Child support debt after 18 years: how to collect, statute of limitations

The current legislation of our state obliges the parents of the child to provide him with financial support until he reaches the age of majority. This rule is also valid for those persons who are divorced or do not live together for any reason. In such a situation, the parent with whom the child does not live is obligated to pay child support. But what to do if the alimony debt remains, and the child is 18 years old, and how to still collect the alimony debt after 18 years - we will figure it out below.

According to statistics, approximately 80% of alimony providers do not fulfill their duties, as a result of which the so-called alimony debt arises. The recipient in such a situation can file an appropriate claim in order to force the collection of the debt through the judicial authorities or the Federal Bailiff Service.

There are situations when debt collection is initiated when the child has already reached the age of majority. This can happen due to various circumstances. It is worth considering in detail the collection procedure if the child support debt remains and the child is 18 years old.

Is it possible to receive alimony debt after 18 years of age?

The grounds for termination of alimony obligations are regulated by Art. 120 IC RF. Part 1 is devoted to the situation when a voluntary agreement was concluded, part 2 – to the judicial procedure. So, in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 120 of the RF IC, payment of alimony ends:

If the child reaches the age of 18, or in the conditions of acquiring full legal capacity before adulthood.
Due to the death of the recipient or payer.
In case of acquisition of full working capacity, the need for assistance from the payer is canceled.

Thus, the bailiff terminates the collection of alimony proceedings at the moment when the child reaches 18 years of age. This rule is also reflected in clause 9, part 2, art. 43 Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”. However, the bailiff terminates its activities on this basis only if the payer has fully satisfied the recipient's requirements. If there is a child support debt after the age of 18, then the authorized official cannot close the case.

Even upon reaching the age of majority, a citizen has the right to recover funds. In such a situation, the recipient of the alimony debt after 18 years must challenge the actions of the bailiff aimed at terminating enforcement proceedings according to the rules reflected in Art. 128 Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”.

When can a debt be forgiven?

Unscrupulous parents often look for a way to avoid paying child support debt. Cancellation of obligations simply at the request of the defaulter is impossible. They can be removed only in two cases:

the payer has died (but in this case his heirs may be forced to pay the entire debt to an adult child);
the child himself refused payments and forgave the debt to his parent (for this, an official refusal is drawn up on behalf of the adult child; the consent of the other parent who raised him is not necessary).

It is unlikely that a parent will be able to completely get rid of alimony debt at his own request. However, he can reduce the amount of obligations in court. But this will also require compelling reasons, for example, a serious illness or a serious deterioration in financial condition. Complete release from obligations, even in difficult life circumstances, is extremely rare in judicial practice, although this option is prescribed in paragraph 2 of Article 114 of the RF IC.

The expiration of the statute of limitations does not in any situation guarantee the disappearance of the parent’s obligations. Deliberate refusal to pay alimony can make such debt practically indefinite.

Is child support debt written off after reaching adulthood?

As a general rule, a child reaching the age of majority is not a basis for writing off alimony debt after 18 years. However, family law establishes a list of conditions under which the payer may be exempt from paying funds. In accordance with Part 2 of Art. 114 of the RF IC, the court can cancel the obligations of one of the parents related to the payment of debt after 18 years:

The payer became seriously ill and was unable to work or receive the same level of income as before. In this regard, there was no money left to raise the child.
The financial or marital status of the parent does not allow him to support the child. For example, a father married for the second time, after some time he had two children, as a result of which it is not possible to pay the alimony debt after the age of 18 to a child from his first marriage.
The father was called up for military service, as a result of which no funds were transferred to the minor for a year.
One of the parents was in prison and could not pay the child’s child support debt after 18 years.
The child lived for a certain period of time with the parent obligated to pay the funds.

These grounds are enshrined not only in Part 2 of Art. 114 of the RF IC, but also in the Review of judicial practice in cases related to the collection of alimony for minor children, approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Court on May 13, 2015. Each case is considered individually, the judge must take into account all the circumstances, on the basis of which a decision is made as for full and partial debt write-off after 18 years.

Attention

If a notarial agreement was concluded between the parties on the procedure for paying child support, then in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 114 of the RF IC, exemption from payment of debt to a child after 18 years of age is not provided. A citizen who has committed to transfer funds cannot get rid of the obligations at the request of the second parent.

What payments are we talking about?

