Change the amount of alimony: how to file a claim correctly?

Grounds for changing the amount of alimony

Content

Family law provisions provide for the possibility of changing the amount of alimony obligations. The procedure is carried out in strict accordance with the requirements of current legislation. An essential condition is the presence of a basis that influences an objective assessment of the situation.

The list of circumstances is not regulated by regulations and is compiled based on judicial practice:

1. Indexation of indicators involved in the calculation (minimum wage, cost of living).
2. Decrease in payer's income.
3. The emergence of other dependents in need of financial support.
4. Deterioration of the health status of parents and children (disability).
5. Increased needs of the minor.
6. Dismissal of alimony obligee due to liquidation, staff reduction, at his own request.
7. Change in marital status.
8. Increasing the payer's earnings.

The above arguments are considered as reasons for changing the amount of alimony (decrease/increase) by submitting a statement of claim.

Structure of the claim

The rules for filing a claim are enshrined in Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation and Art. 132 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

The contents of the document require the following items:

1. The name of the court competent to consider the controversial issue.
2. Information about the parties to the process:
   plaintiff (applicant);
3. defendant.

The initiator of the claim can be both the claimant and the alimony payer.

Contact means of communication are indicated.

3. The subject of the dispute is the infringement or violation of the legal rights and interests of a citizen.

4. Argumentation of the stated requirements.

5. Providing evidence.

6. The cost of the claim is the difference in monetary terms between the established amount of material content and the desired one.

7. Applications.

A properly completed appeal is the key to a positive resolution of the case.

Mandatory conditions for writing a document include:

• official business style;
• absence of profanity;
• objectivity;
• specifics;
• chronology of events.

The statement of claim is drawn up in 3 copies: for the plaintiff - 1, for the defendant - 1 and for the court - 1.

Application requirements

The criteria for samples of statements of claim to reduce the amount of alimony are established by Art. 131-132 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

If we consider the contents of the document in more detail, it should include the following information:

• Full name of the court.
• Passport details, full name and the plaintiff's residential address.
• Full name, registration address or place of residence of the defendant.
• In what form were the payments initially assigned - in a fixed (fixed) amount or as a percentage of the salary? In the first case, the value is determined depending on the cost of living in the region, and is established by mutual agreement of the parties or when the father is unemployed.
• On what basis is child support paid until adulthood: a court decision, a settlement agreement or an order.
• Why should the court reduce the amount of payments?
• Documentary evidence of the existence of grounds for reduction: income certificates, mortgage agreement, birth certificate of another child, etc. If the payer was laid off at work, a copy of the work book is provided, which indicates the corresponding dismissal item. Termination of an employment contract on one’s own initiative is not grounds for satisfying the claim.
• The price of the claim and a description of the materials attached to it.

Important! If the payer has a debt, he will not be able to get rid of it in court - he will have to pay. It can be written off partially or completely only if it is proven that the debts arose for good reasons, when the alimony obligee could not pay money.

Required documents

Each statement of claim must be accompanied by a package of documentation that forms the basis for confirming the circumstances of the case.

Among them:

• court decision to collect alimony/notarized alimony agreement;
• official documents confirming the change in the situation:
• medical certificates;
• information about decrease/increase in income;
• the fact of the birth of subsequent children;
• receipt of payment of state duty;
• passports, TIN of the plaintiff, defendant;
• certificates of birth of joint children, marriage or divorce;
• certificate of family composition.

Applications are provided in the form of certified copies, except for the receipt for payment of court tax. Participation in the process of third parties (guardianship authorities, prosecutor's office) obliges the plaintiff to prepare an additional package of documents.

Calculation of the claim price

Determining the value of a claim involves calculating the difference between two values:

• first - the annual amount of established alimony;
• the second is the total annual amount of alimony obligations, taking into account the required monthly amount.

Example from practice: For citizen I.P. Komarov, monthly support for a minor child is 8,000 rubles, annual support is 96 thousand. The payer demands a change in exchange downward - up to 70 thousand per year, in connection with the birth of a child in a new family. The claim price is: 96,000 – 70,000 = 26,000 rubles.

