How to collect alimony debt, how to collect alimony debt through the court

Non-payment of alimony or serious delay in payments is a very common problem that people turn to lawyers for. From this article you will learn how to collect alimony debt through the court and how the debt collection process works.

Collection of alimony debt: features of the process

Finding out the reasons for stopping payments

Before collection of alimony debt is organized, the reason why it arose is analyzed:

• for family reasons, health status, incapacity for work of the debtor and other valid reasons
• as a result of deliberate evasion of alimony payments
• due to an error by the recipient who indicated incorrect payment details
• other problems that arose not through the payer’s fault

Statute of limitations

According to Articles 107 and 113 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the statute of limitations for collecting alimony debts is unlimited. In other words, even if the child has already turned 18 years old, and the alimony debt has not yet been paid at this time, you can go to court for such a debt.

Determining the amount of debt

Calculations are individual in each specific situation and depend on the options for calculating alimony payments. For example, if alimony was to be paid as a share of the payer's income, the amount owed will be recalculated based on wage data available to the tax service.

If information about the debtor’s income is unknown, the calculation can be made based on the average salary in the Russian Federation. When assigning payments in fixed monetary terms, the cost of living in the region in which the payer lives will be used in calculations.

Collection of alimony debt in court

The first way to collect arrears of alimony is to file an application for a court order with the magistrates' court. The application must indicate (according to Part 2, Article 124 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation):

• name of the court to which the application is filed;
• name of the claimant, his place of residence or location;
• name of the debtor, his place of residence, date and place of birth, place of work (if known);
• the claimant's claim and the circumstances on which it is based;
• documents confirming the validity of the claimant's claim;
• list of attached documents.

Make sure that the application contains all the necessary items, otherwise the judge will return it to you. Even if returned, you can resubmit your application after correcting the errors.

A court order is quickly issued and passed without trial, and is also an executive document. A serious disadvantage of a court order is that it can be easily canceled if the debtor raises objections to execution.

The second method is a statement of claim for collection of alimony debt.

Such an application is also submitted to the magistrate's court, considered like any other claims with the possibility of appeal, and after the court makes a decision, the writ of execution is transferred to the bailiff service.

In what cases can a debtor not pay arrears of alimony? If payments cannot be made for valid reasons: health status, loss of job or disability, family circumstances.

After the court decision is made, the writ of execution must be transferred to the bailiffs for direct collection of alimony arrears. Before this bailiff, information about the debtor’s income must be obtained, for which requests are made to the tax service, pension fund, and banks in which the defaulter has accounts.

How do bailiffs calculate the amount of debt?

In the event that the payer did not have a permanent place of work and confirmed income, bailiffs calculate the debt using the average salary in the Russian Federation, which is determined annually by Rosstat.

If the debtor’s income is not enough to pay off the debt, or there is no income at all, the bailiffs can seize the property in favor of alimony payments.

Ultimately, alimony debts are collected by bailiffs

What can the court do with a child support defaulter?

1. Deprive parental rights. The recipient of alimony may file a lawsuit to deprive the debtor of parental rights. Most often, this motivates people to start paying alimony arrears. In addition, even if the debtor is deprived of parental rights, this does not relieve him of the obligation to support the child.
2. Force them to pay a penalty. If the debtor continues not to pay the alimony debt, even after a court decision has been made, the court will set a penalty: 1/2 percent of the amount of the alimony debt for each day of delay.
3. Bring to criminal liability. This method is rarely used, since for the child himself, having a criminal record of one of the parents can have a negative impact in later life. However, in case of extremely malicious evasion of payment of alimony for minor children, the debtor may be subject to correctional labor for up to a year, or arrested for up to three months.

Collection of alimony debt: procedure and terms

Unfortunately, the most pressing problem in enforcement proceedings is the formation of debt on alimony obligations.

According to statistics, approximately 30 percent of the total number of alimony payers are in no hurry to part with their money for various reasons.

As a result, they accumulate debt (in some cases, the total amount of debt amounts to several hundred thousand rubles).

general characteristics

According to the provisions of Article 111 of the Federal Law on Enforcement Proceedings, the payment of alimony is considered a priority in comparison with other obligations. In addition, for failure to fulfill such an obligation, the alimony payer will have to pay a penalty, the amount of which is 0.5 percent of the total debt for each day of delay.