The Family Code of the Russian Federation does not provide for the payment of alimony for the maintenance of children after they turn 18 years old (with the exception of cases when an adult child is disabled, that is, has a disability of 1, 2 or 3 groups). Full-time education is not a sufficient argument for increasing the period of alimony payments.

In general, alimony after 18 years refers to the collection of debts for previous years. Moreover, one of the following conditions must be met:

the presence of arrears in alimony payments established by the court or a settlement agreement;
neither the child nor the first parent applied for or received child support payments.

Additionally, if a debt arises, you can request compensation in the form of interest for the entire period of delay.

Who receives child support debt after 18: the child or the mother?

In accordance with Art. 80 of the RF IC, parents must support their minor children and represent their offspring in cases regarding their financial support in court. This rule is reflected in Part 1 of Art. 64 RF IC. The same norm indicates that adults must act in the interests of their children, including spending money exclusively on the needs of a minor child, and not for personal purposes. In connection with this, the question arises: who has the right to receive child support debt after 18 years of age?

Answer

It would seem that everything is obvious, if a child is the recipient of payments, then after 18 years of age he can collect the alimony debt in his favor. However, the court's position differs somewhat from this thesis. This is evidenced by the ruling of the Judicial Collegium for Administrative Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 58-KG17-19 dated March 2, 2018. Representatives of the authorities established that the mother, who supported the child for 18 years, actually takes on the expenses of the father, who did not fulfill the duties assigned to him by the norms of the RF IC. The lack of financial support from the second parent entails an additional burden on the representative of the minor offspring. Thus, repayment of the resulting child support debt after the age of 18 is of a compensatory nature for the mother, who throughout the entire time did not receive help from the father. In this regard, the parent who was dependent on the minor child has the right to recover the accumulated amount of unpaid funds after the child reaches adulthood.

In Art. 52 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings” provides for cases of succession in enforcement proceedings. Reaching the age of majority is not reflected in this rule, which means the parent can go to court or to the bailiffs to collect the accumulated child support debt after 18 years.

General information

Child support debt is the amount that the father or mother has not paid to the child for a long time. The debt can be received both before the age of majority and after the recipient turns 18 years old.

When collecting debt, it is carried out taking into account two rules:

Availability of grounds for debt collection.
Limitation of actions.

In order to receive arrears of alimony, you need to prove the fact of their collection. This can be done using an alimony agreement or a writ of execution. If the recipient did not officially demand financial assistance, then the debt cannot be accrued.

As for the limitation period after the child reaches the age of majority, the law limits the period for filing relevant claims to 3 years. In other words, the right of collection can be exercised until the recipient turns 21 years old. After this period, any demands will be illegal.

Grounds for debt collection after reaching adulthood

An analysis of the current legislation allows us to conclude that the basis for collecting alimony debt after 18 years is non-payment of funds for unjustified reasons. Speaking about material forms of expression, we should refer to Art. 113 RF IC. According to the norms of this article, the following documents are the basis for collecting alimony debt after 18 years:

Court order. In accordance with Art. 121 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, this is a decision made by a magistrate alone on the basis of an application for the recovery of funds in shares of earnings. If there are no disputes between the parents, then within the meaning of Art. 122 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, then the one who is dependent on the child can submit an application for alimony to receive an order.
Performance list. In accordance with Part 1 of Art. 12 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”, this document serves as the basis for initiating proceedings.
A voluntary agreement. Art. 99 of the RF IC indicates that parents can draw up an act of their own expression of will - a document establishing the procedure, conditions and amounts of child support paid.

A necessary condition for collecting alimony debt after the age of 18 for a child is the presence of a writ of execution. This could be any act listed above; it does not matter to the bailiff.

Attention

If payments for the support of the offspring were not accrued for some time and the parent with whom the child lived did not go to court, did not receive an order or did not draw up an agreement, there are no grounds for collecting arrears of alimony after 18 years. This is due to the fact that funds are officially accrued from the moment of going to court, which is reflected in Part 2 of Art. 107 RF IC. If we are talking about oral agreements, then there is no legal basis for collecting a debt after adulthood.

Collection procedure

An adult child must know how to collect child support arrears from a parent. The latter may not only be required to pay the entire debt, but also face criminal penalties.

