient of funds.

Regarding Article 120 of the RF IC, termination of alimony obligations is possible in the following cases:

• when the child reaches adulthood;
• as a result of the death of one of the parties;
• ceasing to be in need or gaining the ability to work;
• adoption or adoption, when the responsibility for maintaining a minor is transferred to the new parents.

Thus, the heirs cannot be obligated to look after the child of the deceased payer, and it will not be possible to receive alimony by inheritance. Regarding debts, please refer to Article 1112 of the Civil Code. It states that inheritance means both the property and the obligations of the deceased, including debts.

Therefore, from the moment the will comes into force, the debt will be distributed among the heirs in relation to their shares and priority.

What to do if the debtor dies

If the alimony payer has died, the recipient of the funds should notify the bailiff in charge of the case. This is necessary in order to prevent a further increase in the amount of debt. If the alimony holder dies, then to confirm this fact, his ex-wife should have a copy of the death certificate in her hands.

The next stage is writing an application addressed to the bailiff with a request to calculate the amount of debt that arose at the time of the death of the payer.

Based on this certificate, you can go to court to collect the debt from the defendant’s heirs. Regarding Article 1175 of the Criminal Code, they are jointly and severally liable, which is directly proportional to the share they received as a result of inheritance.

The following documents are usually used as evidence:

1. A court order or court decision regarding alimony payments. A notarized alimony agreement is also equivalent to a writ of execution.
2. Bailiff's papers, which contain information about the opening of enforcement proceedings, the amount, procedure and regularity of depositing funds, as well as the amount of the total debt that arose during the life of the payer.
3. Other documents, including bank statements, certificates, receipts, receipts and checks, as well as payment orders.

How to go to court

The heirs of the alimony holder must pay off the debt. You should not wait until the recipient files a lawsuit to force the collection of funds.

In addition, due to the cessation of money flow, the accumulation of fictitious debt is possible. It can subsequently be challenged in court by providing a death certificate of the payer, but this will require a lot of time.

Therefore, it is advisable to deal with material issues immediately after entering into inheritance rights. If the heirs do not make any attempts to repay the debt, then the recipient of the funds must do the following:

1. Notify the bailiff who controls payments in a particular case about the death of the payer. This will prevent the accumulation of fictitious debt.
2. You should also write an application for the calculation of debts generated during the life of the alimony holder. Further payments will be made regarding this document.
3. Submit an application for recovery of money to the court. The claim must indicate all the heirs of the deceased, among whom the responsibility for paying the debt will be proportionally distributed in accordance with Article 175 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

In most cases, legal proceedings are initiated by the recipient of the funds. It should be remembered that the petition must be filed before the expiration of the statute of limitations, that is, no later than three years after the death of the payer.

You can also refer to Article 1102, pointing out the fact of illegal enrichment due to an outstanding alimony debt. Most often, such claims are satisfied.

What documents should be provided to the court?

By law, the full amount of debt incurred during the lifetime of the alimony recipient must be paid to the recipient.

However, in order to receive funds, it is necessary to initiate legal proceedings, providing the court with the appropriate grounds, supported by documents.

When filing a claim for debt payment in the event of the death of the payer, you must collect the following package of documents:

1. The decision of the magistrate regarding the satisfaction of the claim for alimony payments. It is the basis for determining the amount of debt. If the funds were transferred not by a court decision, but on the basis of an appropriate agreement, then it must be provided.
2. Legal papers that can be obtained from bailiffs. These documents confirm the existence of alimony payments.
3. Statements from the recipient's bank accounts.
4. Child support payment schedule.

Cases of judicial practice

Litigation regarding the recovery of funds upon the death of the payor is quite controversial and complex.

In practice, cases often arise when the defendant files an appeal due to insufficient grounds to satisfy the claim in full.

In addition to collecting the debt, plaintiffs often try to require the heirs to make monthly contributions. The latter are trying with all their efforts to prove the fact that the debt that has arisen is a property liability of the deceased and is exclusively personal in nature.

