Statement of claim to establish paternity and collect alimony (sample) - how to prove paternity and apply for alimony

If a child is born in a legal marriage, then by law he has both parents, the same as at birth 300 days after their divorce. But if the baby is born out of wedlock, then it happens that not every father is ready to admit his relationship.

To protect the woman in this case, the legislation offers two solutions to the problem: maintaining the woman’s status as a single mother and receiving financial assistance from the state, or proving paternity in court and receiving alimony from the man.

It is worth considering the last option thoroughly, because both parents are responsible for the child.

How to establish who the father is in court?

If a man does not voluntarily intend to acknowledge paternity, then he can file a lawsuit. This can be done by a single mother, who must complete the necessary actions according to the following list:

1. Collection of necessary documents.
2. Preparing a claim.
3. Payment of state duty.
4. Filing a claim.
5. Attendance at meetings.
6. Obtaining a court decision and assigning alimony.

In addition to a single mother, an application to the court for confirmation of paternity and payment of child support by the father can also be submitted by the following categories of citizens:

• Guardian of children under 14 years of age.
• Caretaker of a teenager from 14 to 18 years old.
• A person who is not a guardian or trustee, but whose child is dependent on him.
• The child himself, who has already turned 18 years old.

Payments for a child born out of wedlock

As Article 40 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation states, both parents are responsible for the upbringing and maintenance of the child. In this case, those people who are recorded in the baby’s metrics are recognized as parents.

Can a single mother apply for child support and how can she get it? To make a claim for child support to one of the parents (most often, the mother in relation to the father of the child), the following grounds are required:

1. Availability of a birth certificate indicating the mother and father of the child.
2. Availability of an adoption document containing the names of the adoptive parents.
3. An existing court decision where the paternity of a person was established. On this basis, changes are being introduced in the documentation of civil status acts and in metrics.

If there are no grounds for collecting alimony, then they cannot be assigned. If a man refuses to be related to the child and to enter his name in the birth certificate, then this circumstance can only be challenged in court.

Preparing for trial

Preparation for trial begins with writing a statement . In order for a woman to be believed and accepted on her side, it is necessary to thoroughly state her claims so that everything is clear, detailed and at the same time concise. The writing style must be official and businesslike, and the application itself must be drawn up in accordance with Article 131-132 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

Lawsuit

Here are the points that must be present in the statement of claim:

1. Name and address of the judicial authority.
2. Personal information and address of both the plaintiff and the defendant.
3. The title will read as follows: “Statement of claim to establish paternity and collect alimony.”
4. Next comes the description: the circumstances of the case that are considered controversial are stated. It tells about the relationship between the father and mother of the child at the time of conception. The reasons for the father's refusal to accept his child are discussed.
5. Available proof of paternity.
6. You need to refer to the family and civil procedure codes, in particular to Article 49 of the RF IC.
7. If the plaintiff demands a strictly established amount of money and is ready to voice it, then it is described what circumstances he can refer to. For example, a reference to Art. 81 of the RF IC, which regulates the amount of payments.
8. List of requirements for the child's father.
9. Indication of the application number.
10. Applicant's signature.
11. List of applications.

A request to undergo a laboratory genetic examination is attached to the application or is a separate document. Sometimes it is submitted later, after the first meeting. This is done for the reasons that the defendant voluntarily recognizes himself as the father of the child. Or there will be enough existing evidence of paternity.

Where to submit?

For filing a claim, a state fee must be paid first . Since this document does not relate to property claims, according to paragraph 3, paragraph 1, art. 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, it will be 300 rubles. The claim is sent to the district court, since in accordance with paragraph 4 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated May 16, 2017 No. 16, civil cases are resolved there.

Filing a claim can be sent to the district court at the place of residence; this provision is also enshrined in law in Part 3 of Art. 29 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. The statement of claim is sent personally by mail or through your authorized representative. After this, confirmation of filing is made, which will arrive by mail, or a clerical mark will be placed on the claim itself indicating its acceptance.

