Statement of claim for the recovery of alimony for a spouse

Collection of alimony for wife's maintenance

Expert opinion

Stanislav Evseev

Lawyer. Experience 12 years. Specialization: civil, family, inheritance law.

Articles 89 and 90 of the RF IC establish the right of a wife to demand payment of alimony for her own needs until the child turns 3 years old. In this case, spouses may live together, separately, or even be in a state of divorce.

The amount of alimony for the maintenance of the wife is established exclusively in a fixed amount. At the same time, the presence or absence of income of the wife, as well as the amount of her maternity benefit, do not affect the assignment of alimony, but may affect its amount.

The wife has the right to demand alimony due to pregnancy and child care at any time, including:

• during marriage;
• simultaneously with divorce;
• after divorce.

The only limitation is that the child reaches the age of 3 years - after this period, it will be impossible to collect money for the maintenance of the mother, and the alimony already collected will cease.

Where to submit?

A claim for the recovery of alimony for a wife must be filed with the magistrate court at the place of residence of the defendant spouse. But if there is a minor child living with her, she retains the right to file a claim with the court at the place of her official registration.

In practice, a claim for the recovery of maintenance from a wife until the child is three years old is rarely combined with demands that entail a change in the jurisdiction of the claim.

In rare cases, it is possible to file a claim along with a demand for division of property. In this case, the district court will hear the case.

Filing a claim

The spouse can count on payment of alimony payments in her favor at any period of time:

• being married;
• in one claim involving dissolution of marriage;
• after divorce.

The spouse has the opportunity to demand alimony payments during pregnancy and after the birth of the child, up to 3 years of age without divorce. Once the baby reaches 3 years of age, child support payments for the mother’s maintenance stop.

In addition, a spouse who has lost his or her ability to work due to reaching retirement age or due to deteriorating health can apply for financial support.

If one of the family partners takes care of a joint disabled child, then the 2nd spouse is obligated to support the child and the caregiver. If you have the 1st group of disability, alimony payments will be for life.

A claim for alimony payments to a woman must be sent to the magistrate’s court, according to the defendant’s domicile. But if a minor child lives with the ex-wife, then the claim can be filed at the mother’s place of residence.

In most cases, a claim for alimony payments for a wife is considered by the courts independently, without being combined with other claims that may lead to a change in jurisdiction. If in one lawsuit it is necessary to consider the issue of assigning alimony payments and division of jointly acquired property, then you should contact the district court.

How to write an application correctly

The main task for a wife who wants to receive support from her husband for a child up to 3 years old is to competently draw up a statement of claim for her alimony.

The basic requirements that must be followed are set out in Art. 131-132 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. The mandatory clauses of the application and annex are spelled out there, but they are all of a general nature, the same for all claims.

The law does not establish any separate form for collecting alimony for the maintenance of a wife. Lawyers draw up a claim based only on the general provisions of the law.

How to file a claim for alimony for my wife?

You can go to court for alimony for your wife through an order or a lawsuit. In the first case, an application for the issuance of an order is submitted (in the absence of a dispute between the former spouses), in the second - a statement of claim. Most often, divorced women with children under 3 years of age go to court with a statement of claim, since ex-husbands often evade the obligation to support even a child, not to mention their ex-wife.

In the process of drawing up a statement of claim, you should be guided by the requirements of the civil procedural legislation, otherwise the claim will not be accepted by the court.

The statement of claim must contain the following parts:

1. “Caption” of the claim: name of the court, personal data of the plaintiff and defendant (full name, place of residence, place of work);
2. Document title: “Statement of Claim”;
3. Circumstances of the case: when the marriage between the plaintiff and the defendant was concluded and dissolved, when a common child was born, the basis for collecting alimony payments from the defendant (the age of the common child is under 3 years old, lack of income and the need for material support) - with links to supporting documents;
4. Indication of the cost of living at the place of residence (according to Article 91 of the RF IC, alimony to the ex-wife is assigned in a fixed amount);
5. Request to the court: to recover alimony payments from the defendant in favor of the plaintiff;
6. Applications to the claim;
7. Date of filing the claim;
8. Signature.

Form and content

The claim must be submitted exclusively in writing. Type it on a computer and print it out, or write it by hand - the applicant has the right to decide this issue for himself. But be prepared for the fact that the judge will not be able to accept a document written in illegible handwriting. First of all, he will leave it without movement, and then return it - if the changes are not made on time.