But in this case, such disputes can only delay the judicial process, without in any way affecting the final decision of the judge. The verdict will be based on the following provisions of the law:

1. The heirs must pay the alimony debt that arose during the life of the testator. The material obligations themselves are canceled due to the death of the payer.
2. Payments are distributed to all heirs in accordance with their turn and shares.
3. Collection of alimony debt occurs through legal action.

Obligations of heirs

Despite the fact that the court is called upon to protect the interests of the child, it is impossible to predict the outcome of each such case. The law in this case is not so clear, and when rendering a verdict, the judge may reject the claim on the basis of Article 120 of the RF IC. It talks about the termination of any alimony legal relationship upon the death of a parent or child.

In accordance with this article, third parties cannot bear any obligations towards a minor.

But in most cases, the heirs are still obliged to repay the debt incurred for alimony. Any property of the defaulter can be used to pay off the debt:

• cash;
• intangible values;
• real estate (including proceeds from the sale of an apartment);
• personal belongings;
• shares and other securities;
• intellectual property, for example, rights to literary works, etc.

If the only heir of the payer is the recipient of the funds

In practice, situations often arise when, as a result of the death of the alimony recipient, all of his property passes to the recipient of the funds. What to do with debt in this case? In accordance with the law, all debt obligations will be canceled, even if the total amount of the inheritance could not cover the amount of the debt.

In fact, such a situation is quite transparent and can be clarified without any problems by any lawyer. Due to the death of the debtor and the complete transfer of his property into the possession of the recipient, there will simply be no addressee in whose name a claim can be filed demanding further collection of funds.

All child support obligations of a parent to a child automatically terminate as a result of the death of one of the parties. But alimony arrears after the death of the debtor must be repaid from his inheritance.

If disagreements arise in this area, the recipient must go to court to force the collection of funds from the heirs of the deceased.

Child support debt after the death of the debtor: termination of payment

Alimony is associated with the personalities of the payer and recipient of the money, that is, it is the payment of funds by one of the parents for the maintenance of the child to the second. In accordance with the law, replacement of parties in these relationships is impossible.

If one of the parties dies, then the payment of alimony automatically stops, but the same cannot be said about the alimony debt after the death of the debtor.

Is it possible to collect arrears of alimony after the death of the debtor? And how to do this? This will be discussed in the article below.

Debt for alimony after the death of the debtor

In accordance with Article 120 of the Family Code, payment of alimony may be terminated in the following cases:

• the child for whose maintenance alimony was paid has reached the age of majority;
• there has been a change in persons guarding the minor child;
• the death of one of the parties occurred.

From the above, it becomes clear that after the death of one of the parties, payments stop. This is due to the fact that alimony is a personal obligation. At the same time, the debt incurred during the life of the alimony holder passes into the inheritance estate.

This is regulated by Article 1112 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Thus, unpaid alimony will be inherited by the heirs. In connection with the above, the question: “If the alimony debtor dies, who pays the debt?” can be considered resolved.

All that remains is to figure out how to get the money.

Procedure for going to court

If the alimony dies, the first thing you need to do is notify the bailiff in charge of the case. This will allow you to avoid further accrual of payments and accumulation of debt, because the termination of alimony payments in connection with death is prescribed by law. To confirm the death of the alimony worker, you must provide the bailiff with a death certificate.

Knowing for sure the answer to the question: “Are alimony debts passed on by inheritance?”, you need to take care of receiving timely unpaid child support. To do this, you must submit an application to the bailiff.

It should ask you to calculate the debt incurred at the time of the payer’s death. The received certificate will serve as evidence of the existence of the debt and will serve as the basis for its collection in court.

Next, you should focus on preparing a statement of claim and submitting it to the court. As a rule, district and city courts deal with such cases. The claim must be filed at the place of registration of the deceased.