Required documents

In order not to worry about the outcome of the case, you must initially thoroughly prepare for it. The following documents must be attached to the claim :

1. There should be as many copies of the claim as there are people taking part in the trial.
2. Copies of the plaintiff's passport on both sides.
3. Copies of the child's metrics.
4. All available documentary evidence and physical evidence of paternity. This could be correspondence, SMS, photos, receipts, certificates and contracts.
5. A certificate from the place of residence or an extract from the house register of the mother and child and the alleged father.
6. Certificates or other information about the income of both the mother and father.
7. Other documents.

Deadlines

Article 154 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation states that a case in a district court can be heard within 2 months . If a DNA test is required during the examination of the case, it will be suspended until the results are received. According to the law, the examination can last from 1 week to 2 months. In view of such circumstances, consideration of the plaintiff’s issue may be extended. And it will take another month for the court decision to enter into legal force.

If alimony is assigned, then a sheet about this will be attached to the decision, with which it will be possible to send it to the SSP authority for forced collection of the required amount from the child’s father, without waiting for the moment when the court decision acquires legal force.

Expenses

Since a dispute over paternity does not relate to property claims, the state duty is only 300 rubles. If the claim contains a requirement for subsequent payment of alimony, then you will have to deposit another 150 rubles into the cash register. Regarding additional costs, you need to be prepared for the following :

• Payment for a DNA examination - everything will depend on the region, the urgency of the examination and the rating of the medical institution where the analysis is done; it will cost between 10-40 thousand rubles.
• If a lawyer helps in the case, you will need to pay for his services in drawing up the claim and collecting documents. These expenses can be avoided if the plaintiff does everything himself.

If the court satisfies the mother's claim, payment of the state fee and other expenses is transferred to the child's father. In this case, it is important to keep all receipts and receipts for payment.

Judgment on the claim

As judicial practice has shown, most such cases end in favor of the mother. Most often, it is necessary to conduct a DNA examination, since it is this that can prove for certain the paternity of a man. The court may refuse to satisfy a claim only in the following situations :

1. If the plaintiff refused the claim the first time, then her case will not be considered the second time.
2. If, at the request of the court to provide the child’s biomaterial for DNA analysis, there was a refusal.
3. The plaintiff missed court hearings more than once without a valid reason.

If a man refuses to attend the trial and undergo genetic testing, the court will rule in favor of the mother. In rare cases, a paternity claim is not satisfied due to the failure to establish a relationship between the man and the child according to a DNA test.

Download a sample court decision on establishing paternity and collecting alimony

Useful video

Below is an informative video about the procedure for establishing paternity:

How to file a lawsuit to establish paternity and collect child support? Link to main publication

How to prove paternity and apply for child support

1,095 views

The birth of a child is a joyful event for most families. But in a number of cases, a child born out of wedlock becomes a burden to his father, who refuses to both help the child and participate in his upbringing and maintenance.

In this case, the mother is waiting to establish paternity and file for child support in relation to the negligent father who abandoned his child.

In what cases it is possible to establish paternity and apply for alimony through the court and without, as well as how to do this, we will consider in this publication.

How is paternity generally established?

The procedure for registering the origin of a child is comprehensively prescribed in the provisions of Art. 48 of the RF IC, according to which all children who were born to persons who were legally married, as well as those born within no more than 300 days from the date of termination of the marriage for any reason, are subject to registration in the name of their mother’s husband.

Note: The 300-day period applies to both divorce initiated by the spouses and the termination of a marriage due to the untimely death of a spouse. It does not matter whether the children's parents lived together or not.

If paternity registration was made incorrectly, then this fact can only be challenged in court.

The following may request a change in the paternity record for the baby:

1. The child’s mother – by filing a claim against the child’s legal father to challenge paternity;
2. The father of the child named in the documents - by submitting a request to challenge paternity to the child’s mother;
3. In fact, the (biological) father of the child - by filing a claim to contest paternity against the child's legal father or, if he is deceased, against the child's mother.

But what to do if the father did not express his desire to include himself in the birth certificate, and the child was born without marriage? You can try to resolve this issue administratively by reaching an agreement with the father, but most often the mother is forced to go to court.

What to do if the child’s parents did not have a registered relationship, but the father wants to recognize the born child as his own or, conversely, the biological father refuses to register the child in his name?

