Challenging alimony in court, is it possible and how to challenge child support?

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Paying child support is not always a desirable item in the budget of a living parent, and despite the obligations to support children, many of them wonder: is it possible to challenge child support? There is such a possibility. A party who disagrees with the withholdings has the right to appeal to the court of appeal or cassation to challenge the decision to collect alimony.

Reasons

Contesting the fact of calculating alimony can arise when a parent wants to raise and support the children himself and wants to win this right from the second parent. In addition, this situation arises when there are doubts about paternity.

An objection can only be filed in accordance with the established special procedure, which is aimed at challenging either a court decision or a court order. While this procedure lasts, the law allows you to suspend the payment of alimony. However, this is not recommended, since if the appeal is rejected, you will have to pay off the accumulated debt.

In case of cancellation of a previously made decision on an objection, the funds paid during the trial must be returned to the payer. The court can only permanently cancel the payment of alimony:

When the child reaches adulthood, as well as when he is emancipated up to 18 years of age.
Death of either party.
The commission of a criminal offense by the recipient of alimony or an attempt on it against the payer.
The occurrence of other conditions, if they are provided for in the agreement.

There are no other reasons for canceling payments. Even disability, the appearance of a new family, or loss of a job cannot be a reason for ending payments.

Important nuances

When considering a case on establishing alimony payments, the court takes into account all the circumstances in accordance with the instructions of Article 91 of the RF IC. The legitimate interests of the child are of paramount importance.

The plaintiff must submit to the judicial authority official documents about the son or daughter’s need for the second parent to provide the child with financial assistance.

For these purposes, it would not be amiss to submit for his consideration a list of monthly expenses for the child:

for food;
clothes and shoes;
personal hygiene products for children;
toys and educational intellectual games;
visiting a park where all kinds of entertainment attractions, cinemas, a circus and a zoo are located.

When assigning alimony, the court takes into account all of the above expenses and circumstances relating to the maintenance of minor children. Their usual conditions for ensuring their livelihoods and development should not collapse.

The older the child, the more expenses you need to bear for him:

Visiting various clubs.
Classes in sports sections.
Payment for tutoring services.

One of the questions of keen interest is how to challenge child support for a disabled child, what is required?

The health status of a minor child is an important factor. First of all, the judicial authority takes it into account when making a decision to cancel alimony payments.

Perhaps, according to doctors' indications, he needs regular courses of medical therapy, massage, and sanatorium rest, which requires an increase in the amount of payments.

How does a change in financial situation affect the amount of maintenance?

At any time, the payer has the right to apply to the court to reduce the amount of alimony if his financial situation has sharply worsened, or his living conditions have changed so much that he cannot afford to make payments in the same amount.

There must be sufficiently compelling reasons for this, among which are:

Acquisition of temporary or long-term permanent disability.
Layoff or downsizing at work.
Forced transfer to a position that pays lower.
Acquiring any degree of disability.
Registration for retirement.
The occurrence of additional expenses for a new family, for example the birth of a child.

In the case where alimony is assigned as a share of income, but it has increased many times and, therefore, payments for the child began to exceed his necessary needs, it is also possible to achieve a reduction in the amount of such payments.

During the consideration of the case, the judge may take into account the following important points:

Parity of all income of the payer against the income of the recipient. If the payer proves that his income is too low, the court will take this into account in any case. Otherwise, the payer may find himself in a situation where he is simply unable to pay the required amount.
The moral character of both sides. If suddenly the recipient abuses alcohol, the court may consider that the money does not go to support the child.
Behavior of opposite parties before the start of the process. For example, if the payer had previously avoided paying alimony, and at the same time had a suitable income, and now decided to cut the amount of payments, then the court most likely will not meet him halfway.
Existing obligations of the parties in relation to other persons. For example, the appearance of children in a new family as a payer.

Each argument of the parties is carefully considered by the court with the study of all available evidence.

Is there a procedure provided for by law?

The law provides for the possibility of revising the amount of alimony, as well as its complete abolition. However, this will require compelling reasons, since both changes and cancellations can only be made in court.

The amount can be changed at the request of both the alimony recipient and the payer.

In this case, both an increase in payments and their cancellation can be made. But in any case, it will be necessary to provide the court with evidence of changes in the financial situation of the parties or refer to other circumstances.

How much should a parent of a minor child expect? The answer is presented in the article “What is the amount of alimony for a minor child?” You can find out whether the child’s father can apply for alimony for his maintenance here.

Objection to the claim

The defendant may not always agree with the received statement of claim for the recovery of alimony from him, as well as with the already rendered court decision.

Filing an objection to a claim is the defendant’s right to protect his interests. In addition, disagreement may extend not to the fact of collection itself, but to the amount of payments or their order. Objections to claims are of the following types:

Having the form of explanations in oral or written form. They must reveal the defendant's opinion on the essence of the dispute. He may have arguments, facts, evidence of his position.
Procedural objections that relate directly to the procedure for filing a claim and its content. The defendant may, for example, deny the authenticity of the documents available to the court and point out the falsity of the evidence.
Challenging due to a change in financial situation. In this case, a claim is filed to change only the amount of payments.