In terms of content, guided by Art. 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, a claim for alimony for a wife for up to three years must include:

• full name of the court with exact address;
• full name of the plaintiff, defendant;
• addresses of the parties: registration, actual residence, contact details;
• description of the plot of the case and the premises of the dispute: when the marriage was concluded, when it was dissolved, when the child was born;
• justification for the need to support a wife until the child is 3 years old;
• justification for the amount of alimony collected only in a fixed amount;
• evidence confirming the need for alimony;
• references to laws, practice, additional arguments;
• demand for alimony with an indication of the amount;
• personal signature of the plaintiff and date of signing the claim;
• list of attached documents.

In general, this list is exhaustive, but experienced lawyers try to include as much information as possible in the claim. Any data that influences the decision will help the court reach a verdict in your favor.

The right of a former spouse to receive alimony after divorce: studying the RF IC

In some cases, not only minor children have the right to receive alimony, but also the ex-spouse after divorce. As a rule, we are talking about protecting the rights of women who did not work while running the house and raising children.

So, who is entitled to alimony from their ex-spouse in 2019? To answer this question we need to turn to the text of Art. 90 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the provisions of this article, the following have the right to demand the provision of alimony in court from a former spouse who has the necessary means for this:

• Ex-wife during pregnancy and within three years from the date of birth of their common child;
• A needy ex-spouse caring for a disabled child they share;
• A disabled, needy ex-spouse who became disabled before the divorce;
• A disabled, needy ex-spouse who became disabled within a year from the date of divorce;
• A needy former spouse who has reached retirement age no later than five years from the date of divorce (but only if the spouses have been married for a long time).

Note! The amount of alimony exacted from a spouse or former spouse in court is determined by the court based on the financial and marital status of the parties in a fixed sum of money payable monthly - this rule is enshrined in Art. 91 RF IC.

Sample claim for alimony in favor of wife for up to 3 years

If you want to independently prepare a statement of claim for the recovery of alimony, the child’s mother should pay special attention to resolving the legal nuances.

It is better to entrust the preparation of the claim to a lawyer, but if there is no such desire, you can use the sample below. Enter your information in the required fields and then print the document in the required number of copies.

The form is available for download below. After completing the application, it is advisable to show it to a lawyer you know.

When drawing up a statement of claim on your own, it is better to obtain preliminary advice from a lawyer. Experienced specialists on our site will give a number of tips regarding the collection of alimony for the maintenance of your wife. Mother of a child under 3 years old.

Documents for the claim

When preparing a package of documents for going to court, we suggest that you be guided by the following list of documents:

• a copy of the claim for the defendant;
• copies of personal documents, including passport, marriage and divorce certificates;
• documents for the child;
• certificate of the child’s place of residence;
• information about income, including child care benefits;
• information about the lack of official employment;
• justification for the amount of alimony specified in the claim.

All documents are submitted in copies, but the originals must be taken to the meeting. The judge may ask to see them for review.

There is no need to certify anything; you can include certificates of income and benefits in the original, since after the case the plaintiff will not need them anyway.

State duty

Despite the indication in Art. 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the receipt of payment of the duty is a mandatory document; its presentation in this case is not required. The claim for alimony in favor of the wife is also subject to a fee of 150 rubles, but the plaintiff does not pay it.

The fee will be collected subsequently from the defendant. But only if the claim for maintenance of the spouse until the child is three years old is satisfied.

How to write?

An application for the collection of alimony for the maintenance of a wife for up to 3 years is prepared and submitted according to the rules established by the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation with some features. If we are talking about a court order, then you need to send a corresponding application to the court, where you must indicate:

Let us remind you that it is not so often possible to collect alimony by order for the maintenance of the mother, so it is worth focusing on the statement of claim. Each of these documents can be submitted to the court at the place of residence of the person obligated to pay the funds, in accordance with the general rules of jurisdiction, or to the justice authority at your place of residence.

There is a rule in the law that makes it possible to choose the nearest court and your own precinct. The application for collection of alimony payments is considered by the magistrate.

