Home / Alimony / Find out where to apply to reduce the amount of alimony
When deciding where to apply to reduce the amount of alimony, it is necessary to analyze the prospects of the case. It is better to entrust this task to a legal specialist - a family lawyer. It takes into account the norms of current legislation, its current changes, as well as law enforcement practice.
It is one thing when articles of the Family Code of the Russian Federation are interpreted by non-specialists in the field of law, and another thing when these norms are considered by judges. But once in such a situation, the plaintiff needs to understand some of the features of such disputes.
Position in most cases
Alimony is a type of financial assistance to disabled or needy persons: minor children, mothers raising a child on their own, disabled relatives or parents who cannot provide for themselves due to age.
The most frequent and significant disputes regarding child support arise between the parents of a joint child. In this case, the parent with whom the child remains to live has to seek help from the other by collecting alimony through the court. Payments are assigned as a share of the payer’s earnings or in a fixed sum of money.
If an agreement is reached between the parents of a minor regarding payments, then payments can be legally secured through a voluntary alimony agreement certified by a notary. In this case, reducing the amount of payments by mutual agreement will also not be difficult - you just need to conclude an additional agreement.
However, if the payer who makes payments according to a court decision wants to reduce payments, then the recipient of alimony will not always meet the other party halfway and will defend his position and the interests of his child in every possible way.
Practice in cases involving alimony disputes shows that courts can be guided by different beliefs: some refuse to reduce payments to the payer, protecting the interests of the child, others reduce alimony based on the unsatisfactory situation of the payer or the appearance of a new family.
Conditions under which alimony is prescribed in a fixed form
This type of payment is established by the court if the parents have not previously entered into a child support agreement, and also if the payer:
- Has no regular income. This applies to entrepreneurs and those engaged in seasonal work. Also, this category may include representatives of creative professions: artists, musicians, actors.
- Has unofficial income. (When real income is hidden, or in a situation in which the payer’s real standard of living and the availability of material assets do not correspond to his low income).
- Receives wages or any other income not in rubles, but in foreign currency. In this case, income, and, accordingly, the percentage of alimony, can change both upward and downward, due to fluctuations in the exchange rate of foreign currency in relation to the national one.
- Receives a salary or any other income in kind. (For example, when working at an enterprise, he receives funds in products, and it is difficult to convert them into monetary terms)
Also, fixed payments may be prescribed if existing conditions violate the rights of the child or parents.
Amount regulation
You can count on a reduction in alimony payments in the case where the financial condition of the payer really does not allow making deductions at the previously established level, for example, due to the appearance of another family and child or a serious illness.
In addition, the amount of payments at a certain stage of life can significantly exceed the amount of money that is enough to support a needy child.
The court often has a positive attitude towards reducing alimony payments if the following grounds exist:
- the payer has been diagnosed with a disability of 1-2 groups, a serious illness that does not allow him to maintain earnings at the proper level;
- the child for whom alimony is assigned has reached the age of 14 and has begun to provide for himself financially through work or entrepreneurial activity;
- the child inherits movable or immovable property that generates income, for example, deposits, securities or an apartment that is rented;
- assignment of payments for two children from different mothers with whom he does not live;
- the debtor has a new family and the need to support newborn or adopted children;
- the presence of other dependents or alimony obligations of the payer;
- a significant increase in the payer’s earnings, as a result of which alimony, which is calculated as a percentage of income, impressively exceeds the necessary funds for financial support of the child;
- a significant decrease in the payer’s earnings or loss of income from which deductions were calculated.
- the child for whom the payments are issued is fully supported by the state in an orphanage, boarding school or other institution.
Methods of transferring alimony: which is the most optimal? The answer is presented in the article “How child support is transferred.” You can find out how you can reduce child support here.
If there is a debt
Payers of alimony are not always conscientious, or they may encounter situations that lead to the formation of a payment debt. Judicial practice in the case of debt is slightly different from ordinary proceedings to reduce the amount of alimony.
Child support debt can accumulate in cases where the payer violated the frequency of deductions or refused to make payments altogether.
The grounds for such behavior may be valid, because the payer could simply find himself in circumstances beyond his control that prevented payments.
To determine whether the reasons for the debt are valid, the court must receive written evidence from the alimony payer. At the same time, if there are grounds for reducing payments, the payer will still need to repay the debt to the recipient of the funds.
The court has the right to prohibit the debtor from traveling abroad or to seize his property. If during the trial it turns out that the payer has serious reasons for the debt, then he can apply for an installment plan for debt obligations. To repay the debt, more than half of the income cannot be deducted from the debtor’s salary.
In some cases, the court may release the payer from debt that has accumulated due to compelling reasons, for example, due to a serious illness or temporary disability of the debtor. However, writing off the debt does not mean that the payer is completely exempt from payments in the future.
Adjustment terms
Depending on the complications that arise during the trial, the decision to change the amount of alimony may require several months of proceedings (Article 154 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation). The following factors will affect the length of time for consideration of such a case:
- the defendant fails to appear at the hearing or requests a postponement of the discussion;
- during the process, it was necessary to involve additional documents or there was a need to take measures to clarify significant circumstances;
- During the proceedings, significant factors changed, which caused a complete review of the case to change the amount of alimony.
As judicial practice shows, it often takes from 2 to 6 months to make a decision on the fact of an appeal. If the plaintiff nevertheless managed to achieve a change in the amount of alimony, the recipient will be able to see the first fruits of his activities no earlier than a month from the date the decision was announced in its final form. This period is given to the defendant to file an appeal, which can also delay the process indefinitely.