Calculation of state duty

The obligation to pay for public services is due to civil proceedings. The calculation principle is determined by Part 1, Clause 1 of Art. 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - the amount of the state duty is determined by the price of the statement of claim.

Case study:

Citizen Komarov I.P. drew up a statement of claim, the price of which was 26,000 rubles. According to the specifics of calculating tax legislation, the state duty is: 800 + 0.03 * (26,000 – 20,000) = 980 rubles.

Application forms for increasing/decreasing alimony

A claim requesting a reduction in the amount of alimony obligations has the following form:

1. The “header” is located in the upper left corner of the first page and contains:
   name of the court;
2. personal data of participants in the process;
3. location (registration), contact means of communication;
4. information about children (full name, date of birth, registration).
5. The title of the document is “Statement of Claim for Reduction of Child Support.”
6. Description of the situation:
   assignment and payment of alimony – decision of the competent authority/alimony agreement;
7. the amount of annual salary;
8. circumstances contributing to changes in material support;
9. written evidence.
10. Requests to reduce the amount of alimony.

Typically, the plaintiff of this type of application is the alimony obligee (payer).

The application form for an increase in alimony corresponds to the specified structure of the document. The distinguishing point is the requirement. In this case, the applicant is the claimant (payer).

Filing a claim

The application may be submitted by the plaintiff, or another person by proxy, directly to the court office. In order to have on hand a document confirming such transfer, as well as the date of submission of the documents, it is recommended to require the employee authorized to receive the documents to leave a note of receipt on the applicant’s copy. The corresponding note must indicate the date of receipt of the document, full name, position of the employee who received the document, and date of receipt.

The law does not prohibit submitting documents by mail. Please note that postal delivery of documents within one city can take 5 working days. It is recommended to send documents for the court by registered or certified letters, with notifications of delivery of the correspondence to the addressee.

Not long ago, applicants had the opportunity to file claims online. To do this, they just need to fill out a certain electronic form on the official website of the court.

Which court should I go to?

The principle of choosing a court during the initial collection of alimony does not affect the procedure for filing a claim to change the amount of financial support for a minor. A new claim means a new trial.

The application is submitted to the magistrate's court at the location of one of the parties to the proceeding. The freedom to choose a government institution is justified by a number of valid reasons that allow the claimant not to travel outside the region of residence. The case is reviewed within a month.

Trial in court

Acceptance of a claim to change the amount of alimony is possible only if it is drawn up in accordance with all the rules and the necessary documents are attached to it. After registering the claim, a court hearing is scheduled, but not earlier than a month later.

If one of the parties does not appear at the meeting without a good reason, the case will still be considered. The result could be the following:

• The court will satisfy the demands of the alimony payer.
• The amount of payments will remain unchanged.
• The child support obligee will be released from the obligation to support the child, but only if there are compelling reasons.

During the proceedings, the defendant may raise an objection, and the judge must take this into account. If it is justified, the chance of satisfying the plaintiff's claims is reduced.

Important! You can also collect alimony arrears in court, but to do this you will have to write a separate statement of claim.

The procedure for changing the amount of alimony

A change in the amount of alimony obligations is justified by the method of establishing financial assistance:

• by mutual agreement of the claimant and the payer;
• in accordance with the court decision.

The choice is based on the initial calculation method.

Changes in payments provided for in the alimony agreement are made by making adjustments to the text of the document. Monitoring compliance with the law falls within the competence of the notary certifying the contract.

To change alimony, the court needs compelling reasons, the list of which is not exhaustive.

In accordance with Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of 2020 No. 56, the same rules apply to claims for increasing/decreasing the amount of alimony against adoptive parents as for natural parents.

Material support can increase automatically (indexation) if, in the calculation principle, the subsistence level and minimum wage indicators are used, and they have become higher. This process is called alimony indexation.

The main task of the plaintiff is to argue the reason for the demands. Taking into account the documents provided and the interests of the parties to the proceeding, the judge has the right to satisfy the claim to change the amount of alimony. The executive document issued initially loses legal force.

There are situations when a change in the volume of alimony obligations is associated with the need to change the calculation mechanism.