In order to appeal a statement of claim, you must file a complaint indicating your arguments. It must be accompanied by a certificate of income and other documents relevant to the resolution of the case. They must confirm any changes in the financial status of the payer.

The following documents need to be collected:

Passport.
Documents proving your position.
A copy of the statement of claim being appealed.
Actually, the complaint itself. It must indicate what exactly the defendant does not agree with.

But what to do if a court order has already been issued?

Who has the right

Any payer has the right to file an application for cancellation of alimony.

However, in order for alimony to be actually canceled, certain conditions must be met, such as majority, emancipation, death of the party, and so on.

Each claim of the applicant must be proven, since in civil proceedings each party proves its position independently. It is advisable to provide written, documentary evidence; it will be more important than witness testimony or other circumstantial evidence.

Objection to a court order

This document can be issued by the court in absentia without holding a court hearing. The grounds may be the papers submitted by the plaintiff. This is done to avoid unnecessary burden on the courts and to avoid red tape when resolving issues of child support.

After the payer receives a child support order, he has 10 days to appeal it. To do this, he needs to submit a written objection to the court. After this, a court hearing will be scheduled with the calling of the parties, witnesses, and hearing of evidence.

If after 10 days the objection has not reached the court due to third parties, for example, it was lost in the mail, then you can restore this period and file the objection again. As soon as it is registered in the court registry, the order for the collection of alimony is canceled. The documents along with the objection are the same as when appealing a statement of claim, only here a copy of the court order is added.

Package of documents

Before appealing alimony, you need to collect a package of documents necessary to implement the process.

When appealing an order, you will need to file an objection and attach to it the documents referred to in the objection.

If the claim is appealed, the applicant will need to attach:

A copy of the court decision that is being appealed.
Appeal by number of parties.
Identity documents.
Documents referenced in the appeal.

When filing a claim to reduce or cancel alimony, you will need to attach copies of any documents that were mentioned in the claim. This may be the result of an examination, documents confirming a decrease in income, and so on.

Appeal in appeal or cassation

If it is necessary to appeal a court decision, and not its order, then a complaint must be submitted to the court. It should contain the following information:

The name of the court that previously made the contested decision.
Information about the identity of the applicant.
The essence and reasons for challenging the decision, indicating its specific provisions.
Reasons for objections.
Evidence that proves you are right.
Specific requirements for changing or canceling the disputed parts of the court decision.

An appeal against a court decision can be appeal or cassation. In the first case, the payer can appeal the court decision to a higher authority within 30 days. That is, if the decision was made in the magistrate’s court, then it is necessary to apply to the city or district court. It is possible to the same global one, but with redirection to a higher one.

A cassation appeal is provided for when the court decision comes into force, that is, after 30 days. A 6-month period is established for it after the entry into force of the court decision. A judicial panel meets to consider the appeal through cassation procedure. It considers the dispute in a new meeting and checks the legality of the previously made decision. If 7 months have passed, then it is no longer possible to appeal the court decision in any way.

Is it possible to appeal alimony?

Challenging alimony is a personal matter for every citizen. The debtor himself chooses the method of his defense, but the judicial authorities can notify him of what rights he has to do so. Usually, in an order or decision, courts explain the procedure and conditions for appealing their verdict, thereby duplicating the norms of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. The deadline is also indicated there.

If alimony is awarded in a lawsuit, the court is obliged to notify it when considering the case and inquire at the hearing whether the payer will object to the plaintiff’s stated demands.

Lawyers advise taking advantage of all available opportunities to protect your rights. If the right to appeal is lost, then it will be impossible to prove in the future the illegality of collecting alimony.

Refusal to reduce alimony

If the payer filed a lawsuit to reduce the amount of payments for alimony obligations, but was refused, this means that the court did not consider his arguments convincing. In this case, he also has the right to appeal this court decision in the manner described above. At the same time, it is necessary to provide comprehensive evidence of your innocence to higher courts.

Thus, any party to a child support dispute has the right to express its disagreement with the court decision by filing an appropriate complaint.

Duration of proceedings and decision

After receiving the appeal, the appeal is transferred to the appropriate authority. If violations are made during submission, the document can be returned to correct the deficiencies within a reasonable period of time (in practice, this is 3-5 days).

The consideration of the complaint takes place according to the rules of procedure and proceedings in the court of first instance, and claims and demands that have not been the subject of consideration before cannot be stated.

When analyzing the appeal, the court takes into account the decision of the first instance, the amount of income of the parties, the behavior of the participants during the process, and the obligations of the parents to support other family members.

According to Article 327.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the court must consider the complaint within 2 months from the date of its receipt by the appellate authority. Based on the results of the consideration, the court may:

leave the decision unchanged;
cancel or change the decision with the adoption of a new decision on the dispute;
reverse the decision in whole or in part by terminating the proceedings;
leave the application without consideration partially or completely.