The best option is to agree on recognition of paternity if there is 100% confidence in the biological relationship of the man and the child. You can explain to your relationship partner that in any case, the court will establish paternity and it is easier for him to recognize it on his own, and then pay alimony voluntarily. If it is not possible to reach an agreement, the only option left is the court.

Administrative procedure for recognizing paternity

If a child is born without marriage, the prospective father of the child can apply to the registry office with a corresponding application. Based on the application, the institution will decide whether to include it in the baby’s birth record.

Such an application is submitted together with the child’s mother, and if the latter died or went missing, at the request of the father alone.

The refusal of a civil registry office to recognize paternity at the request of a man can be challenged in court by proving paternity in court and presenting the corresponding court decision for execution. Thus, to make a record of a father outside of marriage, the joint desire of the child’s parents is sufficient.

Judicial order

If the alleged father of the child categorically refuses to formalize the relationship with the baby, the child’s mother has no choice but to demand that paternity be established through the court.

The judicial procedure most often entails the appointment of a DNA examination, which forms the basis of all evidence. Additionally, in court, you can hear witnesses who know for sure that the man recognized his child. And also submit joint photographs and videos.

As for the rest, judicial establishment of paternity is a very nervous and rather complicated procedure, which is best entrusted to a qualified lawyer. Ask our specialists a question right now and find out if your case requires competent legal assistance.

Establishing paternity through the court: procedure and procedures

To go to court to establish paternity and subsequently collect alimony from the child’s mother, you must:

1. Conduct negotiations with the child’s father to establish a relationship voluntarily and make sure that there is no consent to this.
2. Prepare a statement of claim and documents for the court.
3. Submit a statement of claim in person or send it by mail, registered mail with confirmation of delivery to the court.
4. Obtain a court ruling on the preparation of the case and comply with all requirements and requests of the court.
5. Appear in court on the appointed date.
6. If the defendant refuses to acknowledge the claim, apply for a genetic examination.
7. Pay for the examination or ask the court to pay for it from the budget with subsequent recovery from the defendant upon consideration of the case.
8. Provide the child for collection of biological material.
9. Wait for the expert's opinion, and then the court's decision after the hearings resume.
10. Obtain a court decision, a writ of execution for alimony.
11. Submit the decision to the registry office to make a record of paternity, and the writ of execution to the bailiffs to collect alimony.

This is a procedure for successfully resolving cases and situations where the mother is 100% sure who the father of her child is. If there is any doubt, a negative DNA test result is possible with unpleasant consequences for the mother. If you have additional legal questions, ask our lawyers completely free of charge.

Features of the paternity establishment procedure

• If the plaintiff mother fails to appear in court twice, the judge will leave the claim without consideration, unless the defendant demands its consideration on the merits;
• The examination is paid for by the person whose arguments it refuted. If the expert establishes the relationship between the father and the child, the father will pay for the examination or return the money for it to the mother. If paternity is denied, expenses will be recovered from the mother;
• If the child’s father does not arrive to submit the biomaterial or refuses to appear at the expert institution. This will be regarded by the court as agreement with the claim and it will make a decision on recognition of paternity.
• When the mother refuses to provide the child for examination and collection of biomaterial (Saliva, hair), the court will reject the claim.

Example. Maria N. filed a lawsuit against Sergei K. to establish paternity and collect alimony. At the court hearing, the defendant did not admit the claim, Maria. N. insisted on conducting a genetic examination. The defendant did not appear at the expert institution and refused to submit biomaterial at the court hearing. The court, based on the available evidence, made a court decision to establish paternity and recovered from the defendant alimony in the amount of ¼ per child.

Statement of claim to establish paternity and collect alimony

A claim to establish paternity and collect alimony is drawn up according to the rules. Prescribed in Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. It does not contain specific requirements or guidelines for this type of claim. But for experienced lawyers, the general requirements are enough to draw up a competent claim.

In particular, the document must indicate:

• Name of the judicial authority and address of its location;
• Full names of the plaintiff and defendant, their current addresses of residence and official registration;
• Additionally, it would be a good idea to provide contact phone numbers;
• Title of the claim;
• The descriptive part, which includes information about the existence of a relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant; their duration; date of birth of the child; the reasons for the defendant's denial of paternity;
• Evidence of paternity, links to them;
• Link to family and procedural law;
• Justification for the amount of alimony, if it is collected in a fixed amount, or simply a reference to the articles of the RF IC regulating the percentage amount;
• Request to the court to establish paternity and withhold child support;
• Date of leaving the document, personal signature of the plaintiff;
• List of applications.

