The topic of debt relief for alimony relevant to payers (or how to reduce debt) is not clearly regulated by the legislator. Despite the fact that Art. 114 of the IC of the Russian Federation contains such a possibility, but minors are indicated as an exception in whose favor financial security is paid. First of all, this is due to the fact that the obligation to support their children is a priority in terms of fulfilling parental responsibilities.
How is the debt formed
It is not difficult to accumulate a debt for alimony, provided that a court decision is made in respect of the payer. To turn into a dodger, just skip a few monthly payments. At the request of the claimant and if the debtor does not appear on his own initiative, the bailiff will calculate the amount of debt for the full period of non-payment.
Through the fault of the employer
If the responsibility for skipping periodic payments lies with the employer of the parent, the debt is calculated based on the total income of the citizen accrued to him during the period of non-payment of maintenance payments. Accordingly, the amount of the monthly maintenance is calculated in a fixed amount determined by a court decision or in the share ratio to earnings. Such situations are rare, because for failure to enforce a court decision, the employer or the guilty official must be held administratively liable. Debt relief on alimony is not provided for in this case.
Deliberate tax evasion
The overwhelming majority of payers acquire arrears as a result of evading payment of alimony prescribed by the court (if the payer is not employed or hides his income). The legislation takes this category of deviators with particular seriousness, therefore, in the absence of documents confirming income, the amount of debt is calculated based on the average wage established in a particular region of the country. Thus, even a three-month non-payment period entails the formation of an impressive amount of debt.
Does the law allow debt cancellation
The debt calculated and outstanding before the child reaches the age of majority shall not be debited. After the period established by the court for the fulfillment of the obligation to pay the monthly maintenance (usually until the child is eighteen years old) expires, the alimony debt falls into the category of property-related obligations and is collected in the general manner.
Nevertheless, family law allows grounds for reducing or annulling in full the amount of debt calculated by the bailiffs.
For example, article 114 of the Family Code provides for the possibility of exempting a parent from paying the resulting debt by agreement of both parties, provided that the child at the time of such an agreement has reached the age of majority.
In addition, article 114 contains a provision according to which the payer of monthly maintenance has the right to full or partial exemption from payment of the calculated amount of the debt if he has sufficient grounds for it.
When you can count on debt relief
Resolution No. 56 of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation reveals possible grounds on which a payer who wishes to annul an encumbrance can count on. Among the reasons when you can write off debts for child support, the current legislation includes:
- disability, including assignment of a disabled person status to a payer;
- illness resulting in disability of a close relative of the debtor;
- a significant deterioration in the financial situation (for example, dismissal at the initiative of the employer in the absence of an employee’s fault, reduction of the payer’s pay)
- the occurrence of delay due to the fault of employees of the organization;
- problems encountered in the delivery of maintenance payments (for example, a malfunction in the banking system);
- the establishment of the fact of the absence of kinship between the payer of alimony and his children (contesting paternity);
- a change in the marital status of the debtor (for example, the pregnancy of a new spouse, the birth of children in another marriage);
- the impossibility of the debtor to carry out labor activities in places of deprivation of liberty;
- conscription service in the Armed Forces;
- extraordinary circumstances (natural disasters, man-made disasters, military operations) that entailed a deterioration in the property status of the payer.
These reasons can serve as the basis for reducing the amount or full write-off of the debt. However, each specific case requires a detailed review and proof in court.
Not every reason is accepted by the court as a sufficient reason. For example, temporary disability means serious health problems, not a seasonal cold. In the same way, the loss of stable earnings is also interpreted, since in any case, the payer of alimony is obliged to execute the court decision, even if the only source of income is unemployment benefits.
The banal unwillingness to fulfill their parental responsibilities in the absence of good reasons and supporting documents may become the basis for refusing to satisfy the stated requirements in the court to write off the debt for alimony.
It is worth noting that article 119 of the Family Code provides an opportunity for a parent to pay financial maintenance to change the amount of previously exacted monthly maintenance or completely free from its payment on the basis of similar reasons. At the same time, the law does not contain a list of grounds specifying the concept of “changing material or family status”.
Debt relief on child support: what you need to do
The process of exemption from debt obligations begins with justification of the reason, preparation of the evidence base and appeal to the court.
If there are sufficient grounds, the payer has the right to apply to the court with a request to reduce the amount of debt or to exempt from its payment. It is important to understand that in the absence of a strong evidence base, a tearful petition to write off a debt is unlikely to be granted.
The application must be accompanied by documents proving the deterioration of the financial or marital status of the debtor at the time of debt formation.
What evidence to submit to court
Many payers who have accumulated a large amount of debt do not know how to write off child support debt and what needs to be done. To justify the reasons the applicant can submit the following documents:
- a conclusion from a medical institution about the state of the payer's health during the period of non-payment of alimony (required from a state institution);
- a certificate on the establishment of a disability group, if such a fact occurs at the time of going to court;
- a pension certificate confirming the fact that the alimony payer has retired with a certificate of the amount of the pension accrued to him;
- marriage certificate confirming the fact of creating a new family;
- certificate of pregnancy of a new spouse or birth certificate of a child in a new marriage;
- a certificate from the employment center confirming the fact of registration of the debtor as unemployed during the period of non-payment of maintenance;
- a medical report on the absence of family ties with the child in whose favor child support is collected;
- other documents that may affect the outcome of the case.
Claiming this kind of requirement to write off debt for alimony, it must be remembered that the defendant (in this case, the ex-wife or a child who has reached the age of majority) is entitled to appeal to the court with counterclaims. In its lawsuit, the second party may demand that the obligation be performed at the expense of other means or property of the payer. For example, at the expense of finances from the sale of a vehicle owned by a parent obliged to pay maintenance for a child. With such a turn of the case, it is highly likely that the court will take the side of the recipient of the alimony payments, in which case the question of whether the debt for alimony can be written off will be irrelevant.
Arbitrage practice
If we talk about judicial practice in civil cases related to writing off debts on alimony or reducing their amount, then according to statistics, no more than ten percent of applicants seek a positive decision. This information is worth weighing the pros and cons before going to court. It is also recommended to get legal advice, legal advice on writing off child support debt, which will help assess the applicant's capabilities. Since in most cases unscrupulous payers want to get rid of debt, the chance of a positive outcome is small.