It is worth remembering that failure to pay alimony can result in not only financial problems for the payer (for example, seizure of property or bank cards), but also personal troubles. In particular, for failure to fulfill such an obligation, a citizen may:

1. Go to correctional labor.
2. Go to perform mandatory work.
3. Be arrested as part of administrative or criminal proceedings.

As practice shows, in recent years the effectiveness of applying enforcement measures against debtors has increased significantly.

This is due to a significant increase in the functions of bailiffs and the penalties they apply.

For example, now a defaulter can not only pay with his property, but also will not be able to travel abroad, and if he accumulates a debt of 10,000 rubles or more, he will not be able to drive vehicles.

According to part 2 of Art. 12 of Federal Law No. 118 of July 21, 1997 “On Bailiffs”, when performing official activities, bailiffs have the power to seize the debtor’s property, seize it and sell it in order to obtain money to cover the debt. This also applies to payment of alimony debts. Any valuables the value of which will cover debts can be seized.

How is child support debt formed?

According to the requirements of Article 211 of the Civil Procedure Code, a writ of execution containing a demand for alimony payment is subject to immediate execution.

This rush is due, first of all, to the fact that the person acting as the recipient needs money for his maintenance.

Most often, this party in the case is a minor child who, due to his age, is not able to provide for himself on his own.

According to the norms of Russian legislation, arrears in the payment of alimony arise after one day has passed from the moment a person received a resolution to initiate enforcement proceedings from the bailiff in charge of this case.

If the claimant for some reason did not turn to the bailiffs, the alimony payer must remember that the absence of a valid enforcement proceeding cannot be a basis for refusing to fulfill alimony obligations.

It is worth remembering that, despite the fact that the collector does not have the right to independently hold the defaulter accountable, he has the right to seek help from bailiffs at any time, without limiting himself to any deadlines. Consequently, if from the moment the writ of execution was issued or the parties drew up an alimony agreement, the payer did not fulfill his obligations, the amount of his debt accumulates. even despite the lack of production.

What to do if you have a child support debt

If the alimony payer already has arrears in the payment of alimony payments, then much may depend on the reason for the occurrence of such a debt.

1. If the debt arose through the fault of this citizen, then sooner or later he will have to pay the entire amount, otherwise various measures of liability may be applied to him. In this case, the alimony payer is clearly at fault, since there are no life circumstances that impede the fulfillment of obligations.
2. The second situation is if the debt arose in the absence of the payer’s fault. In this case, he has the right to apply to the magistrate’s court with a statement of claim, which contains a demand for a reduction in the amount of the debt or complete exemption from its payment.

If a citizen has good reasons for not fulfilling an obligation and has all the documents confirming this circumstance, he has every right to apply for partial or complete release from the debt. However, a positive decision in this case does not exempt him from fulfilling his obligations - the parent will have to pay child support until the child reaches adulthood.

If there are no valid reasons

If the alimony payer does not have valid reasons that he could refer to as the basis for the debt, he must immediately take measures to pay off the debt. In this case, the citizen must adhere to several rules:

1. In no case should you hide from the bailiffs or the debt collector; this rule must be followed regardless of life circumstances. According to the law, concealment of a debtor, as well as failure to provide information about the place of his permanent residence and work, is considered grounds for putting this citizen on the executive wanted list, which, in turn, can become a reason for identifying signs of “malicious evasion” and applying to the culprit measures of criminal liability.
2. It is important to make personal contact with the bailiff, which can be done simply by calling or visiting him on the appointment day. Compliance with this rule is required so that the bailiff has the opportunity to personally take an explanatory note due to what circumstances the debt arose.
3. Another important point is to ask the bailiff in charge of the case for a decree calculating the debt. This document clearly reflects the amount of debt that needs to be repaid.

If the debtor does not agree with the amount charged, he has the legal right to challenge the information about the debt specified in the resolution.

What should bailiffs do to collect a debt?

If the debt to pay alimony exceeds 10,000 rubles, the bailiff has the right to take actions aimed at bringing the defaulter to justice. In particular, he has the right:

1. Issue a resolution by which the guilty person will be prohibited from traveling outside the Russian Federation.
2. Issue a document on a temporary ban for the defaulter’s use of a special right (most often, deprivation of a driver’s license, if, of course, the debtor has this document).
3. Make inquiries to various structures and departments. The purpose of such requests is to establish the property and social status of the defaulter.
4. The last way to force the defaulter to repay the debt is to issue a resolution to foreclose on the funds and property of the alimony payer.