If the alimony debtor dies, then you should go to court. But what happens to the alimony debt after the death of the claimant? Relatives of the claimant may sue if alimony is not received on time.

The defendants in the case of collection of alimony arrears incurred during the life of the alimony payer are the heirs of the deceased. According to Article 1175 of the Civil Code, they bear responsibility, the amount of which is proportional to their share of the inheritance.

To obtain alimony debt through the court, the statement of claim can and should refer to the laws of the Russian Federation, in particular:

• Art. 1102 Civil Code. According to it, the alimony worker illegally enriched himself due to money not paid in a timely manner;
• Art. 1110, 1112, 1175 Civil Code;
• Review of judicial practice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

As evidence that can be decisive, the following should be cited:

• a court order or decision to pay alimony;
• a voluntary agreement on the payment of alimony certified by a notary;
• documents received from the bailiff, namely, a resolution to open an individual entrepreneur (executive proceeding) and a certificate stating how much debt the debtor did not have time to pay before the death;
• other documents, namely, certificates, bank statements, cards, etc.

The fact that there is no debt must be proven by the defendants who are the debtor's heirs by law or by will. If they failed to do this, the court will impose obligations on them to pay the debt. The legal process is difficult for defendants. At the same time, the recipient of alimony is required to provide documents confirming the existence of the debt.

Possible solutions

Judicial practice indicates that cases related to the collection of debt after the death of the alimony payer have occurred are quite controversial and are very often appealed.

Most often, disputes during the proceedings arise due to incorrect interpretation of the provisions of the Family and Civil Codes of the Russian Federation.

A lot of nuances are of great importance, for example, whether the debtor left a will before dying.

Quite often it happens that the only person to whom the debtor’s inheritance will be transferred is the recipient of cash payments for child support. Thus, not only all property, but also debt obligations should go to him. In such a situation, the debt is completely canceled, because according to the law, the debtor and the collector cannot be the same person.

At the same time, if the deceased debtor has minor children in addition to those to whom he has alimony obligations, then they are direct heirs.

In any case, they will inherit part of the property of the deceased, and as a result, his debts.

No less confusing is the situation when the plaintiff acts as one of the heirs. In simple words, such cases are quite complex and ambiguous. Even experienced judges and lawyers get confused by them. This is the reason for the huge number of cases of appealing court decisions.

Death is grounds for termination of payment of child support, but legal successors are required to repay the debt incurred during the life of the alimony payer. Most often, it is covered by transferring part of the inheritance to the plaintiff. But as mentioned above, this is not always possible.

How to collect alimony debt after the death of the debtor

The death of a person is always a sad event. But it leaves a special mark on loved ones in cases where a person owed his child a large amount of money. In relation to alimony payments, this happens quite often; often citizens rarely realize that caring for their minor offspring is their responsibility.

At first glance, resolving the situation when alimony debt remains after the death of the debtor looks quite simple. Since a debt is an obligation that is inherited, it is logical that in this case the heir to the deceased’s property will have to compensate the unpaid amount to the child.

It is this rule that applies to all debts of the deceased. However, in this case, one important inconsistency can be noticed: the child who was not paid alimony is the heir of the first priority. Accordingly, in the event of the death of the alimony payer, the inherited property, together with the debts, will, to a certain extent, be transferred to him.

What is alimony

Alimony refers to periodic payments intended for the financial support of disabled people, minor children, and other persons who are unable to provide for themselves on their own for any objective reasons.

Alimony for a minor child can be assigned in several ways:

If a person evades paying alimony, bailiffs can apply certain types of liability to him. For example, this could be deprivation of a parent’s driver’s license, criminal punishment, or seizure of property for the purpose of its subsequent sale.

Termination of alimony payments is terminated in the following cases:

1. The child has become an adult.
2. The child to whom alimony was transferred was taken for permanent residence in a new full family.
3. The spouse created a new family, the newly arrived member of which adopted the minor.
4. If the alimony claimant or alimony payer has died.