The child himself must initiate legal proceedings. To do this, a statement of claim is drawn up, which displays the following information:

information about the court to which the application was submitted;
information about the parties to the legal dispute (the child-plaintiff and the parent-defendant);
information about the parents’ marriage and divorce (the date of divorce will help determine the moment when the second parent’s obligation to pay child support begins);
information about the recipient of alimony and the amount of payments (if the parents signed a settlement agreement, then the amount of debt will be calculated according to the conditions specified in it, otherwise a fixed amount of alimony or a certain percentage of the salary is assigned - for one child - 25%);
the amount of existing debt subject to collection;
the amount of the penalty (there is no need to calculate it yourself, this is done by bailiffs on the basis of a writ of execution for the previously established amount of payments);
the actual application for debt collection;
list of attached papers.

Next, the court reviews the case materials and decides on the need to pay the alimony debt.

If during the proceedings it turns out that the money was not paid on time due to the fault of the defendant, then in addition he may be forced to pay a penalty (compensation) for the delay.

Documents for obtaining alimony debt after 18 years through the court

An approximate list of documents attached to a statement of claim for debt collection after 18 years of age is reflected in Art. 132 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. Within the meaning of this norm, the applicant should collect the following official papers:

Statement of claim drawn up according to the rules reflected in Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
Applicant's passport with a copy.
Birth certificate of the child or children, if there are several.
Certificate of divorce or marriage registration – if available.
A court decision on alimony, if any, or a notarial agreement concluded between the parties.
A resolution to initiate enforcement proceedings, which can be obtained from the bailiff.
Petitions or statements addressed to the bailiff with a request to take measures to repay the alimony debt after 18 years.
Calculation of debt from the bailiff.
A printout from a bank account registered in the name of the creditor, which will confirm the absence of deposits.
Certificate of income of the plaintiff.
Additional documents - for example, if a loan was taken out to support a child, you can provide a corresponding agreement.

For your information
, the larger and more complete the list of applications, the faster the judge will understand the essence of the case, and therefore the sooner a decision will be made to collect alimony debt after 18 years. Depending on individual conditions, the applicant may provide other evidence and documents confirming the stated requirements.

Who collects the debt

When a court decision to collect alimony payments already exists, there is no deadline for claiming and paying off the debt. It is required to be paid at any time and in full. Only the recipient will no longer be the second parent, but the adult child himself.

Methods of coercive influence are quite varied. These may include periodic payments, foreclosure and property rights. To repay the debt, real estate and movable property registered in the name of the debtor can be sold at auction. There is also criminal liability for non-payment of alimony.

If there is no court decision (or voluntary agreement) on the payment of alimony, but an adult citizen decided to collect it for his maintenance from the parent with whom he lived separately (usually the father), then you need to go to court and obtain a special document - a court order or writ of execution . Or enter into a voluntary child support agreement with this parent. This can be done by the adult child himself, and not by the parent with whom he lived together (usually the mother). In this case, the concept of limitation applies, and this child will be able to collect alimony only for the last three years preceding his or her eighteenth birthday.

Statement of claim to court for collection of alimony debt after reaching adulthood

The rules for filing a claim are reflected in Art. 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, which indicates the main elements and structure of the document. To ensure that the judge does not refuse to accept an application for collection of alimony debt after 18 years, or does not leave the document without movement, it is necessary to adhere to the following structure:

First of all, the “header” of the application is recorded - it indicates the name of the court in the upper right part of the sheet.
Information about the plaintiff is indicated - last name, first name, patronymic, telephone number, passport details, email, place of residence.
Information about the defendant – full name is required. If possible, you need to provide the rest of the information listed in the previous paragraph.
The essence of the requirement, the procedure and duration of the formation of alimony debt after 18 years.
Circumstances on which the applicant relies.
List of annexes that supplement the claim.
Signature of the applicant and date of preparation of the document.

For your information,
the Plaintiff has the right to file a claim for collection of arrears of alimony after 18 years, both in writing and printed through technical means. This requirement is reflected in Part 1 of Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. In addition, modern means of communication make it possible to send an application in electronic form through the official website of the court on the Internet. At the same time, according to Part 6 of Art. 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to obtain an enhanced qualified signature in advance.

An application for collection of alimony debt after 18 years is possible.

Sample statement of claim

An incorrectly completed application is grounds for refusal to accept the claim for consideration. Therefore, before filing a lawsuit, you need to familiarize yourself with examples of how to fill it out. The statement of claim is drawn up taking into account the current provisions of the law. You can find many samples on the Internet.