This is important to know: Divorce through court in the presence of a mortgage and minor children

However, in practice, things usually work out as follows: the district court, having received a claim with several demands, separates into a separate proceeding the claim, say, to determine the child’s place of residence, and sends the remaining materials to the magistrate. The contents of the claim must be as follows:

1. 
   Name of the judicial authority.

2. Information about the plaintiff and defendant.
3. Information about the actual circumstances of the case. It must be indicated that the plaintiff and defendant are or were previously married, that the woman is pregnant or on maternity leave for a child under 3 years old, that her husband does not support her financially and is not ready to resolve this issue voluntarily.
4. Links to legislation. The main ones are given above in this article.

Next, you should formulate and state your requirements. It must be remembered that alimony for the maintenance of a spouse, according to the norms of the RF IC, is collected in a fixed amount , which is proportional to the cost of living in the region.

Therefore, you should write in the pleading part of the claim something like this: I ask you to collect from the defendant (full name) alimony for my maintenance in the amount of 1.5 (or another amount) of the subsistence minimum established in the Voronezh region (name of the plaintiff’s place of residence) until our child reaches the age of three (full name, date of birth of the minor).

The following documents are attached to the claim:

• a copy of the plaintiff's passport;
• certificate from the applicant’s place of residence;
• medical documents indicating the state of pregnancy;
• documents that the woman is on maternity leave;
• birth certificate of a minor;
• certificate of marriage or divorce;
• certificate of income of the plaintiff;
• documents informing about the defendant’s income, if any, or a petition to request information about the man’s income and the composition of the property he owns.

In addition, it is advisable to attach to the claim receipts indicating the plaintiff’s monthly expenses. All this needs to be collected in advance. Therefore, problems usually arise with such evidence.

Suspension of funds transfer

The legislation provides for cases when a wife may lose the right to receive payments from her current or former spouse, and the husband can cancel or suspend accruals:

• short term marriage contract;
• unworthy behavior of the spouse in family life (lack of attentiveness to raising children, lack of proper care for them, abuse of alcohol or drugs);
• the spouse’s disability is caused by her own actions (drug abuse, damage to her own health during the commission of offenses).

The spouse's right to alimony will be lost if she enters into a new marital relationship.

In addition, if the husband does not have official financial income, then it will be almost impossible to obtain alimony.

Is there a procedure

The provisions of the Family Code of the Russian Federation prescribe that both spouses are obliged to provide financial support for their joint children.

In addition, one of the spouses has the right to demand alimony for his maintenance in some cases, for example, if he was declared incompetent, lost the ability to work, or is caring for a disabled child.

The law provides for the possibility of issuing alimony to support the current or former spouse with whom the man officially entered into a marital relationship.

A woman outside of marriage will not be able to receive alimony for her maintenance. The fact that children were born out of wedlock will only allow one to collect alimony for their maintenance, but not for the maintenance of the mother.

Married

The mother of a child has the right to demand financial resources from his father for her maintenance in the following cases:

• the marriage between the parents was officially concluded;
• a woman is pregnant or caring for a child under three years of age (a mandatory condition is the absence of work);
• the spouse needs help caring for a disabled minor child (regardless of whether she has a job);
• the wife has been raising a disabled person since childhood (the age of the child does not matter).

After a divorce, the spouse has the right to apply for alimony in the above cases, but her disability must occur before the divorce or within a year after it.

In case of pregnancy

A pregnant wife can apply for alimony payments from a man if she is carrying a child with him.

At the same time, she may be in a marital relationship with him or already divorced.

If the second spouse has doubts about the paternity of the child, then DNA analysis or medical genetic examination will help confirm the presence of family ties with the child.

A woman during her position is not required to present any evidence of need for financial assistance when collecting alimony. To justify the collection of payments, it is sufficient to submit a medical certificate confirming pregnancy.

After divorce

A wife has the right to receive alimony from her ex-husband in the event of a divorce in the same cases as a spouse in a marriage.

In addition, there are two additional reasons:

• the wife received a disability of 1-2 groups, became unable to work during the marriage relationship or within a year after the divorce, and needs financial support;
• the ex-wife retired within five years after the divorce, while the spouses were married for a long time, and at the moment the woman is recognized as needy.

Along with other documents, a divorce certificate must be attached to the statement of claim to the court.

In case of disability

To collect alimony for her maintenance, a disabled woman must need additional financial resources for her existence. The degree of need is determined by the court in each specific case based on the circumstances.

In addition, a woman must be disabled due to her health; often this situation occurs with disability of 1-2 groups.

The right to alimony payments for a disabled spouse arises in the presence of conditions of need and incapacity at the same time.