Accordingly, after the death of the alimony payer, the claimant will not be able to continue to regularly receive money from him, since this is one of the grounds for terminating obligations. But the debt that was formed during a person’s lifetime does not disappear for such payments, and it must be paid.

Types of alimony

The amount of the debt directly depends on the length of time the parent avoided the obligation to provide financial support for his child, as well as on the type of amount assigned.

1. Interest. This type of alimony payments is assigned in cases where the defendant has a regular fixed salary. In this case, the payment represents a certain percentage of the citizen’s income.
2. Fixed.
   Fixed alimony is prescribed in cases where the payer does not have a regular income. According to the parties, any amount may be changed. Moreover, each parent has the right to prove the need to change the amount of child support payments by any means, but the judge still sides with the minor.

Where to go to collect arrears of alimony

Appeal to the bailiff

After the death of an alimony payer who did not fulfill his obligations to pay alimony, the first thing he must do is to collect it: contact the bailiff in charge of this case. These actions will allow you to avoid continued accrual of payments and an increase in the amount of debt.

Confirmation of the death of the alimony payer is his death certificate.

The next action is for the applicant to submit an application to the bailiff, which contains a requirement to calculate the amount of debt incurred on the day of death of the alimony payer.

The received certificate will be proof of the existence of the debt, as well as the basis for receiving it. Accordingly, any action can be taken only after receiving this document.

If the amount of the inheritance received does not cover the amount of the debt, then it will not be possible to additionally withhold the remaining debt. It is also necessary to remember that heirs cannot refuse to pay debts. As for future payments, no one will make monthly payments for the deceased parent.

Going to court

The next mandatory step is preparing a statement of claim and filing it with the court. The Claim must contain a demand for collection of alimony debt incurred during the life of this person.

The statement of claim must indicate the defendants against whom the claim is made. In this case, such parties to the proceedings will be the heirs of the deceased, since according to the norms of civil law they are jointly and severally liable. The amount of such liability is determined in proportion to the share received in the inherited property.

The basis for filing a claim is the unjust enrichment of the alimony payer at the expense of unpaid amounts of money under obligations. Evidence of this circumstance may include:

1. An executive document containing a requirement to collect child support from the child’s parent. If the parties managed to agree peacefully, the basis for receiving funds is a voluntary agreement certified by a notary.
2. Documents received from the bailiff: a decision to initiate proceedings, the regularity of payments, the amount and procedure for transferring funds, as well as the amount of debt incurred at the time of the person’s death.
3. Other documents confirming the fact of non-receipt of funds from the alimony payer (bank statements, payment orders, receipts).

According to the norms of Russian legislation, evidence of the absence of debt must be provided by defendants (citizens who become heirs of the debtor’s property). All that is required from the claimant is to submit documents confirming the existence of such alimony debt.

Trial

Since the solution to this problem occurs through the court, the outcome of the proceedings directly depends on how exactly the judge sees the solution to this problem.

Unfortunately, in most cases, such judicial officials believe that the payment of alimony is a personal matter of the alimony payer, therefore such requirements cannot apply to close people, which include the heirs of the deceased.

However, some judges agree that the arrears of such payments must be paid. However, since most often this is a large sum of money, its payment may come from the inheritance remaining after division.

If difficult situations arise, for example, when inherited property was seized due to arrears of alimony, the interested person can file an appeal to a higher court.

Nuances

There are several special situations that citizens may encounter during court proceedings regarding the existence of alimony debt.

1. According to the law, arrears in the payment of alimony are a type of debt that is associated with the personality of the deceased person, therefore it must be compensated by all heirs.
   In this case, the allocation of funds is made from the transferred property of the alimony payer, and not from the heirs’ own funds.
2. Heirs often try to resolve this issue on their own.
   In particular, such attempts are related to the fact that the inherited property may include real estate that is problematic to divide. In this case, it is indeed possible to resolve the dispute without going to court; for this, the heirs only need to make payments from their own funds, then they will be able to use their property without claims.