Accordingly, if the payer owns property or has a driver’s license, he may lose it after the start of enforcement proceedings. Consequently, it is in the interests of such a debtor to pay off debts in order to avoid arrest and other procedures aimed at infringing on his personal and property rights.

Administrative punishment

If the actions of the bailiff to pay the alimony debt are not enough, the debt can grow several times and amount to a significant amount. At this stage, the official may bring the culprit to justice under Article 5.35.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, in particular:

1. Warn the defaulter twice that administrative measures may be applied to him.
2. If the debtor does not respond to warnings, he may be forced to perform mandatory work.

If the alimony payer finds himself in such a situation, he must immediately contact the bailiff with a written request for the opportunity to partially repay the debt.

Is partial repayment of alimony debt allowed?

Partial repayment of alimony debt is possible only in several cases stipulated by law, including:

1. The debtor does not have property that the bailiff can seize or similar funds in bank accounts. The same rule applies to unemployed payers. In this case, the citizen has the right to partial repayment of the debt along with monthly payments, with the obligatory preservation of the transfer receipt. From time to time he will have to report to the bailiffs.
2. If the debtor gets an official job with low pay. In this case, the law provides for monthly withholding of funds as alimony in the amount of no more than 70 percent of wages actually accrued after taxes.

How to get your child support debt paid

How to achieve payment of alimony arrears if the alimony payer does not want to make concessions and pay money? First of all, it is worth remembering that the entire procedure for collecting funds from the debtor is the responsibility of the bailiff. That is, the recipient of the funds does not have the right to perform any actions that could induce the other party to make payments to repay the debt.

Therefore, after receiving the writ of execution, the claimant needs to contact the Federal Bailiff Service and initiate enforcement proceedings in order to collect the debt from the alimony payer. If there are no payments at all, then after some time you need to contact your bailiff and inform him about this situation to open a case.

Informing the bailiff about the existence of a debt can be done in several ways:

1. The easiest option is to visit the bailiff on the reception day to notify in writing or orally about the debt that has arisen to pay alimony. In this case, the collector will have the opportunity to personally receive an answer to the question of what measures will be taken against the defaulter.
2. If for some reason the bailiff has not taken any action to obtain funds for alimony from the payer, the claimant has the right to contact him again, demanding to familiarize himself with the materials of the enforcement proceedings.

When familiarizing yourself with the case materials, special attention should be paid to the work with documents that the bailiff carried out in order to defeat the defaulter and repay all alimony debts. If during such an inspection the claimant sees that exhaustive work has been carried out, then all that remains for him to do is wait for the results.

If the recipient sees that the bailiff will not fulfill their duties, for example, the case materials do not contain requests and resolutions containing measures applied to the debtor, the citizen has the right:

1. Draw up a petition to apply liability measures to the debtor.
2. Notify the bailiff of the possibility of filing a complaint about his inaction to higher management, the court or the prosecutor's office.

Is it possible to receive a penalty if the debt is repaid?

According to the provisions of Article 115 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, in the event of arrears in the payment of alimony, the claimant can not only wait for the measures taken by the bailiffs, but also independently take measures of responsibility in relation to the defaulter. In particular, the recipient may demand payment of a penalty for each day of delay in fulfilling alimony obligations, in the form of 0.5 percent of the total debt.

A penalty is a penalty for late payments, therefore the right to apply such a measure of liability remains even in the event of unexpected debt repayment. To receive this money, you need to follow the following procedure:

1. You need to submit an application to the Magistrates' Court. The claim is filed with the judicial authority located at the place of permanent residence of the defendant or plaintiff (the choice is made by the applicant).
2. There is no need to pay a state fee when considering such a case.
3. It is necessary to attach to the claim a decree from the bailiff confirming the existence of a debt to fulfill alimony obligations, as well as a calculation of the amount of the penalty (to be carried out by the plaintiff independently).

Ways to track debt repayment

The payer and the collector can check the fact of repayment of the debt using special websites or portals. You can do this in several ways:

1. Through the bailiffs website.
   To do this, just go to the website, select the “Data Bank of Enforcement Proceedings” tab, and enter the debtor’s data – his full name, date of birth. Using this service, the debtor can pay the debt online; all that is required is a bank card.
2. State Services Portal. To obtain information, you must indicate the number of the enforcement proceedings. The answer comes within 5 days to your personal account on the portal.
3. Social networks and . Parties to alimony proceedings can use the “Data Bank” application.

If there is no arrears in payment of alimony, then the alimony payer will not appear in any of the above databases.

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.

