Child support from an unemployed father

Child support from an unemployed father

According to the Family Code of Ukraine, parents are obliged to support their minor children. The procedure and form for providing maintenance to minor children are determined by the parents independently.

The divorce of parents, their lack of regular income or work does not relieve them of the responsibility for the maintenance and upbringing of common minor children. If one of the spouses does not want to support their child, the other can influence him using legal methods: writing a statement of claim to the court, appealing to state executors, petitioning for administrative or criminal liability.

Amount of child support for an unemployed father

According to the Family Code of Ukraine, in the absence of an agreement on the payment of alimony, alimony for minor children is collected by the court from their parents monthly in the amount of: for one child – 1/4, for two children – 1/3, for three or more children – 1/2 ( half) of the parents’ earnings and (or) other income.

Conscientious parents, as a rule, try to fulfill their responsibilities, including supporting children living with one of the spouses. In this case, they agree among themselves on the amount and frequency of payments, namely, they conclude a deal. If the father or mother evades paying money for the child under the agreement, then the second parent has the right to turn to state enforcement officers.

It is not uncommon for a father who is obligated to pay financial assistance to his children to be unemployed; in this case, he is not relieved of the obligation to support his children, but alimony cannot be more than half of his own income.

The amount of alimony assistance is determined depending on:

  • from the average earnings of Ukrainian citizens;
  • on the number of minors in the family.

If the father does not have official unemployed status, namely, he is not registered with the employment service, then the amount of child benefit must be no less than the minimum established by law.

However, if the father is registered with the employment center, then he receives benefits in the form of cash payments, according to which he is obliged to pay his children money for their maintenance. On average, across the territory of Ukraine, unemployment benefits are about 6,000 thousand, of which it must pay alimony in the amount of:

  • 1/4 per child;
  • 1/3 for two children;
  • 1/2 for three or more children.

The minimum amount of alimony payments is established by current legislation, but in most cases it all depends on the father’s income and the number of minor children.

How to collect child support from an unemployed father

There are several ways to collect child support from an unemployed father, it all depends on the desire to support your children or the lack thereof:

  • By consent. If the parents have decided among themselves the issue of child support, namely the procedure and amount of payments;
  • Judicially. As a rule, the issue of paying child support obligations is resolved in court, due to the fact that the father does not want to provide for his children living separately from him.

The obligation to support his minor child also rests with the unemployed father. To do this, the mother must go to court at the place of residence of her ex-husband with the following documents:

  • claim for alimony;
  • marriage registration certificate;
  • birth certificate of the child/children.

Collection of alimony from the father is possible only if he has property or any type of income. Any property owned can be seized and sold if the father does not pay benefits.

Maintenance payments may be recovered in favor of:

  • minor children;
  • the spouse is on maternity leave;
  • parents.

In order to collect child support from an unemployed father, it is necessary to obtain a court decision, and in case of evasion of its payment, contact a state executor.

Statement of claim for the recovery of alimony from an unemployed father

If the former spouses could not come to an agreement among themselves regarding the maintenance of their common minor children, then the mother has every right to go to court at the defendant’s place of residence.

To go to court in this manner, it is necessary to draw up a legally competent statement of claim:

  • name and location of the court;
  • details of the plaintiff and defendant: last name, first name, patronymic, residential address, telephone numbers and other means of communication (if available);
  • consistently state the circumstances of the conflict, the problem – the descriptive part of the document (indicating that the defendant does not voluntarily pay alimony payments);
  • description of the evidence base confirming the validity of the claim, reference to the legislation of Ukraine;
  • claims against the defendant (specific wishes of the plaintiff);
  • attachments in the form of documents confirming the plaintiff’s arguments (marriage certificate, court decision on divorce, information about income, child’s birth certificate).

Due to the fact that the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff, it is necessary to prove the defendant’s financial ability to pay alimony. To do this, it is necessary to petition the judge for requests to various authorities in order to identify income and real estate: the tax office, the police, the pension fund, etc.