When filing a claim in court, citizens must clearly describe the situation and attach evidence of claims in order to obtain the desired result. But, as practice shows, it is often easier to peacefully resolve these disagreements without going to court for a decision.

Debt for alimony after the death of the claimant

Unfortunately, the claimant of alimony payments may also die before the minor turns 18 years of age. Contrary to existing opinion, in this case the payment of alimony does not stop, since the new guardians of the child can formalize the receipt of alimony and the collection of all debts.

If the judicial authority makes a positive decision, the bailiffs will form a new writ of execution, which will contain information about new claimants of alimony for a minor.

However, if the deceased is a child or another person to whom the funds were transferred, then the payment of funds stops without the possibility of their restoration. In this case, alimony arrears are also cancelled, and nothing is paid to the heirs.

In this case, it does not matter who exactly was listed as the recipient of the funds according to the documents.

Arbitrage practice

If we consider judicial practice, we can conclude that cases that were related to the collection of alimony payments after the death of the alimony payer are quite contradictory. It is for this reason that the decisions made quite often cause a subsequent appeal of the decision.

A difficult situation in this case is when the only heir of a deceased citizen is the child who is entitled to alimony. In this case, all of the debtor's inherited property passes to his heir, and all arrears of alimony payments are canceled. Such termination occurs for the reason that the claimant and the debtor are one and the same person.

As a rule, in judicial practice, disputes most often arise due to incorrect interpretations of the provisions of civil and family legislation on certain provisions for the payment of child support and the procedure for citizens to enter into inheritance legal relations.

Please note that Russian legislation is constantly changing and the information we write may become outdated. In order to resolve a question you have regarding Family Law, you can contact the site’s lawyers for a free consultation.

Debt for alimony after the death of the debtor

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In accordance with the Family Code of the Russian Federation (Article 120), obligations to pay alimony cease with the death of the payer. They do not pass to the heirs of the deceased, since essentially they fall into the category of inextricably linked with the personality of the deceased and cannot be attributed to the inheritance mass.

But what about the debt incurred at the time of the death of the alimony worker? Can it be forgotten or does the claimant still have a chance to receive at least part of the funds due to him from the inherited property?

Is it possible to collect?

The Civil Code and the practice of the courts of the Russian Federation provide answers to the questions asked:

1. According to Art. 1112 of the above-mentioned legislative act, the inheritance includes not only material benefits, but also the rights and obligations of the deceased, with the exception of those that were inextricably linked with his personality (and these include alimony obligations). Read more: Are alimony debts inherited?
2. Art. 1175 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that the successors of the deceased jointly and severally bear the costs of repaying the debts of the testator within the limits of the property transferred to them.
3. Judicial practice (including decisions of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation) shows that it is possible to collect alimony even after the debtor dies, but this only applies to the debt on it that exists at the time of death.

In other words, the claimant will not receive monthly payments as before, due to the fact that alimony obligations have ceased. However, he has the right to count on receiving the debt.

First of all, the claimant needs to find out who accepted the debtor’s inheritance. He will need to turn to these people with a proposal for a voluntary settlement of the situation.

If the successors do not want to cooperate, the claimant will have to go to court.

A statement of intention to withhold the required funds from them is submitted to the district court at their place of residence or at their own place, if the applicant has a minor child with him or he himself cannot travel far from home for health reasons.

Receiving debt voluntarily

If the debtor’s heirs are ready to satisfy the stated demands, the claimant should proceed as follows:

1. Provide the successors with a calculation of the debt - describe how many months no payment was made, provide a document that established the obligation and the amount of periodic payments (agreement on the payment of alimony or a similar court decision), and evidence that no money was actually made for the specified period (a certificate from bailiffs will do).
2. Find out the estimated value of the property transferred to them (when registering an inheritance, they are required to provide an appraisal report, which specifies the amount of interest).
3. Distribute the debt among successors based on the value of the inheritance passed to them.
4. Receive funds and, if required, draw up a receipt confirming this fact.