The following options are valid:

1. Statement of claim to change the amount of alimony as a share of unemployment benefits. Drawed up in case of dismissal of the payer from his place of work due to circumstances beyond the control of the citizen - liquidation, reduction of staff of the enterprise, as well as at his own request. Evasion of parental duty is characterized by the use of a retention process with the involvement of the Employment Center. The share calculation provides for the following proportions:
   • 1 child – 25%;

   2 children – 33%;

2. 3 children or more – 50%.

Attached to the claim:

• passport details of the parties;
• children's birth certificates;
• a document establishing the initial collection of alimony;
• order to terminate the employment contract;
• certificate of registration in the territorial Employment Center.

The fixed value is calculated based on the subsistence level in the child’s area of ​​residence.

How to apply for alimony reduction

As can be seen from the legislative framework and practice, there are no exhaustive lists of circumstances entailing the court’s obligation to reduce the alimony collected.

In each case, the payer will have to file a lawsuit to reduce alimony and prove that the circumstances in his life give him the right to reduce the amount of money that he must transfer monthly for the maintenance of children or other family members.

Key difficulties that await the plaintiff when applying to court for a reduction in alimony:

• ambiguity of circumstances that can be taken into account by the court when reducing the amount of payments;
• difficulties with calculating state duty;
• subjective interpretation of evidence by the court - after all, the court will evaluate it according to its internal conviction and taking into account the interests of all parties.

Under the above conditions, it is better to entrust the management of your affairs to a competent lawyer. A preliminary consultation with our website’s lawyers is free and will help you decide on your next steps.

Example. Plaintiff S. appealed to the court with a request to reduce the amount of alimony, indicating that his main place of work had significantly reduced bonus payments, amounting to at least 1/3 of his income. In this regard, the plaintiff believes that he has the right to reduce the amount of alimony established in a fixed amount. The court rejected the claim, citing the fact that this circumstance directly depends on the plaintiff and is not a valid reason for reducing the amount of alimony. The plaintiff has not provided evidence of the impossibility of changing jobs, therefore the recipient of alimony cannot be deprived of the payment due to him by law.

How to correctly write an application for alimony reduction

A claim to reduce alimony is written according to the same legal requirements as any other claim. When drawing up a claim, you must be guided by the general rules for all statements prescribed in Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. Due to the specific nature of such cases, there are a number of nuances that only an experienced lawyer can know.

Below we provide a general list of information that must be indicated in the claim when drawing it up:

• name of the court and its address;
• Full name of the plaintiff, defendant, third parties and their addresses;
• the price of the claim and the amount of the fee (preferably, but not required);
• a descriptive part that reflects the grounds for collecting alimony, their procedure, and conditions;
• justification for the need to reduce alimony;
• evidence, references to practice, other arguments;
• request for a reduction in alimony;
• date of compilation, signature and list of attachments.

The claim must be drawn up in handwritten or printed form, but all lawyers strongly recommend that the document be drawn up only in printed form, which will prevent its return due to unreadability.

It is important to know:

• third parties in such cases will be the legal representatives of other children, whose alimony payments are not reduced, but whose material well-being may be affected by leaving alimony in the same amount;
• the duty is calculated immediately before filing a claim, and if the claim is not satisfied in the amount stated, it is adjusted by the court and collected from the plaintiff or returned to the plaintiff.
• In the contact information, it is necessary to indicate both the registration address and the residential address of the plaintiff and defendant, if they differ.

Documentation

The list of documents is compiled individually for each individual situation. According to the rules of Art. 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, which regulates the list of necessary documents for a claim, every circumstance reflected in the application must be supported by documents.

Below is a general list of documents:

1. A copy of the claim for the plaintiff and the third party;
2. A copy of the plaintiff's passport;
3. Documents for children;
4. Grounds for collecting alimony;
5. Evidence confirming the circumstances reflected in the claim:
   Certificate of employment (upon dismissal);
6. Certificates from banks (if there are debts);
7. Medical certificates and conclusions (in the presence of serious illnesses)
8. Other documents.

The evidence base is formed individually for each claim. There is no way to develop a universal list of documents from which the plaintiff himself can form evidence - only an experienced lawyer can do this.

Sample statement of claim to reduce the amount of alimony

The sample statement of claim presented below can be used to draw it up yourself, unless your situation is similar to that described in the claim.