It is best to prepare the claim on a computer, avoiding handwritten text. The judge will return the unreadable document to the applicant, suggesting that it be rewritten initially.

The claim and documents are submitted in person, by mail or through a representative with a power of attorney. The easiest way is to send documents by mail, which will help to avoid red tape and unreasonable nagging at a personal reception from court employees.

A request to order and conduct a DNA examination for paternity can be immediately included in the claim as a separate clause. It can also be stated later in court. Lawyers advise not to rush, because perhaps the potential father of the baby will admit the claims. This often happens after explaining his rights and responsibilities in the event of a lost case.

Sample claim for paternity and child support

It is best to entrust the preparation of the statement of claim to an experienced lawyer who has experience in handling this category of cases. However, you can try to compose the document yourself using the sample below.

The document reflects a typical and simplified situation, not complicated by a fixed amount of alimony.

Download a sample statement of claim

IMPORTANT: You can first ask a lawyer a question and clarify controversial issues, the answer to which a professional will find in a matter of minutes. Remember that incorrect drafting of the claim will result in its return or abandonment.

Where to submit?

A statement of claim to establish paternity with simultaneous collection of alimony is filed exclusively in district (city) courts.

As a general rule, a claim can be filed at the defendant’s place of residence. But in relation to the plaintiff, the alternative rule of Art. 26 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, which gives the right to file a claim at one’s place of residence if a minor child lives with the plaintiff.

If the rules of jurisdiction are violated and documents are submitted to the wrong court, the claim will be returned to the applicant without delay.

Required documents

The general list of documents is prescribed in Art. 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, but in relation to the package for a claim to establish paternity and collect alimony, the law does not specify anything. Taking into account the practice of this type of cases, you will have to attach to the claim:

• A copy of the application for the defendant;
• A copy of your passport;
• Child's birth certificate (also a copy);
• Correspondence with a potential father, personal photos, videos - as evidence of communication, relationships and possible recognition of the child in everyday life;
• Information about the child’s place of residence (certificate, extract);
• Information about income;
• Justification for the need for alimony in a fixed amount (if requested);
• Other evidence in the case.

Only an experienced lawyer will immediately draw up a list of necessary documents for going to court, relevant specifically for your situation. You can consult our lawyers for free right now.

Ask a Question

The original documents, copies of which are submitted to the court, must be taken with you to the hearing. The judge may need them for review.

Time frame for establishing paternity

The deadline for consideration of a case in a district court is 2 months. It will take another 1 month for the decision to come into force, but a writ of execution for alimony will be issued immediately.

However, during the period of the paternity examination, the proceedings in the case are suspended along with the passage of a 2-month period.

If the expert institution is overloaded, the examination may take 1-2 months. This will increase the overall processing time for the application. This procedure can be accelerated only by promptly executing all orders and instructions of the court and the expert.

Expenses

The plaintiff in the claim to establish paternity and subsequent collection of alimony is exempt from paying the fee.

The requirement to collect alimony by default is “preferential”, the plaintiffs under it are subject to exemption from paying the fee. And the request to establish paternity is submitted to protect the interests of the minor, which also entails relief from the burden of bearing expenses.

In the future, the entire fee will be collected from the defendant, namely:

• 150 rubles for alimony claim;
• 300 rubles for establishing paternity.

Additional costs for the plaintiff will be:

• Payment for DNA examination – from 20 to 40 thousand rubles, depending on the institution and urgency;
• Payment for a lawyer’s services for drawing up a claim and representation in court is by agreement.

All these expenses can be fully recovered from the defendant if the trial is won and his paternity is established. The costs incurred for legal services will need to be documented to the court.

Arbitrage practice

Judicial practice on establishing paternity and alimony is developing predominantly in favor of the plaintiff.

The main evidence is an expert's opinion on the possibility of paternity of a man and a child. Therefore, if geneticists have established that the DNA of the father and child is similar, the claim will be satisfied 100%.

Difficulties are possible due to the parties’ evasion of appearing for the examination.