• A receipt for the repayment of a debt is drawn up in simple written form, without mandatory notarization, and serves as a guarantee that the recipient will not file a similar claim in court in the future.
• It is possible to obtain the return of alimony debt by force from one or more heirs.
• To do this, the claimant needs:

1. File a claim for withholding funds from legal successors.
2. Collect the necessary documents.
3. Submit papers to court.
4. Appear at the meeting or submit a motion expressing your desire to refrain from doing so.
5. Receive a satisfactory court decision.
6. Contact him with the bailiff service for forced collection of the debt.

If the court refuses the applicant’s request, the decision can be challenged in a higher authority, but only if there are arguments regarding its illegality.

The claim for collection of arrears of alimony is written by hand or typed on a PC. It must indicate:

1. Full name, place of residence of the plaintiff and defendants.
2. The circumstance on which the alimony obligation is based (kinship, marriage, loss or inability to work).
3. Date of death of the alimony provider.
4. Full name of heirs.
5. The estimated value of the property that has been transferred to them.
6. Calculation of the amount to be recovered from each of the defendants.
7. The essence of the claims.
8. List of attached documents.

The claim must be signed and copies made according to the number of defendants.

Documentation

To substantiate the above, the following documents (or copies thereof) should be attached to the claim:

1. Death certificate of the debtor.
2. Writ of execution for alimony.
3. Certificate from the bailiffs regarding non-payment.
4. Copies of the statement of claim.

If possible, it is advisable to provide certificates confirming the fact of acceptance of the inheritance and the estimated value of the property. This will make the trial easier and faster. But it is not always possible to obtain them, especially given the confrontation between debtors. Therefore, if necessary, the court can request the necessary evidence on its own.

The following may be filed with the court:

1. Recipient of alimony.
2. His legal representative (parent, guardian, guardian).
3. Guardianship and trusteeship authorities.

A voluntary representative of the plaintiff can also write and file a claim on the basis of a power of attorney issued to him.

Limitation of actions

Civil disputes considered in court are subject to a statute of limitations. It is three years from the moment the conflict arose or the day when the plaintiff learned (should have known) about its cause.

In practice, this means the following: an interested person can file for debt collection from the heirs of the alimony holder only during the specified period. If this happens later, the court has the right to refuse the plaintiff’s request, but only after filing an application for the application of this period, for example, from the defendant.

Without a corresponding application, the case will be processed in the standard manner, without taking into account the statute of limitations.

When it is impossible to collect alimony debt

The applicant in the case of withholding debt from the heirs of the alimony holder will be denied if:

1. The recipient of alimony also died (for example, in the case where the claim is filed by the legal representative of the deceased).
2. The basis for assigning alimony at the time of the death of the debtor disappeared (the child was adopted by another person, the ability to work of the person in need of maintenance was restored, etc.).
3. The fact of the plaintiff’s dishonesty (abuse of his right to collect debt) was established.

Deprivation of a debtor's parental rights does not exempt him from fulfilling his parental duty, and therefore this circumstance is not a basis for refusing to repay the debt.

Inheritance is a right, not an obligation, of potential successors. And if for some reason they did not want to use it or refused to receive the deceased’s material benefits, the latter’s obligations also do not pass to them. Accordingly, debt collection from them is not carried out.

In this case, the property of the testator becomes escheated, that is, goes to the state. This circumstance is important when determining the defendant in a debt collection case - it will be the administration of the locality or municipality where the debtor’s material assets were located.

The plaintiff applied to the court to receive alimony debt after the death of his father. The demands were sent to the brother (another son of the deceased), who accepted the inheritance due to him.

The defendant did not agree with the claim and motivated his refusal by the fact that the plaintiff also received part of the property from his father in his will, and even more than he was entitled to.

However, the judge satisfied the claims due to the fact that the bequeathed property cannot serve as a basis for writing off the debt.

