In Russia, the rights and freedoms of children are actively protected. They try to ensure compliance with all state guarantees. For children, the main thing is the family and its integrity. Unfortunately, not always parents can continue to live together. Sometimes couples disperse shortly before the birth of the baby. As with an official marriage, and without it. Establishing paternity and collecting child support are processes that help provide children with the necessary guarantees for maintenance and support from both parents. But how to prove paternity? What is necessary for recognizing a citizen as the father of a child? How to recover alimony from a negligent parent? All of these features will be described below.
Recognition methods
Today in Russia, paternity can be recognized in several ways. Namely:
- in the registry office, peacefully;
- in court, forcibly.
In the first case, usually a statement from one or both parents regarding the recognition of the child as their own is sufficient. If citizens are married, then the spouse of the mother is automatically entered by the father of the newborn. In case of divorce, if 300 days have not passed since the divorce, the woman can submit an application to the registry office to enter the data in the column "Father" in the birth certificate of her child. Then the ex-husband is recorded there.
As a rule, the establishment of paternity and the recovery of child support in Russia in a civil marriage or if the couple divorced, takes place in court. What do you need to know for this?
Methods of collecting alimony
Before studying the features of the judicial debate on the issue under study, it is necessary to take into account the fact that child support can also be exacted in different ways.
Namely:
- By the tribunal's decision;
- due to the conclusion of a peace agreement;
- according to a notarized agreement between parents.
The latter option is most preferred. Parents of the child conclude an alimony agreement with a notary, which sets out all the features and terms of transferring money to support minors. The peace agreement is a consequence of an agreement between legal representatives in court. If it was not possible to reach an amicable agreement, the court itself will issue a ruling on establishing paternity and recovering child support. Usually fathers who do not want to pay for the maintenance of children try to refuse their obligations.
Procedure for going to court
What kind of algorithm of actions must be followed in order to exact child support and recognize the fact of paternity for a man? In fact, there is nothing difficult in this process.
The procedure is reduced to the following algorithm:
- Make a claim on the establishment of paternity and recovery of alimony.
- Collect a specific package of documents and apply with them and a lawsuit.
- Take part in the hearing and wait for the decision of the relevant authority.
The most difficult here is the preparation of documents and evidence that can prove kinship with a negligent father. After the actions taken, the court will examine the submitted materials, as well as make a decision regarding paternity and the payment of alimony.
After the mother has a court decision, it will need to be taken to the registry office along with a birth certificate. There they will amend the document and issue a new one.
Application Filing Features
The application for establishing paternity and collecting child support may be submitted by both the father and the mother of the child. In practice, it is most often the second scenario that takes place. But these are not all the features that you need to know about.
In addition to this circumstance, the parents of the child should remember that:
- the claim is filed with the court at the place of registration of the defendant;
- the fee for the statement of claim is not paid;
- evidence of kinship must be gathered (the most difficult moment).
Alimony can be assigned only for the period following the establishment of paternity in a particular case. For the previous time, you can’t claim money.
Grounds for recognizing paternity
Establishing paternity and collecting child support is not an easy process. Especially if the parents were not married at the time of the birth of the child. In this case, usually this issue is resolved in court.
As has already been emphasized, the hardest thing to prove is kinship with a citizen. Ideally, it can be confirmed by:
- birth certificate or information from the hospital (for mothers);
- a statement from one of the parents of the child;
- marriage certificate.
But if disputes arise, then it can be used as evidence of kinship:
- Photo;
- correspondence;
- telephone calls;
- witness's testimonies;
- medical reports.
Most often, a so-called DNA test is done to confirm or deny kinship. If available, the implementation of the task will not cause trouble. But in fact, the establishment of paternity and the recovery of alimony is complicated by the defendant’s disagreement on recognition of kinship and medical research.
Court initiators
Who can claim recognition of kinship with one parent or another? As already mentioned, this process involves the treatment of one of the parents with the corresponding requirement. But that is not all. Need to establish paternity and recover child support? A statement of claim may be filed by:
- one of the parents of a minor;
- guardians of the child;
- the child himself, but after reaching adulthood.
Challenging the decision
Despite the fact that a court decision is the basis for collecting child support from a citizen, one can try to challenge it. This is possible if:
- the defendant knew that the child was not his, but voluntarily agreed to enter information about himself in the birth certificate of the baby;
- the father suspects that the child is not his own.
As a rule, in the second case there are more chances to win. Especially if a DNA test has not yet been performed. The establishment of paternity and the recovery of alimony occurs only after proving the relationship between the child and dad. In the same way as disputed.
In the first case, paternity can be challenged only if the decision to make an entry in the column "Father" was made under the influence of:
- threats;
- violence;
- blackmail;
- extortion.
Only after contesting paternity can one be sued for exemption from alimony. A positive decision of the judiciary can be hoped for if:
- without established alimony, a woman will be able to provide for her child;
- money will be recovered from the father of the baby;
- material support for the maintenance of children will go to the new husband of the mother of the kids.
Otherwise, it will be possible to get rid of paternity, but child support will have to be paid until the children come of age. The obtained court decision can be presented to the employer so that the alimony is no longer withheld from the salary.
Documents for the claim
The case of establishing paternity and collecting child support is initiated only after the plaintiff provides a certain package of documents. In order to recognize the fact of kinship with the child, you need to bring:
- lawsuit;
- passport;
- baby's birth certificate;
- marriage / divorce certificate (if any);
- certificate of registration of the baby;
- documents confirming income (plaintiff and defendant preferably);
- evidence of relationship with the defendant.
Need for expertise
Is it always necessary to conduct an examination to establish kinship with a child? The establishment of paternity and the recovery of alimony under the established legislation do not provide for a mandatory medical examination. It is carried out if one of the parties evades the examination to establish kinship. This rule is spelled out in the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, in article 79.
What to do in this case? The court may recognize paternity of the refusal to conduct an examination. This is a fairly common occurrence.
Sample claim
And what does a sample application for establishing paternity and collecting child support look like? In general, this document resembles the most common lawsuit. It is compiled in accordance with the rules of conducting business correspondence.
In this case, the document must indicate:
- evidence on the basis of which I want to confirm kinship;
- data on the income of a citizen;
- information about the plaintiff, defendant and child;
- size and frequency of payments.
In general, the document, after which the establishment of paternity and the recovery of alimony takes place (statement of claim), looks like this.
“I, (data about the plaintiff with passport data), please acknowledge paternity for the citizen (information about the defendant, passport data, if available, registration) in relation to my child (information about the baby).
Our joint child was born by me (birth data). The defendant is the father of our baby, but he refused to file an application with the registry office to make an appropriate entry. He also refused to support our common child.
Paternity is confirmed by the following facts: cohabitation (duration), joint budget and household management, as evidenced by testimony, bank statements and photographs, and medical examination results.
I ask: to acknowledge paternity for a citizen (information about the defendant), to collect alimony from him in the amount of 25% of earnings (income statements provided). "
That's all. After filing such a statement, the establishment of paternity and the recovery of alimony in the presence of all the accompanying evidence will not cause trouble.