How to collect arrears of alimony in 2023 - sample application, through the court, download sample

Alimony obligations are mandatory. However, not all payers comply with them voluntarily. In practice, there are often situations when citizens deliberately avoid fulfilling obligations, as a result of which the recipient has to take certain actions aimed at receiving funds established by law, decision or agreement.

Why does it occur

Child support arrears arise as a result of the fact that the payer, for any reason, does not fulfill his obligations to the recipient.

These obligations arise as a result of the presence of circumstances specified by law - there must be family and kinship ties between the parties, and the recipient does not have the opportunity to provide for his living needs on his own.

Alimony is established in accordance with certain documents or circumstances. In addition to family ties, one of the following factors must be present:

• Oral agreement between the parties. However, this type of agreement is not recommended for both the payer and the recipient, since it will not allow proving many circumstances in the event of a conflict situation.
• Notarized agreement between the parties. It may contain extensive conditions regarding obligations, including the amount of payments, their further indexation, circumstances under which the amount can be changed, and so on. If necessary, the document can be used as an executive document.
• Judicial act. The recipient has the right to sue if the payer does not fulfill his obligations voluntarily.

Debt may arise as a result of the following circumstances:

• Deliberate evasion of obligations.
• Change in financial situation, which resulted in the impossibility of payments.
• An error by the bailiff or the accounting department of the payer's employer.
• Refusal of the recipient to accept funds.

If obligations are fulfilled voluntarily, then no problems arise, but if there are no payments or their insufficiency, the recipient has to contact certain authorities and take certain actions aimed at protecting his own rights.

What measures are applied

If there are no payments, the recipient can take the following actions:

• Contact the payer orally indicating the need to fulfill his obligations.
• Submit a written complaint.
• Submit an application to the court (a claim or a court order, depending on the circumstances) and subsequently receive a writ of execution.
• Submit the writ of execution for execution to the bailiff service or to the accounting department of the debtor's employer.

As a result of lack of payments, the following penalties may be applied to the guilty person:

• Civil law.
• Administrative.
• Criminal.

Civil liability measures include the accrual of legal penalties, as well as possible losses arising due to a person’s failure to fulfill his obligations.

Administrative liability consists of applying penalties, arrest, deprivation of a driver's license, a ban on traveling outside the Russian Federation, and so on.

Criminal measures are used extremely rarely, in extreme cases, and consist of compulsory labor, correctional labor, arrest and imprisonment for up to a year.

What is the allotted period?

The limitation period for alimony relations is determined in Articles 107 and 113 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. The law determines that it is possible to collect a debt that was caused by the payer’s fault, despite the existing statute of limitations of three years in civil relations, even if the child is already eighteen years old.

A statute of limitations of three years applies if the recipient has not filed a lawsuit to collect alimony at all.

That is, it is clearly his fault. Then payments can be recovered over a three-year period.

Size

The amount of payments and, accordingly, the amount of debt will be determined depending on which accrual method was determined in the court decision or in the agreement.

So, if alimony is set at a fixed amount, then the amount will be tied to the subsistence minimum for the child in the region where he lives (or the subsistence minimum for an adult, if the recipient is not a child).

In some cases, alimony is collected as a share of the payer’s earnings. Then the official data of his income is used. If there was no income for a certain period, his average earnings are taken as a basis. If he did not work at all, alimony is collected based on the average earnings in the country.

How to collect alimony arrears

You can collect arrears of alimony by filing a corresponding application with the court. If alimony is collected for a period that has already passed, then it is necessary to file a lawsuit; such an issue cannot be resolved by order, since there is a dispute about the right.

Next, it is necessary to justify in court why exactly the required amount of debt is subject to collection. To do this, you must use written evidence and attach a calculation.

After the court decision is made, it is necessary to obtain a writ of execution and apply with it to the bailiff service at the debtor’s place of residence. All that remains is to assist the bailiff in providing all the necessary information.

Recipient actions

Before collecting arrears of alimony, you need to determine the steps that can be taken:

• Appeal to the debtor with a demand for payment. It is recommended to apply in writing. The absence of a response will serve as additional evidence for the court of deliberate evasion of the fulfillment of its obligations by the payer.
• Applying to court with a statement of claim.
• Receipt of a writ of execution and a court decision that has entered into force.
• Submitting the sheet to the bailiff service.
• Assistance to the bailiff service in enforcement proceedings.

Each step must be accompanied by writing the necessary applications, as well as collecting the required documentation.