Additional Information
In the case of an agreement, everything happens much simpler. The parties to the case independently establish the terms of the transaction, including time restrictions (Chapter 16 of the RF IC). As a rule, alimony in a modified amount is received on the payer’s next payday, unless otherwise stated in the provisions of the document.
Penalty
Penalties are penalties for late or non-payment. Collection of debt for a penalty occurs after the recipient of alimony applies to the court or executive service.
If a voluntary agreement on alimony has been concluded, then the penalty is calculated in accordance with its provisions, drawn up at the discretion of the parties. If the penalty is determined by the court, then its value is 0.5% of the total amount of debt for each day of delay.
To collect a penalty, the recipient of payments in a lawsuit must convince the court that the debt arose through the fault of the payer. If the court sides with the debtor, the fine may not be imposed or its amount will be reduced.
Refusal to satisfy the claim
The judicial authority has the right to refuse to reduce the alimony payer in the following cases:
- the mother raising the child has a large income or has remarried and the new husband provides for the children;
- the spouse in whose care the child remains receives financial assistance from third parties;
- the plaintiff stated that the reason for reducing payments was the transfer of property to the child by inheritance, but there are no funds from its operation or sale;
- a social benefit has been issued for the child;
- the parent who cares for the child has had other dependents to whom he provided financial assistance die;
Also, the following situations will not be sufficient grounds for reducing payments:
- other children maintained by the payer;
- insignificant changes in parents' earnings;
- housing expenses or loan debt of the payer;
- arrears of alimony payments;
- minor deterioration in health that does not interfere with work activity.
How to file for alimony without divorcing your spouse? The answer is presented in the article “How to file an application for alimony while married.” Is it possible to receive child support retroactively? Find out here.
Indexation of alimony payments as a reason for changing their size
When a court or agreement establishes the payment of maintenance in the form of a fixed sum of money, often over time, part of the funds is “eaten up” by inflation. In this case, the recipient of financial assistance may apply to change the amount of alimony payments upward as part of indexation, the possibility of which is determined by Art. 117 of the RF IC and specified in Art. 105 RF IC.
Attention
Correction of the value based on recalculation is carried out either by bailiffs or by the defendant’s employer as a result of a writ of execution. The amount of alimony payments changes in multiples of the subsistence level at the time of indexation.
The birth of another child
The fact that the payer has children in his new family will not in itself be grounds for reducing alimony for a child from his first marriage.
According to the court, alimony payments are established as follows:
- for 1 child – a quarter of earnings;
- for two children - a third of income;
- after the birth of a third or more child – half of the income.
These shares may be changed at the discretion of the court if the parties to the dispute submit significant evidence, for example, about illness or dependents.
If a man pays alimony for one child in the amount of 1/4 of his income and the court assigns him alimony for a newborn from another mother in the same amount, then the payer can apply to the court to reduce payments, because the law provides for the deduction of 1/3 of income for two children.
Examples
Let's consider the case of reducing child support based on the presence of other children. The plaintiff asked to reduce payments for a child from his first marriage from 1/4 to 1/6, since he had a child from another marriage. The court refused because, taking into account deductions, the financial situation of each member of the plaintiff’s family exceeds the amount of payments for the first child.
Another case. The plaintiff requested a reduction in alimony, as arrears had arisen due to dismissal and loss of documents for employment at a new job. The court rejected the claim because it was established that at the time of consideration of the case the applicant was working and receiving a stable income.
Statement of claim to change the amount of alimony
When filing a claim to change the amount of alimony, the applicant must be guided by the rules outlined in Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. It is important to indicate in the content:
- the name of the judicial authority to which the claims are sent;
- personal information about the participants in the case: full name, residential address, place of work and contact information;
- cost of claim. A calculation is provided of the amount by which the amount of payments for the year should be increased/decreased;
- a description of the circumstances of the situation with clarification of the grounds for changing the amount of alimony;
- additional information that may be important when making a decision;
- formulated claims to the court;
- list of attached documents (Article 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation);
- date of registration;
- signature of the applicant.
When drawing up a claim, you can use a standard template or hire a lawyer who will help with filling out the application and taking into account all the important nuances.
You can download the application to change the amount of alimony here.
Judicial practice on reducing alimony: nuances
Court examples on reducing alimony contain rather controversial situations in which the court, based on its internal conviction, decides on the issue of reducing payments.
Among these situations:
- the child support payer takes care of disabled parents;
- the level of income of the child’s family has increased, and the alimony payer has financial problems or the need to provide for other children;
- the alimony payer has a very high income and the amount of payments significantly exceeds the amount of sufficient funds to provide for the child (in this case, the court can calculate 1/4 of the mother’s income and reduce the father’s alimony to the same amount).
In any case, the court must consider the financial situation of both parties together and make a decision that would promote proper financial support and protect the interests of the child, without prejudice to the position of the alimony payer.
Conclusion
Reducing alimony in fixed monetary terms is a very realistic procedure if you have good reasons for this. Although the court is based on the needs of the child, it will not ignore your needs either. Careful preparation and utmost honesty are important in this matter. Any concealment of income, documents, or the real state of affairs may well be regarded by the court as an attempt to evade its responsibilities towards the child, and in this case nothing but refusal will be obtained.