The document must indicate the following points:

name of the court district of the magistrate;
information about the plaintiff;
information about the defendant;
name of the form;
it is necessary to indicate in detail to whom and from what moment alimony should have been accrued, from what date it ceased to be received, the amount of debt, etc.;
be sure to write with whom the child lives;
put forward your demands on the defendant, for example, to forcefully collect the debt from the defaulter;
indicate the details of the current account for transferring money;
list the attached documents;
put the date of completion and the personal signature of the plaintiff.

Collection of alimony debt after 18 years through the court

In the event that the payer has not paid funds to support the child for a long time and a significant amount has accumulated, the representative of the recipient has the right to file a claim in court demanding the collection of alimony debt for the offspring after 18 years of age. This is especially true if there was previously an agreement between the parties and there was no writ of execution. The sequence of actions is as follows:

It is necessary to draw up a statement of claim and collect a list of documents to accompany it. At the same stage, the amount of debt over 18 years and penalties are calculated.
Send the claim to the court office at the plaintiff’s place of residence. This rule is regulated in Part 3 of Art. 29 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
Within 5 days, wait for a court decision to accept the application for collection of alimony debt after 18 years for consideration, or to refuse, as reflected in Art. 133 and 134 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
At the appointed time, appear at the trial, provide evidence, orally explain the fact of registration and divorce, if the relationship was officially formalized, bring the child’s birth certificate. In a situation where the payer previously transferred funds, you need to talk about it. It is important to indicate the moment of termination of payments and document it with payment orders, statements and other documents.
Hear the court's decision in the case of collecting alimony debt after 18 years and after 30 days pick up the judicial act from the office. Monthly period, according to Art. 321 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, needed to appeal a judicial act.
Send the decision to the bailiff who initiates proceedings for debt collection after 18 years. From this moment the collection of funds from the unscrupulous parent begins.

IMPORTANT
Regarding the period for collecting arrears of alimony after 18 years, you should refer to Art. 113 RF IC. Part 1 of this norm regulates that claims for funds for the past period are made within a three-year period. This means that after the child reaches the age of majority, a claim can be filed until the recipient is 21 years old.

When can I collect?

An adult child can claim alimony debt in court before the statute of limitations of 3 years for this type of obligation expires. This means that it is possible to recover a child under 21 years of age in Russia. Once you reach this age, the statute of limitations will end, which will prevent you from receiving the money.

For disabled children, the statute of limitations is also 3 years, but since the right to payments remains with them even after reaching adulthood, they can collect the debt even after 21 years.

Article 113 of the RF IC provides for the possibility of collecting alimony for the entire period (that is, the 3-year limitation period does not apply) if it is proven in court that the alimony payer did not fulfill his obligations intentionally.

State duty

The procedure for collecting child support debt after 18 years of age through the FSSP is absolutely free. So, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 123 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings” a complaint can be filed with the senior bailiff against the order of the bailiff. In addition, Art. 123 of the same law regulates in detail the specifics of appealing the actions of an FSSP employee.

Attention

If you decide to go to court, then you need to know the rule: in accordance with clause 2, part 1, art. 333.36 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a plaintiff who has filed a claim to collect alimony debt for his child after 18 years of age is exempt from paying state duty.

Debt forgiveness

Unscrupulous alimony payers often try to find a way to get rid of debt without incurring material losses. The alimony debt will not just go away. There are only two options in which the payment obligation will be canceled:

voluntary refusal of an adult child from the funds due to him - for this, the claimant himself should visit the FSSP and submit the appropriate application;
by decision of the court - compelling reasons are required for reduction or cancellation (Clause 2 of Article 114 of the RF IC).

If the debt has accumulated through no fault of the alimony payer, he has the right to file a claim to reduce the debt or write it off completely. The grounds for making a decision in favor of the payer are as follows:

severe physical condition of the payer himself or his relatives (obtaining the status of a disabled person, expensive medications, incapacity for work);
force majeure (loss of home after fire, flood and other tragedies);
difficult financial situation (low income, lack of earnings, expenses for maintaining other children).

Cancellation is possible only if the payer submits to the court documentary evidence of an extremely difficult life situation.