Payer

The alimony payer does not always fail to fulfill his obligations intentionally. The most common option is that his financial situation does not allow him to make payments, but this does not mean that he will be released from the corresponding obligation.

However, he also has the ability to protect his rights and interests. First of all, he is recommended to prepare a response to the statement of claim, which will indicate the actual impossibility of payments. Arguments must be supported by documents.

If the recipient has received a claim, it is recommended to respond to it, also in writing, by post, by registered mail with a description of the attachment and notification.

The payer can also take part in enforcement proceedings. But under no circumstances is it recommended to evade the requirements of the FSSP, avoid contact or provide false documents, as all this can only aggravate the situation.

Filing a claim

The statement of claim is filed in the magistrate’s court at the defendant’s place of residence.

It is possible to file it at the place of residence of the plaintiff, but it will be necessary to justify why filing at the place of residence of the defendant is difficult.

The claim will need to justify the amount of the required debt, as well as indicate whose fault the funds were not collected. If the debtor did not evade payment, then recovery will only be possible for a period not exceeding three years.

Download a sample statement of claim for the collection of alimony

Package of documents

Before collecting alimony debt in court, you need to collect a package of documentation:

• Calculation justifying the amount of requirements.
• Evidence of contacting the defendant with a demand (if any).
• Document confirming the identity of the applicant.
• Certificate of birth of a child, marriage or divorce.
• Documents confirming the income of the parties.
• Papers about the health status of the parties.

The list is not exhaustive; you can attach other documents confirming your position.

Penalty

The penalty may be specified in the terms of the agreement. Then it will be collected in the amount indicated in the document.

If alimony is collected on the basis of a judicial act, then a legal penalty is used. At the moment, in accordance with Article 115 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, it is half a percent for each day of delay.

Providing property in lieu of payments

In accordance with the agreement of the parties, the payer may transfer some property in exchange for alimony payments.

However, it must be a truly valuable property, such as real estate suitable for habitation. The law does not prohibit the conclusion of agreements on such terms.

Can the amount be written off?

The biggest problem is the possibility of writing off the amount of debt. But this process is complex and unlikely.

A person may be exempt from paying alimony if the recipient declares that there is no need for payments.

But if alimony is calculated in favor of a minor child, then this can only happen in court.

The following factors may serve as grounds for debt write-off:

• Child support was not paid for valid reasons, such as significant illness.
• The difficult financial situation did not allow repaying the debt.

In this case, the circumstances are taken into account by the court together, and not separately.

How to write a complaint against a bailiff

Sometimes the lack of recovery is due to the fault of the bailiff. Then there are two options for influencing him - going to court or filing a complaint addressed to the head of the service. Both options are acceptable and legal.

The complaint must indicate all factors relevant to the case, as well as refer to the necessary legal acts and attach the required evidence.

Collection of alimony debt is carried out in the manner established by law. The recipient performs a number of actions aimed at forcing the payer to fulfill obligations. If he continues to evade payment, then a number of measures established by law will be applied to him.

Download a sample complaint about the inaction of an FSSP employee

Attention!

• Due to frequent changes in legislation, information sometimes becomes outdated faster than we can update it on the website.
• All cases are very individual and depend on many factors. Basic information does not guarantee a solution to your specific problems.

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Collection of alimony debt through the court in 2023

So, you are interested in a pressing question - how to collect arrears of alimony through the court? Of course, this is a difficult and troublesome matter, like all other “proceedings” with malicious defaulters. But difficulties exist only for those who do not know all the intricacies of such a process. Believe me, there are plenty of them. Therefore, first we will understand the types of alimony debt.

What's the difference? The difference is in the circumstances of debt formation. For example, there is a debt that arose within the framework of enforcement proceedings after the actual assignment of alimony.

This happens if the magistrate’s court issued a writ of execution (assigning alimony in accordance with the decision), and you brought it to the bailiff service, however, for a long time the service is not able to “extract” money from the negligent parent for one reason or another, and The debt keeps piling up. This is the system in our country. There is also a debt that was recognized by the court in the relevant decision (which has already entered into legal force), on the basis of a statement of claim filed by the plaintiff for the collection of alimony debt. The problem is a problem, but the child needs money immediately!

Or, the debtor creates for himself the “official status” of being unemployed, actually receiving a fairly good salary in an envelope. The result is the same debt.

And if you do nothing, you won’t get any money at all.

Exit 1: You can continue “litigation” with the bailiff service.