The court must carefully take into account all the nuances, since a disabled spouse may have a job and a high level of income, and a healthy wife may require financial support, being able to provide for herself. In the above situations, the court will not order alimony for the maintenance of the spouse.

Confirmation of the degree of need and disability is required only if the spouse is disabled. Payments for a wife for pregnancy, for caring for a child under three years of age or for a disabled child are assigned without determining the woman’s need and ability to work.

In what form is alimony paid? The answer is presented in the article “What types of alimony are divided into?” You can find out how to transfer alimony via Russian Post here.

Responsibilities

Paying spousal support does not relieve the other parent from paying child support. To put it simply, until the child reaches the age of 3 years, the second parent must support both the child and the parent who is dependent on the child.

The duration of spousal support payments is not necessarily limited to three years, starting from the date of birth of the child. So:

• a man may be obliged to pay alimony to his wife who is on prenatal leave;
• the spouse can pay alimony to the second spouse, on whose dependency and care there is a disabled child of group I. If a child was disabled at birth and his care will be permanent, then the obligation to pay alimony for the maintenance of a spouse may continue throughout his life;
• alimony will be paid for the maintenance of the second spouse who became disabled during the marriage or within a year after the divorce.

Please note that we are talking specifically about spouses, that is, persons who are officially married. If a child was born as a result of cohabitation, then the obligation of one of the cohabitants to support the second cohabitant will arise only as a result of a court decision establishing paternity.

What amount is provided?

If the spouses cannot resolve the dispute and establish a certain amount of one-time or periodic payments, then all issues will be considered by the court.

The law does not provide for a specific amount of financial assistance that must be paid to a pregnant wife from her husband.

State support in the form of maternity payments and maternity leave benefits is not always sufficient for the needs of the woman and the newborn.

Determining the amount of alimony that a pregnant woman or mother of a newborn should expect depends on the following factors:

• a man's material capabilities;
• financial and marital status of both parties;
• woman's need for financial assistance;
• the need to treat the baby and purchase medications;
• amount of benefits;
• the presence or absence of income of the parties to the dispute.

If a spouse applies for alimony due to disability, then the court takes into account her need, disability and state of health, focusing when assigning alimony on the size of the subsistence minimum in the constituent entity of the Russian Federation where the spouse lives.

If there are compelling reasons, the court may impose an obligation on the husband to provide financial assistance to his wife. Monthly deductions are set only in a fixed amount of money - it is not possible to determine payments as a percentage of the spouse’s income.

Can you go to jail for not paying child support? The answer is presented in the article “What is the criminal liability for non-payment of alimony.” You can find out what a child support certificate looks like here.

Spouse

Of course, in most cases, young children are cared for by their mother. Therefore, there is an opinion that alimony can only be collected in favor of the woman (mother). This is wrong.

The child can be cared for by the mother, father, grandparents, and guardian.

That is, alimony is collected not according to the birth certificate, but according to the fact of caring for the child.

This means that if the baby (with a living, capable and productive mother) remains supported by the father, then he will have the right to collect alimony from the child’s mother. Other persons caring for the child will have the same right, only in this case they will collect alimony from both parents.

Amount of maintenance funds

The minimum monthly amount of child support is established by law.

As for the recovery of funds for the maintenance of the spouse, their amount must be justified by the plaintiff with the provision of appropriate calculations. Practice recommends that the calculations be somewhat overestimated. This will give the judge room to maneuver downward without significantly damaging the claims.

You can confirm the stated inflated requirements by providing:

1. receipts for the purchase of baby food or diapers;
2. certificates about the health status of the plaintiff (plaintiff);
3. certificates about the child’s health status if he is sick;
4. certificates of difficult financial situation;
5. certificates of reduction or liquidation of the enterprise, etc.

If there are no documents justifying the declared amount of alimony, the court will assign the amount independently, based on its own assessment of the plaintiff’s financial situation.

Speaking about the size, it should be clarified that the claim for the recovery of alimony for the maintenance of a spouse is always expressed in a fixed amount of money, and not as a percentage of income.

It should be taken into account that alimony in favor of the spouse cannot be higher than 50% of the alimony paid for the child. So, with a spouse’s salary of 40,000 rubles, he pays 10 thousand (25%) as child support. And the amount of alimony for the maintenance of a spouse cannot exceed five thousand.