Often the second parent refuses to pay child support, citing the lack of earnings. Often, lawyers are asked whether such behavior is lawful and what can be done to get funds to support a child.
Should a non-working person pay child support?
Let's start with a fundamental question. To clarify the situation, you need to look into the Judicial Code of the Russian Federation. Article 80 makes it clear that parents must support their minor children, regardless of their financial situation. The level of income does not affect the performance of this obligation. Therefore, child support if the father is not working must be paid. Regardless of whether a person is employed or not, he must transfer funds to support his child.
Varieties of the unemployed
Collecting child support is not the most elementary procedure. Everything is not so simple here. The methods of accrual and the amount will depend on the status of the unemployed. It will also affect how easy or difficult it is to collect child support. There are various reasons for not having regular earnings, and this will be taken into account in court. Let's start with the “simple” cases.
- If a citizen is registered in an employment center, has official unemployed status and receives the appropriate allowance.
In this case, it is believed that a person has a fixed income, because he receives social assistance. The agreed amount will be withheld from the allowance paid by the state as alimony. The amount of social assistance is usually small. Accordingly, the amount for the maintenance of children will be miserable. This will continue until the official employment.
- A citizen often changes jobs.
At each employment, a writ of execution will be sent to the place of work . In accounting, appropriate deductions will be made. In the period when a person does not work, debt will be accumulated on alimony, which will be paid during employment. If at this moment a citizen is registered for unemployment, then the money is withheld from the allowance.
- A person has retired by age and does not work anywhere else, his income exceeds the cost of living.
Alimony will be deducted from the money received monthly, if it is recognized as able-bodied.
- A citizen receives a disability pension, is disabled.
Child support if the father does not work for this reason, recovery will be problematic. At first glance, everything is simple and practically no different from the previous paragraph. If the pension exceeds the cost of living, then there should be no problems. If it is much lower, then the plaintiff will have to sweat to prove in court that the child needs this money. It is possible that the state will pay alimony. Or the minimum amount will be charged from the defendant.
- Earnings are periodic or seasonal in nature.
As a rule, in this case, a decision is made to track income. Based on the data received, the amount of alimony and the frequency of payments will be established.
- The citizen does not have a permanent source of income, he is not employed and is not listed in the social services, he does not receive unemployment benefits.
Usually in this case, unscrupulous parents say that they have nothing to pay child support. And this is a rather difficult case, because debt collection in the absence of income is problematic. However, the law firmly states that a parent must support a child. Therefore, the following mechanism is applied: the amount of alimony is calculated from the average wage in Russia. A person must pay for 1 child - 25%, for 2 - 33%, 3 and more - 50%. Or the court will oblige you to transfer a certain amount on a monthly basis. Until the parent gets a job, the debt will accumulate. If payments are not received, then bailiffs may seize property.
- A citizen has an unofficial income.
In this case, you need to prove it. Then they will first deal with him for illegal entrepreneurial activity and concealment of income, and then they will also pay the debt for alimony.
Ways to pay child support
Often you hear opinions that it would be convenient if child support, if the father does not work, amounted to some standard amount, for example, 2000 rubles. But such a system would not take into account all the nuances listed above. Yes, and hardly could fully satisfy the interests of both the plaintiff and the defendant. Therefore, the decision on the amount of payments is made in court.
There are two ways to accrue child support: equity and in hard cash. They apply equally to both working and non-regular citizens. It is worth considering each of them in more detail and find out their positive and negative sides.
Share ratio
The most common and understandable way of calculating for most people. The parent must pay a certain percentage of his income for the maintenance of the child, regardless of their availability, size, etc. The following ratio is generally accepted: for 1 child, a citizen must pay ¼ of income, for 2 children - 1/3, for 3 or more - ½ . Alimony for children, if the father does not work, is calculated on the basis of the average wage. For example, if it is 30,000 rubles, then 7,500 will be charged for 1 child, 10,000 for 2, and 15,000 for 3. In some cases, it is possible to reduce or increase the size of the shares (the minimum is 1/6 of the earnings), but the need for such changes must be proved in a court.
Pros: a pretty clear way to charge. Until a citizen finds a job, a debt is accumulated, which will be paid from the salary. If not found, then at the expense of the property. In the outback, this method is especially beneficial, because child support is often equal to a small salary.
Cons: as soon as the parent registers for unemployment, the amount of alimony will be calculated based on the size of the benefit. Social assistance, as a rule, barely covers a living wage.
Fixed amount
The essence of these payments is that the parent must monthly transfer a certain amount. Its size is determined by the court. Alimony is indexed quarterly, depending on changes in the cost of living. Consider a sample. Child support is paid in hard cash. A citizen must pay monthly, for example, 5000 rubles. For example, if the cost of living for children was 10,000 rubles, and then it was equated to 11,000 rubles, then child support will also be indexed at a coefficient of 1.1 and amount to 5500.
Pros : regardless of the level of income, the same amount should be transferred. If a person receives benefits, child support will not decrease.
Cons : if a citizen gets a high-paying job, the amount for the maintenance of the child will remain the same.
Payment Methods
Money should be transferred in a way convenient for both parties. The most common are:
- cash;
- bank transfer;
- transfer to a card or account.
How old is child support paid?
The next question: "How much does child support pay for a child?" A parent is required to support his minor children. Consequently, when a child reaches the age of 18, all obligations end. The opinion that alimony should be paid if a child is studying at a university is wrong.
There are a number of exceptions. So, the payment of alimony may end earlier if the child is declared legally competent before they reach the age of 18. The reason for this may be the conclusion of a marriage or the beginning of work.
Alimony is paid longer if the child has a disability, and his income is below the subsistence level.
The consequences of non-payment of alimony
If the second parent does not pay child support voluntarily, then you need to contact the bailiffs. They will exact them forcibly. The law provides for the following actions:
- Seizure of property followed by its auctioning.
- Freezing bank accounts.
- Retention of a share in the division of property as a result of divorce proceedings.
- The ban on traveling abroad until full repayment of the debt.
- The purpose of the penalty.
- Correctional labor for up to a year.
- Short term imprisonment.
The last 2 points are rarely used in practice. They are applied to malicious deviators.
Conclusion
The parent must pay child support for a minor child. It does not depend on whether it works or not. If the calculation is not done voluntarily, then you need to file a statement of claim. Child support will be enforced.