In these cases, the courts make the following decisions:

• Leave the claim without consideration if the plaintiff does not appear in court twice;
• The claim is denied if the plaintiff did not provide the child for biomaterial collection;
• The claim is satisfied if the male defendant did not arrive at the expert institution and did not submit samples for analysis.

Example: Case No. 2-482/2014 of the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of the capital. Plaintiff N. filed a lawsuit to establish paternity and collect alimony from defendant Z. Defendant Z. did not recognize the claim and voluntarily agreed to an examination. The expert established the probability of paternity at 0.0% and N.’s claim was denied.

Need a lawyer

The paternity establishment procedure requires, at a minimum, qualified advice from an experienced lawyer. Ideally, full support of your case by a family law specialist.

If you do not intend to engage a specialist for permanent protection, you can consult our lawyers for free. Do this on the site right now and at any time. Ask a question and get qualified advice on establishing paternity and collecting child support.

• Due to constant changes in legislation, regulations and judicial practice, sometimes we do not have time to update the information on the site
• In 90% of cases, your legal problem is individual, so independent protection of rights and basic options for resolving the situation may often not be suitable and will only lead to a more complicated process!

Therefore, contact our lawyer for a FREE consultation right now and get rid of problems in the future!

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How to file for paternity and child support? (recommendations and sample documents)

How to file for paternity and child support? Currently, so-called civil marriages are becoming increasingly common. Children are also born from these marriages. It is good if the biological father of the born baby does not renounce his blood connection and gives written consent to this to the registry office. Things are much sadder when the real father of the child completely does not recognize himself as such. What should a poor mother do? Is it possible for her, as the child’s representative, to claim child support without acknowledging paternity? Let's talk about this.

Is it possible to receive child support without acknowledging paternity?

Article No. 80 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation declares that parents must provide for their children.

In jurisprudence, parents are considered to be those mother and father of a citizen who are indicated on his birth certificate. There can be no other options.

It follows that child support can only be presented to the parent who is registered in a document that has legal significance. Such a document could be:

• birth certificate;
• adoption certificate;
• court verdict establishing paternity.

If the father refuses to recognize himself as such and does not give his consent to make an entry in the birth document, then the mother will have to resolve the issue exclusively in court.

Collection of alimony without establishing paternity is not possible in legal practice. Before filing a claim for child support, it is necessary to establish paternity through the court.

Otherwise, child support will be denied.

How to apply for child support to a single mother without recognizing paternity?

The first step in solving such a difficult task is to recognize the fact of paternity. Article 48 of the Family Code describes two ways to establish it if the marriage with the biological father has not been registered.

With father's consent

This is done by making an entry in the “Father” column in the baby’s birth document. Such actions are carried out only with the written consent of the biological father who is not in a marital relationship with the child’s mother. The law allows such consent to be sent to the registry office at any time:

• in exceptional circumstances - before the birth of the child;
• as expected, within 30 days from the moment of his birth;
• some time after birth.

In the latter case, if on this day the child has already become an adult, then the personal consent of the child will be required to make an entry about the father.

Through the court

Alimony cannot be awarded without establishing paternity. Cases regarding the establishment of paternity are within the jurisdiction of district courts. Magistrates are not competent to consider such issues.

A single mother must file a claim in court either at her place of residence or at the place of residence of the baby’s blood father.

Within 30 days from the date of filing her claim, the court will make a final decision on the case - either satisfy the demands put forward and recognize paternity, or deny it.

How to prove paternity?

In court, the mother will have to defend her interests by all permitted means and means. All evidence has equal weight before the court - this is an axiom of the judicial process.

Nevertheless, genetic testing is probably more important than other evidence. It can be taken at most clinics in every city.

The price of the service varies in the regions - from 7,000 to 25,000 rubles. But you can try to find one at a discount.