Appealing the bailiff's decision and resuming the case for payment of alimony

Depending on the circumstances (number of children, length of inactivity of the payer, amount of debt, etc.), the procedure for collecting child support debt after 18 years of age can be varied. If funds were initially transferred according to a writ of execution, you must first contact the official who is competent in the matter. In accordance with Part 1 of Art. 121 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”, the bailiff’s decision and his actions (inactions) can be appealed in the order of subordination, or challenged in court. If a citizen becomes aware that enforcement proceedings have been terminated, but the alimony debt for a child after 18 years of age remains, he must do the following:

First of all, you should go to the bailiff and point out the illegality of the actions. Due to the outstanding debt incurred by the child's 18th birthday, the proceedings cannot be suspended or completed.
Request the bailiff to calculate the alimony debt. This is a document that reflects information about the transfer of funds to the current account, the presence and amount of debt. Such confirmation is sent to a further judge.
In accordance with Art. 128 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”, it is necessary to challenge the bailiff’s decision either in a court of general jurisdiction or in the order of subordination to a higher official.
The most effective option is judicial procedure. To do this, you must write a statement of claim, prepare a package of documents, appear at the hearing and receive a court decision.

If the judge makes a positive decision on the collection of alimony debt after 18 years, it is sent to the bailiff, who re-initiates the case. This requirement is reflected in Art. 438 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. After the resumption of production, the FSSP employee must do the following:

Put the debtor and his property on the wanted list according to the rules established by Art. 65 Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”. As part of this event, the bailiff carries out executive search activities aimed at establishing the location and location of real estate objects and the payer.
Collection of alimony debt after 18 years, using funds available in the debtor’s accounts in accordance with Art. 70 Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”.
Imposition of certain restrictions - a ban on traveling outside the Russian Federation, temporary suspension of the use of a driver’s license in accordance with Art. 67.1 Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”.
Bringing to administrative liability in accordance with Art. 5.35.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Note:
If the bailiff does not independently put the debtor and his property on the wanted list, the injured party, who intends to collect the debt for child support after 18 years of age, has the right to send a corresponding application. On any reception day, you need to hand over the document to the bailiff, this is where the applicant’s work ends, and the official’s work begins.

A sample application to the FSSP to search for a debtor is available.

Collection through bailiffs

After the writ of execution is issued, the recipient must submit it for enforcement. To do this you need:

Prepare a package of documents (copy of passport, executive document, bank account information).
Contact the FSSP.
To write an application.

After which, the FSSP specialist takes actions to collect the debt:

initiates enforcement proceedings;
calculates the amount of debt;
requests information about the debtor’s property;
informs the alimony provider about the existence of debt;
transfers documents on the collection of alimony to the payer’s employer.

The alimony holder must pay the debt voluntarily. In case of refusal to voluntarily deposit funds, the bailiff will collect them forcibly. Collection means:

seizure of the debtor's accounts;
seizure and subsequent sale of the debtor's property.

The recipient has the right to recover a penalty in court. For each day of delay, 0.5% of the debt amount is charged. The amount of the penalty is added to the debt.

The recipient may ask the bailiff to study information about the debtor's transactions. For example, in the case of an agreement to donate property to third parties during the formation of a debt, the bailiff may go to court to challenge the transaction.

And the alimony provider may be held liable for malicious evasion of payments.

Penalty for alimony debt after adulthood

In accordance with Part 2 of Art. 115 of the RF IC, if arrears for child support after 18 years of age were formed through the fault of the person who was entrusted with the obligation to transfer funds, then in addition to the main part of the debt, the recipient has the right to collect a penalty. This is the amount of money that the debtor undertakes to pay to the recipient in the event of failure to fulfill the imposed obligations.

IMPORTANT

According to Art. 115 of the RF IC regulates that the recipient of funds for child support has the right to recover losses caused by the payer as a result of late fulfillment of financial obligations. For example, if a woman took out a loan to support her offspring, then the father must pay not only the amount of alimony debt after 18 years, but also incur additional expenses - compensation for the damage caused.

Within the meaning of Part 2 of Art. 115 of the RF IC, the total amount of the penalty for alimony is 0.1% of the amount of unpaid funds for each overdue day. At the same time, the amount may be reduced at the discretion of the court, taking into account the financial and marital status of the payer. In order to calculate the final amount of the penalty for unpaid funds, it is necessary to request from the bailiff a resolution on the calculation of the debt, which will reflect the amount for the entire period and as of each month. Based on the alimony debt after 18 years, you can calculate the amount of money collected using the formula:

NM = SDM × KDM × 0.001,

Where:

NM – penalty for 30 days.

SDM – the amount of alimony for the billing day.

KDM – number of days.

0.001 – 0.1%, regulated by Art. 115 RF IC.