That is, if you still have not received money, or you received it before, but have now stopped, you need to ask the bailiffs to calculate the debt, then make inquiries to the competent authorities about whether the debtor has any additional means of income (subsidies, fees ), or property (real estate, car) to impose a penalty, and much more. BUT! – at the same time, you are always obliged to control the process YOURSELF, fight red tape, and sit in lines for hours in order to submit an application every time. The result is that you will lose enough time, but the result is not guaranteed.

Collection of alimony debt through the court

Exit 2: You can collect arrears of alimony through the court. In this case, the probability of receiving money into your account is much higher. However, this path, although more effective, does not promise to be easy and fast.

Firstly, the trial (this is the process from the moment the judge begins to study the case materials until the decision is made) lasts at least a couple of months.

But before that, you will need to competently draw up a statement of claim to the magistrate’s court (with reference to the current legislation), attaching to it a calculation of the alimony debt (according to the established formula), which is confirmed by documents (for example, decisions of the bailiff). What else needs to be collected besides this?

Documents for debt collection

To collect arrears of alimony through the court, the following documents are required (except for those listed above):

• birth certificate of the child/children (original and copies);
• certificate of marriage/divorce, if you were previously in a registered marriage with the debtor. Or, a certificate of paternity (originals and copies);
• the basis for the collection of alimony (a court decision that has entered into legal force, a copy of the writ of execution). If alimony was collected in the same court district, you can obtain copies of these documents in the archive during office hours;
• documentary evidence that you have repeatedly applied for debt collection, which still did not produce results (your actions with the bailiffs step by step);
• an extract from the house register confirming the place of residence (registration) of you, your child, the debtor (in order to comply with the rule of jurisdiction);
• calculation of your monthly expenses for the child, etc.

How to calculate debt?

The most important thing is that in order to be able to collect arrears of alimony through the court, you need to make the calculations without errors. Article 115 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation will help with this, which provides for the imposition of a penalty in the amount of 0.5% of the debt amount for each day of delay. Moreover, the interest is calculated from the amount of debt that has already been accumulated.

If the calculation is incorrectly drawn up, or if sufficient EVIDENCE of the non-receipt of funds by the collector and the actual evasion of the debtor from alimony obligations is not presented, the judge may leave the claim without progress, after which he will return it back to the applicant.

Moreover, this calculation will have legal force after it is endorsed by the bailiff. 

THE CALCULATION FORMULA will depend on the method in which alimony was previously collected.

There are two calculation methods:

• collection of alimony in a fixed sum of money (if the debtor has irregular, changing earnings), calculated based on the cost of living for the child;
• collection of alimony in proportion to earnings/total income (for one child - ¼ part, for two children - 1/3 part, for three or more - half).

NOTE: If the child has reached the age of 18, then the child support debt does not disappear; the negligent parent is still obliged to pay. You just have to calculate differently now. And an adult son/daughter can now demand a penalty by independently going to court, without the participation of the mother.

Therefore, if you want to collect arrears of alimony through the court, avoiding unnecessary red tape and wasting time, and most importantly, quickly receive the necessary funds to support the child, it is better to immediately contact a lawyer. We help not only with participation in the turnkey legal process, right up to the rendering of a decision, but also with interaction with the bailiff service. Thanks to the comprehensive legal services program “Alimony? “Elementary!” We will help you collect alimony in any situation with the maximum result! Call + 7 (495) 722-99-33

How to collect alimony arrears

Instructions

The obligation of a parent to support his child is enshrined in the Family Code of the Russian Federation. And the parent can fulfill this duty voluntarily or with the help of the state, or rather bailiffs.

After a divorce, the child’s mother has the opportunity to provide him with everything he needs, and does not want to force the baby’s father to fulfill his parental duty, then this is her choice and right.

If a woman is left alone and needs financial support to support a child, then it is her direct duty to bother her ex-husband. To collect alimony for the maintenance of a minor child, you must apply to the court to obtain a court order, which sets out the amount and procedure for paying alimony.

After receiving the court order, the documents are transferred to the bailiff service at the place of residence of the unscrupulous father.

The bailiff opens an enforcement case and begins working with the debtor.

The bailiff makes requests to a number of government bodies in order to establish the debtor’s place of residence, his place of work, and to identify the presence of property that is owned by the defaulter.