If there is no consent for a DNA test

In addition to DNA examination, modern medicine today offers other studies, the results of which may indirectly indicate the relationship between the father and the baby. These include:

Comparison of the blood groups of the child and the potential father to establish relationship.	The most reliable way to confirm
Comparison of Rh factors of the child and father.	There may be errors
Examination of a man to determine his reproductive function (determines whether he is capable of having children at all).	Indirect evidence - after all, it is necessary to know the presence of reproductive function at the time of conception

In addition to these medical procedures, other evidence can be presented to the court, namely:

• testimony of witnesses who can confirm that the mother really had a close relationship with the baby’s father;
• printouts of telephone calls indicating the duration of conversations;
• printouts of SMS messages;
• joint photographs;
• video shooting;
• receipts for the father's payment of various expenses;
• documents confirming joint residence at the same address with the father (certificate from the passport office, apartment rental agreement).

The list of evidence is far from exhaustive. The court must be convinced that the defendant is the real father of the child. This can be done in all legal ways. Without establishing paternity, expecting a mother to pay child support is, to put it mildly, naive.

What documents need to be collected?

The list of documents is as follows:

• statement of claim;
• mother's passport;
• child's birth document;
• all papers indicating the fact of paternity: contracts, receipts, photographs, postcards, letters and others;
• receipt of payment of state duty.

• Since recognition of paternity is a non-property dispute, the fee will be 300 rubles.
• A sample claim can be downloaded here.

What is more profitable – alimony or single mother status?

So, we are finally convinced that alimony cannot be collected by any means without recognition of paternity. Now another question arises: does the mother need this at all, since with the recognition of paternity she loses her status as a single mother? Let's evaluate all the pros and cons of each action option.

If the mother does not put forward demands for recognition of paternity and alimony, then she will, as before, have the following advantages:

• her child will be among the first to enter kindergarten;
• she will have privileges at work in the event of a layoff;
• she will receive a child tax credit;
• will be freed from work at night until the baby is 5 years old, unless, of course, she herself agrees to this;
• has the right to claim 14 unpaid days of vacation, if this is stipulated in the organization’s collective agreement;
• will resolve all issues regarding the child only herself, without the participation of the blood father: on moving the baby, on taking him out of Russia, and many others.

In addition to the above benefits, additional privileges are established in various regions. In Kursk, for example, single mothers, who are also students, are paid 900 rubles monthly.

Sometimes the child’s father’s salary is quite decent, and the part attributable to alimony is so decent that it negates all the above advantages of being a single mother. In other words, with a good amount of alimony, a woman is not afraid of losing this status.

In general, each woman independently evaluates the pros and cons and decides whether to go to court or not.

It is impossible to file for child support without establishing paternity. Before collecting alimony from a person, it is necessary to legally recognize the fact that this person is the father of the child. If the biological father does not give voluntary consent, then only the court can decide the issue. Only after recognition of the fact of paternity does it become possible to collect alimony.

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Statement of claim to establish paternity and collect alimony (sample) - How to prove paternity and apply for alimony

Home / Parents' rights / Establishing paternity and filing for child support

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There are often cases when the identity of the mother or father is not established. For example, a single woman gives birth to a child whose father does not recognize parenthood and does not want to provide for the child.

What should a single mother do in this case? The law offers two options:

• maintain the status of a single mother and receive legal support from the state
• prove paternity and apply for child support.

Child support obligations (like other parental obligations) arise only if the child’s descent from a parent is recognized or established legally, and is also documented by a birth certificate or a court decision.

This is enshrined in the following provisions of family law:

• Grounds for the emergence of rights and responsibilities for children and parents (Article 47 of the RF IC);
• How is the origin of a child established (Article 48 of the RF IC);
• The procedure for recognizing or establishing paternity in court (Articles 49 and 50 of the RF IC);
• How to make an entry about the child’s parents in the birth registration book (Article 51 of the RF IC);
• Challenging parenthood - paternity or maternity (Article 52 of the RF IC);
• Rights of children born outside of a registered marriage (Article 53 of the RF IC).

Thus, the law provides for the mother the opportunity to identify the father and demand child support.

In this article we will look at the second option in detail - where to start, where to go, what documents to collect, what expenses to plan.

Parenthood. Grounds for collecting alimony

According to Art. 80 of the RF IC, both parents have equal rights and responsibilities for raising and supporting children. In this case, the parents are those persons who are recorded on the child’s birth certificate.

A claim for payment of alimony can be submitted by one parent (for example, mother) to the second (father), but only on the basis of:

• birth certificate, which contains information about the mother and father;
• adoption certificate, which contains information about the adoptive parents;
• a court decision to establish paternity, on the basis of which changes are made to the civil registration books and the child’s birth certificate.