Every month the amount of alimony debt will increase, which means that the penalty rate will also begin to gradually increase. You need to be careful when making calculations in order to provide correct calculations in court and demand compensation for real losses. In order to collect child support debt after 18 years of age, the recipient's representative must do the following:

Request from the bailiff a resolution on the calculation of the debt in accordance with Art. 14 Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”.
Calculate the amount of the penalty yourself and prepare an application.
Submit to the district court an application, calculation, applicant’s passport, birth and divorce certificates (if available) in accordance with Art. 132 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
The issue of accepting an application for collection of alimony debt for a child after 18 years of age must be considered by the court within five days from the date of receipt of the claim in court, after which you can find out the date and time of consideration of the case. This requirement is reflected in Art. 133 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
You must appear in the courtroom at the appointed time. At the end of the proceedings, the judge will make a decision, which, in accordance with Art. 321 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation will come into force in 30 days.
In accordance with Part 1 of Art. 30 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”, in order to initiate a case for the collection of alimony debt after 18 years, you need to submit an application to the bailiff service department, attaching a writ of execution and details of the account to which the funds should be transferred. From this moment, proceedings are initiated and money begins to be collected from the debtor.

A sample application to the district court for the collection of alimony penalties is available.

How to avoid paying a penalty?

The defaulter faces not only collection of the principal debt, but also penalties for late payments. If there were no payments, then there is no way to cancel the penalty. However, if the entire debt amount is paid at a time and there are special circumstances, the court may accommodate the payer halfway.

You can try to prove that the lack of timely payments was not the fault of the payer: due to a serious illness that interferes with the ability to work.

In this case, serious evidence will be required that there was no intention to evade the obligation, but there were circumstances that prevented its fulfillment.

Liability for non-payment

Current Russian legislation provides for several types of liability for parents for child support debt for children over 18 years of age. Depending on the degree of public danger (how severely the child’s rights are violated), the severity of the consequences, and the size of the debt, various forms of influence on the offender are prescribed. The following types of responsibility can be distinguished:

Civil law - within the framework of it, material damage is compensated, namely, a penalty is collected. The payer experiences some material restrictions in the form of collection of funds. The peculiarity is that civil liability can be assigned in addition to another.
Administrative - the provisions of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings” establish many penalties for evading alimony obligations. The basis for holding such a person liable is the presence of arrears of alimony after the age of 18, and the debt must not have been formed for one month. To attract the offender and impose punishment, it is necessary to prove the guilt and involvement of the perpetrator in the committed act. In accordance with Art. 17.14 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, bailiffs can issue indictments against citizens.
Criminal is the most severe form of liability, which is used if both previous types do not produce a positive effect. Art. 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation fixes several types of punishment for malicious evasion of child support by parents. In practice, the courts recognize as criminal non-payment of funds for 4-6 months, if the payment has been made at least once, even in a small amount, there will be no criminal punishment.

The variety of forms of responsibility for alimony debt after 18 years and types of impact on violators is due to the value of childhood and motherhood. The state in every possible way protects and supports not only the child, but also the parent who supports him. In this regard, it is recommended to pay off the debt in a timely manner, negotiate peacefully, and not bring the matter to court.

Is it possible to collect a debt after a child reaches 18 years of age?

When collecting alimony and arrears, it is important to take into account the statute of limitations and the deadline for submitting a writ of execution to the bailiffs. And the answer to the question about the likelihood of receiving a debt when the child reaches adulthood will depend on the circumstances surrounding the case.

There is a writ of execution, but no appeal has been made to the bailiffs

If a parent or other legal representative of a child, before he came of age, applied for alimony or entered into an agreement with the payer, he must have in his hands an executive document determining the amount and procedure for making payments.

After this, it is not necessary to contact the bailiffs - the alimony provider can follow the points of the document and regularly transfer the amount required for maintenance. Therefore, without filing an application with the enforcement service, the default situation will be recognized as such (there is no debt, periodic payments are made according to the established plan).

In the case where in reality everything is not so and the potential payer, instead of following the agreement/provisions of the judicial act, ignores the fulfillment of parental responsibility, and the claimant has never contacted the bailiffs, the resulting debt can be collected only within three years from the moment the child reaches 18 years of age .

The billing period will be considered 3 years preceding the age of majority, or less if the payer can provide evidence of partial fulfillment of obligations within this period.

The child's representative attempted to collect child support

Applying for monetary support and applying to the bailiffs for its collection demonstrates the responsibility and interest of the minor’s representative, as well as the fact that the parent does not repay his debt in a timely manner.