Having collected all the necessary information, the bailiff sends a writ of execution to collect alimony at the debtor’s place of work. The debtor is summoned by summons to give explanations regarding non-payment of alimony. If the debtor avoids appearing before the bailiff, the bailiff may issue a ruling and ensure the debtor's appearance on the basis of the summons. The debtor is offered to repay the alimony debt voluntarily and within a reasonable time.

If, after an explanatory conversation, the debtor’s conscience does not awaken, then further actions of the bailiff can cause a lot of unpleasant moments for the alimony defaulter.

If the debtor tries in every possible way to evade the execution of a court document for the payment of alimony, then he can be prosecuted and punished with compulsory labor for a period of one hundred twenty to one hundred and eighty hours, correctional labor for a period of up to one year, or arrest for a period of up to three months.

Every mother must understand that she does not have the right to refuse alimony for the sake of her desires or inner convictions, since alimony is paid in favor of the mother, but for the maintenance of the child. The child has the right to lead a decent life and have everything he needs.

Collection of alimony debt: how to receive payments, court decision, procedure

After a divorce, minor children remain to live with one of the parents, usually their mother. The responsibilities of the second parent include the financial support of the children until they reach adulthood.

However, not everyone is happy to pay alimony. There is a category of persons who evade their direct responsibilities in various ways.

In this case, it is possible to collect the debt in court.

How does the collection of alimony debts differ from the collection of alimony for past periods?

There are two different concepts: alimony debts and alimony for the past period. In the first case, we are talking about alimony that was not paid by the payer for the maintenance of the child in the presence of a document establishing such an obligation. Such a document can be:

• court decision;
• performance list;
• a written agreement on voluntary payment of alimony concluded between former spouses.

If one of these documents has entered into force, and the payer does not comply with the requirements specified in it, alimony arrears arise. Moreover, the longer the defaulter avoids the obligation, the greater the amount of debt becomes - a penalty is also added to it.

The debt must be repaid by the alimony provider. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is, or whose fault it was formed. Collection occurs through the court in accordance with the established procedure.

Collecting alimony accrued over the past period of time is not an easy matter (for more details, see the article: procedure for collecting alimony). In this case, there is no document confirming the citizen’s obligation to pay alimony.

Example. The parents separated, the child remained with his mother.

After 4 years, the mother decided to receive alimony from the child’s father for all the past years by writing a statement of claim to the court (more details in the article: statute of limitations for child support and debt collection).

If the judge sides with the mother, the man will have to pay alimony, but only for the last 3 years, since there is a statute of limitations. It is 3 years.

INTERESTING: what percentage is child support for 4 children?

In order for the court to side with the plaintiff, it will be necessary to provide substantial evidence that the child’s mother has been actively demanding that the father pay child support all these years. If the claim is satisfied, the defendant will be required to pay the amount for the past period and subsequently transfer funds to support the child.

How is alimony arrears calculated?

The amount of debt is calculated taking into account the following parameters:

• the amount of wages and other income of a citizen for the period during which he did not make alimony payments;
• the amount of income of an individual entrepreneur based on tax returns for the past period;
• the amount of income of an individual entrepreneur applying a simplified taxation system in accordance with his primary financial documents;
• the average monthly salary in the region, if the debtor cannot provide documents confirming his income, or he did not work anywhere during the specified period.

INTERESTING: how is child support calculated if the father does not work?

In the latter case, the level of the average monthly salary is taken on the day when the court makes a decision on calculating the amount of debt (we recommend reading: decision on calculating alimony arrears: what is the period for issuing?). In this case, recalculation must constantly occur. If it was not possible to collect the entire debt over a certain period of time, the remaining amount is calculated based on the level of the average monthly salary at the time of recalculation.

After identifying and adding up all the income of the defaulter for the period of non-payment of alimony, the authorized person determines the amount of debt, taking into account the requirements of the law. The Family Code of the Russian Federation establishes that for 1 child a citizen deducts 25%, for 2 children - a third, for 3 or more - 50% of his income.

If, before the debt appeared, it was documented that the debtor pays alimony in a fixed amount, for example, 5 thousand rubles, then its size will be based on the specified amount. In this case, the coefficient of change in the cost of living is also taken into account if this fact occurred during the period of non-payment of alimony.

Procedure for applying to court and bailiff service

If your spouse refuses to pay alimony, you need to talk to him. Sometimes it is possible to obtain alimony through peaceful negotiations. However, if persuasion, requests and demands do not work on the alimony provider, it is necessary to involve a judicial authority.

The recipient of alimony must draw up a statement of claim and support it with supporting documents.