Child support for children with a non-working father

There are often cases when two minor children are left from a marriage with a mother, and their father does not work.

The share method of accrual is prescribed by the court if the parent is:

  • disabled.
  • officially unemployed, namely those standing at the labor exchange and receive appropriate assistance.

Example

After 10 years of Tatiana’s marriage to Vladimir, they were left with two young daughters – Victoria and Arina. During the divorce, the children remained to live with their mother, but the father was obliged by the court to pay them alimony in the amount of 33% of their salary. At that time, Vladimir worked at the plant as an engineer and received decent money.

However, after the reduction, the duty officer Vladimir was fired from the plant, he began to unofficially earn extra money in construction and as a taxi driver. Due to the loss of decent income, he considered that he would no longer be able to keep his daughters from their first marriage, so he stopped paying alimony.

Tatyana was outraged by the fact of non-payment of child support, she went to the court at Vladimir’s place of residence to review the court decision. Subsequently, the judge changed the method of calculating alimony, which began to be charged in a fixed amount.

Responsibility for non-payment of alimony to the unemployed

Often, the unwillingness of parents to support their minor children goes so far that another has the opportunity to bring the defaulter to justice.

Types of liability for evading payment of child support:

  • administrative – obligations to collect this type of debt are assigned to state executors. In case of malicious evasion, the following actions may be applied: seizure of the debtor’s accounts, ban on leaving the territory of Ukraine, bringing to administrative responsibility for the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine. Days of restriction and punishment can be applied to the debtor if he deliberately evades fulfilling his obligations, namely frequent moves, provision of fictitious documents, etc. However, before bringing the debt to justice, the executor finds out the reason for the debt – loss of work, loss of income or deliberate evasion;
  • criminal – according to Art. 164 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, malicious evasion of parents from paying court-ordered funds for the maintenance of minor children, as well as disabled children who have reached the age of eighteen, is punishable by correctional labor for a period of 80 to 120 hours, or by arrest for a term of up to three months, or by imprisonment for a term of up to two years;
  • civil law – if a parent does not pay child support, then he has the right to apply to the court for payment of a penalty in the amount of 1% for each day of non-payment.

To initiate a criminal case against a debtor, it is necessary to prove: actual evasion of payments not related to difficult life circumstances; his actions must be malicious; taking actions: changing place of residence, hiding income, etc. 

Answers from a lawyer about collecting alimony for an unemployed person
My husband and I separated about 10 years ago; an agreement was concluded between us on the payment of alimony for our common child living with me. However, for the last 4 months, the ex-husband has not paid alimony for his son, citing lack of money. Although, as far as I know, he is officially employed and has a good income. How can I protect the rights of my young son?
During the divorce, the court ordered my ex-husband to pay alimony to our minor children, but he does not pay the allowance because he has no income. He owns a lot of expensive real estate. What can I do to get money from my children’s father for their maintenance, because it’s difficult for me to provide them with everything they need with my salary?

Obligation to pay child support for unemployed parents

Lack of income does not relieve the debtor of the obligation to pay alimony. If he does not have wages from which alimony can be collected, its amount can be established in court in a fixed amount of money.

Services of a family lawyer

A family lawyer will provide you with legal advice and help you draw up all the necessary documents for collecting alimony from an unemployed father.

We are responsible for the quality of legal services and guarantee a positive result.

With the help of a family lawyer or lawyer, your case of collecting alimony from an unemployed parent will be resolved more professionally and quickly.

By contacting us, you are guaranteed to receive professional legal assistance in collecting child support from an unemployed parent.

Alexey Scriabin
Alexey Scriabin
Family lawyer
Our many years of experience in the legal field are a guarantee of your success - this is what you need now to solve your problem.

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Take the first step towards your victory in a legal case to collect child support from an unemployed parent, call or write to a lawyer and you will receive answers to all your questions.

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