In this case, you can file for collection of the debt before the child reaches 21 years of age, and the applicant is entitled to funds for the entire period of non-payment (without reference to the three-year period), but within the framework of his minority.

Lack of executive document

If the interested representative of the child does not have a writ of execution, this may mean that it was lost or was not received at all.

In the first case, the applicant can obtain a duplicate by contacting a judicial authority or a notary. Next, with the document in hand, he will need to contact the bailiff service (acceptable deadlines are indicated above).

If for all 18 years no one has been puzzled by the problem of collecting alimony, the child himself has the right to file for withholding of the debt, after he comes of age. He needs to go to court within three years (before he turns 21), and if successful, he will receive alimony for the last three years.

If the parent died

In accordance with Art. 418 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, an obligation inextricably linked with the personality of the deceased debtor is terminated.

But this applies only partially to alimony arrears: it can be recovered from the legal successors of the deceased within the framework of the property they inherited.

How to apply for money after 18, if it is not a debt, but alimony for the past period?

In accordance with Art. 107 of the RF IC, a person who has the right to receive cash payments has the right to go to court with a demand for the recovery of alimony, regardless of the period that has elapsed since the moment the right to payments arose. This is relevant if funds were not previously paid voluntarily. Alimony begins to be assigned from the moment you go to court, which is reflected in Part 2 of Art. 107 RF IC.

IMPORTANT

Alimony for the past period, in contrast to debt for payments after 18 years, is assigned and implemented within a three-year period from the date of application to the judge, if it is established that before filing the claim, measures were taken to obtain money for the maintenance of the child, but the payer evaded. This requirement is also reflected in Part 2 of Art. 107 RF IC. The procedure for collecting funds is identical to what was described earlier in the case of the formation of alimony debt after 18 years. That is, from the point of view of family law, the mechanism for obtaining money is the same; you need to go to court, get a decision and contact the bailiffs with it.

A case from judicial practice

Despite the limitation of the period for collection of 3 years, judicial practice includes cases where this rule was not applied.

An example is the decision of the magistrate of precinct No. 97 in Omsk. In 2020, he recovered more than 1.5 million rubles in a claim by a 25-year-old daughter against her father. During the proceedings, it was established that the defendant maliciously avoided paying the plaintiff’s maintenance for several years. For this reason, the limitation period requirement was not applied. A significant part of the judgment was a penalty for late payments.

How to collect alimony debt after 18 years if the debtor has an apartment?

If a citizen has accumulated a debt on child support after 18 years of age and there is a need to repay it, in accordance with Art. 69 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings” the bailiff has the right to foreclose on real estate owned by the debtor. According to Part 1 of this article, forced collection means the seizure of property, as well as its sale in favor of the recipient. The same requirement is reflected in Part 1 of Art. 112 RF IC. The bailiff, by agreement with the debtor, can sell the apartment to pay off arrears of child support after 18 years of age and transfer the funds to the needy party, or transfer the property into the ownership of the recipient.

IMPORTANT

According to Art. 446 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, an apartment cannot be seized to pay off alimony debt after 18 years of age if the property is the only suitable place for living for the payer or members of his family. Thus, the bailiff cannot foreclose on real estate if the debtor with his new family (or alone) lives in this residential area and has nowhere else to go.

New in child support laws

In the innovations of alimony legal relations, you can see how the punishment for defaulters and debtors has been tightened:

there were restrictions on driving;
There are additional departments that collect arrears of child support after the child reaches adulthood;
a minimum payment has been established;
Payments are made until the end of full-time graduation from the educational institution.

The driver's license is temporarily revoked. This forces the debtor to quickly make alimony payments. This does not apply to those who have a debt of less than 10 thousand rubles, transport is used as income or for transporting children and disabled people.

Important! When the debtor receives income as an individual entrepreneur, he may also agree to voluntarily pay off the debt until the bailiffs take over the case.

Video about how to collect child support for a child over 18 years old.

Attention! Due to recent changes in legislation, the legal information in this article may be out of date! Our lawyer can advise you free of charge - write your question in the form below:

Rubric “Question/Answer”

Let's look at the most pressing questions about collecting alimony debt after 18 years:

The father did not pay child support, which is why he accumulated a debt of 150 thousand rubles. My father died six months ago, does this mean that we won’t receive the money and the debt cannot be collected?

Expert opinion

Semyon Frolov

Lawyer. 7 years of experience. Specialization: family, inheritance, housing law.