The latter may include testimony that the plaintiff tried to achieve a peaceful settlement of the issue, but the defendant did not cooperate and did not repay the debt.

You must provide the court with:

• identification;
• child's birth certificate;
• certificate of divorce;
• certificate of family composition.

As practice shows, the court can reduce the amount of debt calculated according to established rules if the defendant provides evidence of the impossibility of repaying the debt. The plaintiff's good behavior and presence at all hearings can significantly improve the judge's attitude towards him.

As a rule, court hearings end with a decision on regular payment of alimony to pay off the debt. As a result, the payer must send a set amount of money to support the child every month.

If the plaintiff has doubts that the payer will regularly transfer funds, the court may issue a writ of execution.

Based on this document, money will be transferred automatically from your salary.

If the ex-husband continues to evade payments that were established by the court, the woman needs to contact the bailiff service for forced collection (we recommend reading: what can be done if the husband does not pay alimony?). The bailiffs will need a writ of execution, which is the basis for collecting funds, and a statement from the recipient of alimony.

For a successful outcome of the case, the bailiffs will need the following information:

• about the debtor's place of work;
• about his income, except for official ones;
• about existing property.

FSSP employees need such information to establish measures of influence on the child’s father. If necessary, they will be able to seize the car, block accounts and take other measures.

Usually, defaulters are corrected after communicating with bailiffs, but not everyone voluntarily cooperates with them.

In this regard, the bailiffs can pay off the alimony debt of the defaulter at the expense of his property.

INTERESTING: how is child support debt paid?

Consequences of non-payment of alimony debt

Serious penalties may be applied to a persistent non-payer of child support, including deprivation of parental rights. For each day of late payment, a penalty may be charged, which must be paid by the debtor voluntarily or compulsorily. Also, citizens with alimony debts are subject to criminal liability.

Criminal liability

Cases of non-payment of alimony are considered under Article 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. They can be held criminally liable if there are substantial grounds and only in court. In this case, we are talking about malicious evasion of paying child support. Within the framework of the law, this concept should be understood as follows:

• change of place of residence and lack of notification of this;
• unwillingness to work and have income to pay child support;
• no deductions for child support for more than 9 months;
• formation of significant debt;
• lack of action to repay the debt after receiving an official notice from the bailiffs.

If a citizen is brought to criminal liability by a court in a child support case, he faces:

• arrest;
• deprivation of liberty;
• compulsory or corrective labor.

Collection of penalties

One of the consequences of non-payment of alimony is the collection of penalties for the amount of debt for each day of delay. Accordingly, in addition to the debt itself, you will also have to pay a penalty. Its size is 0.5% of the debt amount for each day until the debt is fully repaid.

INTERESTING: Is it possible to seize a car for non-payment of child support?

You can collect a fine at any time, since in this case the statute of limitations does not apply. It is necessary to apply to the court with a corresponding application.

Deprivation of parental rights

Situations often arise when it is impossible to collect the debt from the child’s father. This may happen if the debtor:

• has no income;
• hides unofficial income;
• has a large debt that has not been repaid for a long time;
• We have been convicted several times for non-payment of alimony, but have never corrected ourselves.

If the debtor has nothing that could be used to pay off the debt, the court can apply an extremely harsh measure - depriving such a father of parental rights. This measure is not an incentive to pay off the debt, but it does indicate an extremely serious violation of the law.

Is it possible to collect arrears of child support if the child is over 18 years old?

Article 80 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation states that a parent is exempt from paying child support after the child reaches the age of majority.

Accordingly, there is no need to pay alimony for a child over 18 years of age (for more details, see the article: collection of arrears of alimony after a child reaches 18 years of age: judicial practice).

However, this article does not exempt a citizen from repaying alimony debt that arose due to non-payment within a certain period of time before the child came of age. In this case, the debt can only be collected for the last 3 years due to the established statute of limitations.

In this case, the recipient of alimony payments must prove in court the child’s incapacity for work.

The procedure for collecting debt in this situation is no different from the process of collecting debt for a minor; it takes place in court with an appeal to the FSSP.

What if the defaulter does not work?

If the debtor does not have a permanent place of work or a stable source of income, this does not relieve him of the legal obligation to pay money for child support. In such a situation, authorized persons do not collect income information to calculate alimony payments.

The judge orders a payment in a fixed amount based on the financial situation of the payer, the availability of property and other circumstances. As in other cases, to begin a case for collecting arrears of alimony, the recipient must apply to the court with a statement of claim.