To avoid this and achieve the amount due, we recommend that you seek advice from our lawyers. Their consultation is free, and you can get it in any way convenient for you - online or by phone.

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Debt for alimony after the death of the debtor: who pays and judicial practice

Is it possible to collect arrears of child support when the paying parent has died? It turns out that in modern legal practice this is possible.

In this material we will talk in detail about who should pay alimony debts after the death of the debtor.

Who will pay the debt?

After the death of the parent who pays alimony, not only the property left behind passes to his heirs, but also his obligations. Article 1112 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation tells us this.

The only exceptions are those duties that are directly related to the personality of the deceased.

The heirs themselves will not pay alimony after the death of the father, but the heirs will have to pay the debts accumulated during his life to support the children.

Who are the heirs? If the deceased managed to draw up a will, then the persons specified in it are considered heirs. Moreover, these persons are not necessarily relatives of the deceased.

The heir under a will can be a complete stranger, for example, a close friend of the deceased. If a will has not been drawn up, then inheritance is carried out according to law. The inheritors are husband and wife, children, mother and father, brothers and sisters.

The order of inheritance is determined by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

How are debts calculated?

The alimony debt is divided among the heirs in accordance with their shares of the inherited property. Article 1175 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that the successors of the deceased are jointly and severally liable for the payment of debts.

For example, the apartment remaining after the death of a person is divided according to a will between the wife and adult daughter in equal parts. During his lifetime, he incurred arrears in payments for the maintenance of his minor son from another marriage.

As a result, the wife and daughter of the deceased will have to pay off the alimony debt, the responsibility will be distributed between them in the same way as the shares - equally.

An adult son received as an inheritance a bank account in the amount of 10,000 rubles, and the remaining alimony debt for another child of his deceased father is 16,000 rubles. It will be possible to collect only 10,000 rubles from the heir, the son, to pay off the debt.

The heir should not invest personal money to pay off the alimony debt.

There is one more nuance. If the heir is a person for whose maintenance a debt was incurred by his deceased parent, then it is not advisable to collect the amounts, which is considered very logical.

How to achieve debt repayment?

First of all, having learned about the death of the parent paying child support, it is necessary to convey the sad news to the bailiff. The person's death certificate must be provided as proof.

In connection with the discovered circumstances, the bailiff calculates the amount of the debt and issues a certificate to the representative of the child to whose address alimony was paid. This certificate will subsequently need to be attached to the claim.

A statement of claim is filed in court according to the general rules set out in civil law (read more about how to file a statement of claim in court). Since there is a dispute in the case, documents should be filed directly in the district court.

Magistrates are not competent in this matter. All heirs of the deceased paying parent must be registered as defendants in the claim.

It is they who will be proportionately responsible for the accumulated debts, within the limits of the received shares of the inheritance mass.

In addition to a certificate from the bailiffs about the amount of debt, the following must be attached to the claim:

• documents on the identity of the child’s representative and the child himself (passports, birth certificates);
• death certificate of the child support parent;
• performance list.

During the proceedings in court, the heirs, who are also the defendants, will prove that the deceased testator has no debt, while the plaintiff only needs to submit to the judge’s attention a certificate from the bailiffs, thereby documenting the existence of the debt.

Arbitrage practice

Legal proceedings for the collection of alimony debt after the death of the payer are mostly contradictory and complex. In practice, cases of filing an appeal are not uncommon. In addition to claiming the debt, the plaintiffs mistakenly claim that the heirs will pay monthly alimony payments.

The defendants are trying in every way to prove that the alimony debt accumulated during the life of the testator is his property obligation, which is of a personal nature.

At the same time, reviews of judicial practice have long been clear on such issues - the heirs must undeniably be responsible for the alimony debts of their testator.

As a summary, here are the important current provisions enshrined in the law:

No.	Rules
1.	Heirs must pay arrears of alimony that accumulated during the life of their testator. The alimony obligations themselves are canceled with the death of the payer.
2.	The heirs pay alimony debts jointly, within the limits of the received shares of the inheritance mass.
3.	The alimony debt is collected after the death of the paying parent through legal action.