In all other cases, when the reduction in alimony is not related to obvious circumstances, competent legal assistance and a detailed analysis of the situation will be required.

Our lawyers are ready to advise you completely free of charge on any issues related to family law and alimony collection. Contact the hotline right now!

Where is the claim filed?

The statement of claim is filed in the magistrate's court, but not necessarily the one that made the decision to collect alimony.

When determining jurisdiction, you should know:

• the claim is filed against the defendant - the recipient of alimony, be it the mother or father of the child, a spouse or a retired parent.
• The defendant’s place of residence will only be considered his official place of registration. Actual residence is not relevant.
• the rules for choosing jurisdiction by the plaintiff, by analogy with the requirement to collect alimony, do not apply in this case.

If jurisdiction is incorrectly determined, the claim will be sent to the correct court (if it was accepted for proceedings initially) or returned to the plaintiff.

Order and procedure

The meeting when deciding on the reduction of alimony takes place according to the same rules as the hearing of any civil case.

The following questions are subject to mandatory examination in court:

• whether the circumstances that, in the plaintiff’s opinion, are the basis for reducing alimony are real and proven;
• whether the plaintiff is really unable, for reasons beyond his control, to pay alimony in the original amount;
• how much worse will the situation of the alimony recipient be if the decision is satisfied.

The courts are extremely reluctant to reduce the amount of alimony if its amount is already less than or equal to the subsistence level.

Those payers who have:

• the reason for the reduction in child support is the birth of other children;
• Initially, high alimony payments are paid, exceeding the subsistence level for the child.

In other cases, the judge will carefully analyze the arguments and evaluate them both from the point of view of the law and according to his own inner convictions. The success of such claims directly depends on qualified legal assistance and the thoroughness of its provision to the plaintiff.

It is best to obtain preliminary consultation before going to court. This will help avoid unpleasant surprises and mistakes.

Arbitrage practice

When considering a case to change the amount of alimony, the judge is always guided by the interests and needs of the minor child. The final decision is difficult to predict, because it depends on the individual circumstances of the dispute and the evidence provided.

The plaintiff has the burden of proving the claims. If the alimony payer has applied to the court, he must prove that his financial condition has deteriorated so much that he cannot fulfill the assigned obligations. A popular reason is the birth of a child or taking out a mortgage.

The court refuses to satisfy the claim if it is a question of expanding the living space. A citizen’s desire to live in more comfortable conditions is not a basis for reducing child benefits.

In the event of the appearance of a new dependent (child, parent, spouse), the amount of the payment may be revised. But for this, the plaintiff must provide compelling evidence (loss of job, presence of illness). But this is not a guarantee of success.

Example. The man went to court to reduce the amount of alimony for his daughter from his first marriage. At the time of his appeal, he was in his second marriage and had two children together. The wife went to court and received a court order to collect alimony from her husband for 2 children. Thus, alimony was collected from him in the amount of ¼ share of income for his first daughter and 1/3 share of income for children from his second marriage. The plaintiff asked the court to reduce the amount of payments to 1/6 of the share. The court examined the circumstances of the case (presence of 2 children, change of job, decrease in income, presence of illness). However, he refused to satisfy the claim. (Decision of the Ostankino judicial district of Moscow dated 2017 No. 02-0057/315/2017)

Since alimony was collected by the second wife during the marriage, the family did not plan to divorce, there was a high chance that the process was initiated to violate the right of the daughter from her first marriage to financial support.

Refusal and return of application

Even if the payer has filed an application to reduce the amount of alimony, a sample of which has been drawn up in accordance with the law, there is a chance that the document will not be considered in court due to refusal to accept it. This happens in the following cases:

• The claim was filed in court without jurisdiction.
• Previously, the applicant had already filed a similar claim to reduce alimony payments, and there is a court decision on it that has entered into legal force.
• The claim was filed by a person who was not authorized to do so. To ensure that everything is in accordance with the law, you must first issue a power of attorney.
• The plaintiff is declared incompetent and cannot act on his own behalf independently.
• The plaintiff decided to file another application - to return the original claim.

If the court rejected the claim unlawfully, the applicant has the right to file an objection to a higher authority.