Unreasonable collection of alimony is unacceptable.

If the father refused to voluntarily acknowledge paternity and allow information about himself to be entered on the birth certificate, the issue can be resolved exclusively in court.

The procedure for establishing maternity and paternity

Maternity can be established on the basis of medical documents (exchange cards, certificates, cards) created in a medical institution.

If the pregnancy was not observed in the antenatal clinic and the birth took place outside a medical institution, in the absence of documents and other written evidence of pregnancy and childbirth, maternity can be established by a court decision.

The procedure for establishing paternity depends on whether a marriage was concluded between the alleged father and mother of the child:

• a marriage registered in the registry office and a marriage certificate by default indicate the origin of the child born by the wife from the husband;
• if the marriage was concluded and dissolved, within 300 days the paternity of the ex-husband will also be established by default;
• if the marriage was not concluded or more than 300 days have passed since the divorce, paternity can be voluntarily recognized by the father (by submitting an application to the registry office) or established by a court decision.

How to prove paternity and collect child support? Methods

The first step toward obtaining child support from the putative father is to establish paternity. According to the provisions of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, this can be done in two ways:

• administrative (Article 48 of the RF IC);
• judicial (Article 49 of the RF IC);

Administrative (voluntary) procedure

This method is regulated in detail by Art. 48 RF IC. It involves the mandatory consent of the father and the submission of a joint application with the mother to the registry office to indicate information about the parents in the birth certificate.

Parents can apply to the registry office with a joint application to register paternity:

• during the mother's pregnancy (in exceptional cases);
• simultaneously with the registration of the birth of the child (within 30 days after birth);
• after state registration of the birth of a child with amendments to the certificate and civil registration books.

Judicial order

If a man does not agree to submit a joint application to the registry office and does not recognize a family relationship with the child, it is also impossible to force him to pay alimony. According to Art. 49 of the RF IC, the fact of paternity must first be established in court.

The right to apply to court to establish parenthood is vested in:

• Parents (mother, father);
• Guardian or trustee;
• A person who is dependent on a child (for example, a relative with whom the child lives);
• An adult child himself.

Thus, if the father refuses to voluntarily recognize a relationship with the born child, a single mother has the right to file a lawsuit to establish paternity.

Collection of alimony when paternity is established. Methods

As a rule, the collection of alimony and receipt of financial support for a child is the purpose of establishing paternity.

The issue of collecting financial support for a child can be resolved in one of the following ways:

This method involves the conclusion of a written alimony agreement between the mother and father;

Immediately after paternity is established, the mother should file a lawsuit to collect child support.

Or, what is more expedient, to collect alimony at the same time as paternity is established. That is, to include in the claim several claims at the same time: to establish the origin of the child and to collect alimony from the parent (father or mother). If paternity is proven, the court will satisfy both demands; if it is refuted, the mother will be denied satisfaction of both demands.

When filing a claim for alimony, the plaintiff (in most cases, the mother) should take into account that it is impossible to receive funds for the past three-year period.

You shouldn’t even include such a requirement in your statement of claim.

This is due to the fact that until paternity was established by the court, the defendant was not legally the parent of the child, therefore, did not bear any obligation to support him (see paragraph 2 of Article 107 of the RF IC).

Procedure. Procedure

So, we have determined the basis for filing a claim in court to establish paternity - this is a case when the child’s parents are not married, one of the parents (father) does not recognize a relationship with the child, therefore, the second parent (mother) cannot recover payments for child support.

the mother’s step-by-step procedure should be

1. Try to resolve the dispute with the alleged father of the child in a pre-trial (voluntary) manner;
2. Prepare a statement of claim to establish paternity and collect alimony (rules for filing a claim and a ready-made sample are below);
3. Collect documents and other evidence that can be used to confirm the relationship between the defendant and the child;
4. Submit a claim and a package of attachments to the claim to the judicial body authorized to consider the dispute;

Such a body is the city or district court at the place of residence of the mother (if a minor child lives with her, in accordance with Article 26 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation) or the alleged father. You can file a claim during a personal visit to court, through a representative by proxy or by mail. If the claim is filed in violation of the rules of jurisdiction, the court will return it to the mother.