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Debt for alimony after the death of the debtor

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Alimony obligations are interconnected with the personalities of the payer and recipient of funds - parent and child. Substitution of parties in these legal relations is not allowed. If one party dies, cash payments stop. What does the law say about debt that was incurred during your lifetime?

This article is about whether it is possible to collect alimony arrears after the death of the payer and how to do it.

Alimony after the death of the payer

According to Article 120 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, obligations to pay alimony are terminated in the following cases:

• The child reaches the age of majority (except for exceptions);
• Adoption of a child, as a result of which parental rights and responsibilities are transferred to the new parent;
• Restoration of lost ability to work, cessation of neediness;
• Death of the recipient or payer of funds.

Thus, after the death of one of the parties - the payer or the recipient - payments stop. This is explained by the fact that alimony obligations are interconnected with the personalities of the parties.

As for the debt that accumulated during the life of the alimony payer, in accordance with Art. 1112 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the inheritance mass includes not only the property of the deceased, but also property rights and obligations, including debt obligations.

Consequently, if the debtor dies, the heirs acquire, among other things, alimony debt. Repayment of debt by heirs occurs in proportion to the shares acquired by inheritance.

Where to go to collect alimony debt?

The first thing to do in the event of the death of the alimony payer is to notify the bailiff who is handling the case. This will avoid subsequent accrual of payments and accumulation of debt. To confirm the death of the alimony payer, it is enough to present a death certificate.

Then you should submit an application to the bailiff to calculate the alimony debt that arose at the time of the payer’s death. This certificate will be proof of the existence of the debt and the basis for collecting the debt through the court. How to draw up and submit an application for debt calculation - read the article “How alimony debt is calculated.”

After this, you can prepare and submit a statement of claim to the court for the collection of alimony debt for alimony that arose during the life of the alimony payer.

All heirs of the deceased must be named as defendants, since according to Article 1175 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation they bear joint liability proportional to the share they receive in the inheritance.

Evidence that can play a decisive role in court proceedings is:

• A court decision or court order for the payment of alimony (or a notarized agreement for the payment of alimony);
• Bailiff's documents: resolution on the opening of enforcement proceedings, on the regularity, amount and procedure of cash transfers, on the amount of debt;
• Other documents: certificates, statements from bank accounts or bank cards, payment orders, receipts, checks, receipts.

Note ! The law places the responsibility of proving the absence of debt on the defendant - the party who became the debtor’s heir (by law or by will) and assumed debt obligations to the recipient of alimony. While the recipient of alimony only needs to submit to the court documents confirming the existence of the debt.

Arbitrage practice

Judicial practice shows that cases related to the collection of alimony debt after the death of the debtor are complex, contradictory and often cause appeals against court decisions.

As an example, we can cite a case from judicial practice.

The deceased citizen V. left three children, one of whom was born in his first marriage and received alimony, and the other two were born in his second marriage. Before his first child, V. incurred a debt on child support payments.

The property inherited by law was divided into four parts - between the second wife and three children.

But in addition to the inherited property, the heirs acquired debt obligations for alimony to one of the children of the deceased, which were divided between them in proportion to their shares in the inheritance and paid in favor of the recipient of the alimony.

It is also necessary to consider this possible case if the only heir after the death of the payer is the recipient of alimony. Then all inherited property becomes his property, and the debt is canceled, since, according to civil law, the debtor and the claimant are the same person.

Disputes during the trial arise, most often, due to incorrect interpretation of the provisions of family and civil law on the parties to alimony and inheritance relations.

So, death stops further payment of funds, since alimony obligations are directly related to the personalities of the parties. But the death of the payer does not relieve the debtor’s legal successors from paying the debt incurred during his lifetime. This debt is paid from the inherited property that has become the property of the debtor's heirs.