Indeed, the payment of alimony stops due to the death of the alimony payer. However, when it comes to debt, it won't go away. Unpaid amounts can be recovered from the father's heirs . According to Art. 1112 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the inheritance includes the rights and obligations of the deceased. If someone enters into an inheritance, then he will have to pay off debts within the inherited property. First of all, you need to notify the SSP about the death of the debtor so that the bailiff can calculate the amount of alimony debt. Then a claim is filed to collect the debt. The defendants will be the heirs who took over the rights after the death of the father. If the only heir is the recipient of alimony, he will receive the property of the deceased, and the debt will be canceled (see “Debt for alimony after the death of the debtor”).

My husband owes his first family alimony arrears. Now the child is already 18 years old, the husband has officially got a job, and the salary is credited to the card. Tell me, will the card be seized or will the monthly interest on the debt be charged somehow?

Expert opinion

Dmitry Nosikov

Lawyer. Specialization: family and housing law.

If the recipient of alimony (the first wife) submits an application to calculate the debt, the bailiffs reopen the proceedings. Since your husband is officially employed, the writ of execution will be sent to the accounting department at his place of work. The amount of the debt will be indicated there, as well as a decree on withholding interest from the salary. If alimony is for one child, then 25% or 1/4 of the salary . For example, if the payer receives 30,000 rubles per month, 13% of personal income tax is first withheld, and only then 25% of alimony is deducted. The deductions will continue until the father pays off the entire alimony debt, i.e. The amount will be credited to the card minus alimony.

Can I use a personal car if I owe child support?

Expert opinion

Semyon Frolov

Lawyer. 7 years of experience. Specialization: family, inheritance, housing law.

Depends on two circumstances: was the car seized and was your driver’s license revoked? If the amount of debt is over 10,000 rubles, the bailiffs can seize the license, which means you cannot use the car. If you violate this rule, you may be left without rights for a long time. However, not all debtors are deprived of their driver's license. For example, if a car is the only source of income (taxi, cargo transportation), the license will not be confiscated. If the vehicle is needed for trips to the city from a remote area or the payer is disabled, the license will also not be taken away. Contact the traffic police and find out whether the car has been seized and whether there are any restrictions on the document for driving a vehicle?

Still have questions?
Ask our lawyers. If the child is under 21 years of age, the recipient has the right to collect arrears of child support. And on the contrary, if the alimony payer has good reasons, he can prove them, confirm them in court - the obligation to pay the debt is removed from him. Otherwise, alimony debt must be paid even after 18 years of age. To better understand the problem, contact our lawyers. They will correct your actions and help with appealing to the SSP or court. 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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Author of the article

Irina Garmash

Family law consultant.

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Statute of limitations

The law regulates the time frame during which alimony debt can be collected.

You should know! The statute of limitations is three years . Thus, a simple pattern applies: the longer the measures to obtain debt money are postponed, the less amount can be returned.

According to the current rule, the right to claim accumulated debt is lost after turning 21.

The law provides for a number of exceptions when the following circumstances are met:

If the debt for alimony after turning 18 years of age was formed and could remain under a notarial agreement (or a court document), which provides for alimony payment.
If the transfer of debt money was stopped due to the fault of the debtor.

In these two cases, it is possible to demand recovery not only for the period of the previous three years, but also for a much earlier time, constituting the entire period of non-payment.

Who will act as the claimant?

Disputes on this matter also exist between courts. And their essence is the following: who exactly can become a collector of alimony debt - a child who has become an adult or, nevertheless, his legal representative, who has been bearing the costs of maintaining the minor all this time?

The Supreme Court clarified the issue in Ruling No. 58-КГ17-19, dated 03/02/2018, from the meaning of which it follows that both the parent (guardian, trustee) of the child and he himself have the right to initiate the process of withholding the debt. upon reaching 18 years of age.

The powers of the former legal representative are argued by the fact that it was he who bore the costs of providing for the minor and, accordingly, it is quite legitimate if the amount underpaid by the other parent is transferred in his favor.

Can I be released from paying my debt?

Let’s immediately make a reservation that the debt will not disappear, but it can be forgiven. Every adult citizen has the right to receive debt money in full, and at any time.

After turning 18, the debt burden does not dissolve into thin air; it remains on the shoulders of the debtor until it is fully repaid. In a situation where the debtor is an individual entrepreneur, or he has third-party income, he has a choice:

voluntary execution of a court order to repay a debt;
forced repayment of debt through the SSP.