Evasion of paying child support is a common problem that women who raise children on their own most often face. Is it possible to hold a willful defaulter accountable? R.TIGER tells what measures of influence on debtors are provided for by Russian legislation.
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What is non-payment of child support?
Failure to pay alimony is the refusal of one family member, including a former one, to fulfill his obligations to support another family member in the form of payment of money or other form provided by law.
Failure to pay alimony threatens the defaulter with administrative and criminal liability. To find out the amount of alimony debt, you need to contact the division of the Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP), which has initiated enforcement proceedings against the defaulter. This can be done in person or by sending an application by mail.
You can find out the amount of alimony debt by last name online in the database of enforcement proceedings or by submitting a request through the online reception.
Administrative responsibility
Bringing to administrative liability for non-payment of alimony is regulated by Art. 5.35.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. In accordance with Part 1 of this article, a parent debtor of alimony who evades fulfilling his duties in relation to a child (children) for at least 2 months faces one of the following penalties:
- compulsory work up to 150 hours;
- arrest from 10 to 15 days;
- a fine of 20 thousand rubles (for those who cannot be sentenced to compulsory labor or arrest).
Children who do not fulfill alimony obligations towards disabled parents for the same 2 months or more after the initiation of enforcement proceedings may also be subject to punishment for non-payment of alimony (Part 2 of Article 5.35.1). The options for possible punishments are the same as for deviating parents.
Moreover, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 67.1 of the Federal Law of October 2, 2007 No. 229-FZ “On Enforcement Proceedings”, bailiffs have the right to suspend the right to drive a vehicle, which essentially means deprivation of a driver’s license.
Criminal liability for non-payment
Let's move from administrative to criminal liability and tell you in what cases a non-payer of alimony can be brought to criminal liability. This possibility is provided for in Article 157 of the Criminal Code; a defaulter can even be sent to prison due to alimony debts. In accordance with the provisions of Article 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, criminal liability for non-payment of alimony arises for repeated evasion of payment of alimony without good reason:
- in relation to parents who do not fulfill their obligations to support minors and disabled adult children (Part 1);
- in relation to able-bodied children who do not fulfill the responsibilities of supporting disabled parents (Part 2).
Punishment options for crimes provided for in Parts 1 and 2 of Art. 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are the same. The defaulter may be sentenced to:
- correctional labor for up to 1 year;
- forced labor for up to 1 year;
- arrest for up to 3 months;
- imprisonment for up to 1 year.
An explanation of what repeated non-payment means is contained in the same article. 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Repeated means failure to pay alimony if it was committed during the period when the violator was subjected to administrative punishment for a similar act.
Malicious failure to pay alimony
Evasion from paying alimony is not always a consequence of malicious intent; life circumstances, for example, loss of sources of income, often act as obstacles to fulfilling obligations. However, it also happens that defaulters deliberately commit violations out of a desire to save on payments. The main sign of malicious evasion of alimony payments is frequent changes or concealment of place of residence and work. The consequences for persistent non-payers of alimony are described in the previous sections.
In addition, it is possible for the father to be deprived of parental rights for failure to pay child support by court decision.
Good reasons
Not every case of malicious non-payment is such in fact. The payer may have serious problems that he must solve before continuing to pay money as part of alimony transfers. These reasons include:
- A sharp and significant deterioration in financial situation.
Example : A person received 100 thousand monthly and regularly transferred money for child support without any problems. At some point, he was suddenly laid off and the company ceased operations. Now the person has no means of subsistence and must first find a job and then continue making payments.
- The payer is seriously ill, which is why he cannot work, does not receive money and, as a result, is not able to pay alimony in the required amount.
- The payer has a new family, which also requires maintenance. This reason is usually the basis for reducing the amount of payment, but for completely canceling alimony.
- The payer received the status of disabled person.
The procedure for collecting alimony
If the child’s father does not pay alimony voluntarily (by agreement), then, according to the norms of family law, it is collected by the court (Article 106 of the RF IC). To do this, a person who has the right to receive alimony must file a claim with the court for the recovery of alimony, regardless of the period that has passed since such a right arose (Article 107).
If the alimony holder evades fulfilling his duties in the presence of a court decision to pay alimony, then the recipient must contact the bailiff service, which ensures the execution of court decisions. We'll talk about this further.
Let's sum it up
According to the letter of the law, citizens who fall under certain characteristics must take care of their relatives who are not able to provide for themselves independently. At the same time, the law also takes into account that if, for example, older relatives did not take care of the younger ones when they were children, the younger ones will also not be obliged to support them and provide them with all the necessary benefits.
Don't give up and demand what you are entitled to by law
It is always important to remember that the primary task of society is to maintain a good attitude towards each other and be able to take responsibility for one’s own actions. If the law tells you to care for your own child, your elderly mother, or your beloved grandfather, you must follow it.
If you come across a malicious defaulter, do not let him go unpunished and fight for the money you are legally entitled to, especially now you know how to do it.
Prosecution under Article 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Criminal liability for late payment of alimony does not arise on its own; a prison sentence for failure to pay alimony is given as a result of certain actions of interested parties. If the alimony worker does not pay alimony, you should contact the bailiff department with a request to influence the “dodger”.
After receiving the application, the bailiff takes measures for pre-trial debt collection, including:
- establishes the reasons for non-payment of alimony;
- determines the availability of property and income of the debtor;
- carries out measures to enforce debt collection;
- applies measures of moral influence on the alimony defaulter, notifying him of the possibility of initiating a criminal case for non-payment of alimony in the event of the latter’s failure to fulfill his obligations.
If the bailiff’s efforts to enforce debt collection do not produce results, the bailiff, together with the applicant, will file a case and transfer it to the police. If the payer is hiding, you will have to put the alimony debtor on the wanted list. The police must investigate and, if necessary, find the child support debtor. After this, the case is sent for consideration to the court, which makes a decision taking into account all the circumstances.
If you find yourself in a similar situation and need legal support, we advise you to contact a lawyer on our website. He has extensive experience in cases of non-payment of alimony and will help solve your problems as soon as possible.
How to make an application
In a statement to bailiffs about non-payment of alimony, you should indicate:
- the alleged reasons for the debtor's failure to fulfill obligations;
- a link to materials proving the payer’s evasion of alimony payments.
The application must be accompanied by a certificate of alimony debt indicating the amount of debt and the period during which the debtor avoided fulfilling his duties.
We recommend that you contact our lawyer, with his help you can draw up an application in compliance with all established requirements.
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How to calculate alimony arrears
To collect alimony debt, you need to know its exact amount. The authority to calculate the amount of alimony debt is assigned to bailiffs (Part 2 of Article 102 229-FZ). The amount of alimony debt is determined in the order of the bailiff, based on the amount of alimony established by a judicial act or an agreement on the payment of alimony.
According to the provisions of Part 3 of Art. 102 229-FZ, the amount of debt for alimony for minor children in shares of the “dodger’s” earnings is determined based on his income for the period during which alimony was not collected. If the payer did not work during this period or there are no documents about his income, then the debt is calculated based on the average salary in the country at the time of collection.
Court decisions
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How to reduce alimony and divide property during a divorce
Divorce: how to divide property so that everyone is happy
Divorce proceedings: How to bring ex-spouses to a settlement agreement
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