1. Obtain a court ruling on accepting the claim and preparing the case for consideration;
2. Appear at the first and subsequent court hearings on the appointed day and time;
3. Take part in legal proceedings:

• give explanations
• provide additional evidence,
• petition for filing requests and obtaining evidence from the court,
• petition for the appointment of a genetic examination if the defendant does not admit the claim.

The trial involves the consideration of all admissible evidence that the mother can present to the court, and if there is not enough evidence, the court will order a DNA examination.

According to procedural law, no piece of evidence can carry more weight for the court than other evidence. The court may also invite and hear witnesses, consider letters, joint photographs, audio or video recordings. But it is genetic examination that allows one to confirm or refute the fact of paternity with high reliability.

1. Pay for a genetic examination or ask the court to pay its cost from budgetary funds with subsequent recovery of the amount from the defendant;
2. Take part in a genetic examination (visit a medical facility with the child, provide biomaterial for research);
3. Wait for the expert’s opinion, then for the court’s decision on the case;
4. Obtain a court decision;

As a result of the trial, a decision will be made: either satisfaction of the claim and establishment of the fact of paternity (in this case, the claim for alimony may also be satisfied), or refusal to satisfy the claim.

1. Submit a court decision to the civil registry office to enter information about the father into the registration books and replace the birth certificate;
2. If, simultaneously with the requirement to establish paternity, a demand for the collection of alimony was filed, obtain a writ of execution and submit it to the Bailiff Service for forced collection of alimony. The court decision to collect alimony is subject to immediate execution - before it enters into legal force.

• Example

The mother of a 5-year-old child, A. Pirogova, filed a lawsuit to establish paternity and collect alimony from her former partner Vladimirov R.

The defendant did not admit the claim, indicating that at the time of pregnancy he did not live with the plaintiff constantly, he was on business trips, therefore, he could not be the father of the child.

The plaintiff presented to the court photographs of them together during pregnancy and after the birth of the child, as well as correspondence with the defendant, in which he did not deny paternity and assumed obligations to support the plaintiff and the child.

An important, if not the most important, stage in preparing for a trial is drawing up a statement of claim.

The statement of claim to establish paternity and collect alimony consists of the following main parts:

The standard list of documents that must be attached to a civil claim is indicated in Art. 132 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. But in relation to a claim to establish paternity and collect alimony, the law does not contain any clarifications or additions.

As practice shows, you need to prepare a package of basic documents for the court:

All evidence has equal weight before the court. But if there is little evidence and it is not convincing enough, you can ask the court to order a genetic examination - its result is one of the evidence of the origin of the child.

A petition to order a genetic examination can be included in the claim or attached as a separate document, or it can be submitted to the court later, during the first or subsequent court hearings.

Lawyers advise not to rush into ordering a genetic examination - it is quite possible that the defendant himself will admit the claim (as a rule, this happens after the court has explained to him the consequences of losing the case), and perhaps the evidence presented by the plaintiff will be sufficient for the court to make a decision.

Almost every city has medical institutions that offer such a procedure. For the study, biological material of the child and the putative father is used; the most suitable material is venous blood, as well as saliva, scrapings of the oral mucosa, nails, and hair.

The advantage of the genetic examination procedure is almost one hundred percent reliability of the results (both positive and negative).

The disadvantage of genetic examination is the high price: from 10,000 to 40,000 rubles (depending on the region and the rating of the medical institution). Another drawback is the need for the defendant’s voluntary consent to participate in genetic testing. It is impossible to force the defendant to take part in an expert study.

The court can make a decision on the origin of the child (establish or deny the fact of paternity or maternity), even if the party (plaintiff or defendant) refuses to conduct a genetic examination - on the basis of this refusal alone, if the results of the examination are decisive for making a court decision.

The result of a forensic examination does not have an advantage over other evidence and is assessed by the court only in conjunction with other evidence. To make a decision on recognizing or denying paternity, the court will take into account the evidence available in the case (in accordance with Part 3 of Article 79 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation), and the defendant’s refusal may be regarded by the court as recognition of the claim.

Indirect confirmation (or refutation) of the relationship between father and child can also be the result of other medical procedures: