What threatens non-payment of alimony: what will happen for this in Russia, punishment for the defaulter

For any failure to fulfill obligations, it is legally provided certain responsibility. Such liability for non-payment of alimony has a number of specific features. First of all, we are talking about penalties for non-payment of such funds. A penalty is the debtor’s obligation to pay money specified by law or agreement. It only occurs when late payment of alimony (that is, failure to fulfill such an obligation).

If the penalty acts as an additional compensation of funds for violation of the right in general, then there are other measures of liability that are aimed at inducing the debtor’s desire to pay the debt . For example, an effective measure is a temporary ban on the debtor leaving the territory of our state.

Such a prohibition may be established in connection with a ruling by a bailiff or by a court decision. A similar measure exists within the framework of the law adopted in 2015 - we are talking about the deprivation of driver's licenses of persons who have overdue such payment for a total amount of over 10,000 rubles .

An undesirable measure of liability is criminal punishment of the debtor. In the event of criminal prosecution of such a person, not only he, but also the child himself , since his parent’s criminal record may negatively affect his future career.

Penalty for non-payment of alimony

First of all, we need to find out the very definition of a penalty . Based on Art. 115 of the Family Code, as well as Art. 330 of the Civil Code, we can derive a definition of the concept of a penalty for non-payment of alimony. And so, a penalty for non-payment of alimony is a sum of money determined by law or agreement that is obliged to pay to their recipients in the event of a delay in fulfilling the obligation to pay alimony.

Failure to pay alimony, as a fact that violates the rights of those persons who are recipients of such funds, implies additional responsibility (in addition to the fact that it is necessary to pay the principal amount of the debt). This measure of liability is a penalty. In accordance with Art. 4 of the Family Code, first of all, we turn to the provisions of the Family Code, and in particular to Art. 115 and only in the unregulated part to paragraph two of Chapter 23 of the Civil Code.

And so, in accordance with Art. 115 of the Family Code, alimony penalties can be of two types:

by agreement of the parties (i.e., the measure of responsibility is established in the agreement itself, which is concluded between the payer and the recipient of alimony);
in law.

If liability measures in the form of a penalty by agreement depend only on the will of the parties, then the penalty by law has certain rules . So according to Art. 115 of the Family Code, a person who, by a court decision, is obliged to pay alimony and through his fault a debt has arisen, is also obliged to pay a penalty to the recipient of the alimony. The penalty is paid in the amount of one-half percent of the amount that was not paid for each day of such delay.

In addition, the recipient of alimony has the right to recover from the person guilty of non-payment all losses caused by such non-payment, but only to the extent that the penalty did not cover .

The provisions of paragraph two of Chapter 23 of the Civil Code also apply to penalties associated with alimony obligations. The exception is Art. 333, which is dedicated to reducing penalties. This is due to the fact that Art. 115 of the Family Code does not imply such a reduction , and the rule enshrined in Art. 4 of the Family Code allows the application of Civil Law only when a particular legal relationship is not regulated by Family Law.

Period of non-payment of alimony

Alimony is current payments for the maintenance of a child or other disabled person. In relation to children, such responsibilities are borne by parents. If the father or mother refuses to voluntarily allocate money for a minor, alimony can be collected through the court. It is also possible to draw up an agreement through a notary, which will indicate all the conditions for payment of funds.

An important feature of alimony obligations is the regular nature of payments. For example, a child has the right to receive a monthly amount specified by a court decision and a writ of execution, or a certain percentage of the parent’s salary. Therefore, failure to pay alimony is:

non-payment of funds during the current month;
lack of receipts after the date specified in the notary agreement;
missing a deadline for alimony payment if the court has granted the debtor a deferment or installment plan.

For criminal and administrative liability, the size of the debt does not matter. The period of delay will be important. To apply enforcement measures in enforcement proceedings, on the contrary, the possibility of applying restrictions depends on the amount of debt.

If alimony is collected for a child, the period for its payment cannot be changed even in a notarial agreement. The notary is obliged to refuse to certify a document if he determines a violation of the interests of children. An exception is the case when the debtor goes abroad for permanent residence, or for some other reason is unable to fulfill his obligations. In such a situation, it is possible to provide for the repayment of alimony with property, a large amount for a future period.

More than 4-6 months

As soon as the delay in current payments exceeds two months in a row, grounds will arise for initiating an administrative case. Accordingly, the bailiff can apply the same measure of influence if the debt has existed for 4-6 months. Moreover, if during the period of the administrative penalty the non-payment again exceeds two months, the defaulter will face punishment under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Naturally, the longer the payer violates his obligations, the greater the amount of debt and penalties will be.

More than a year

The consequences of non-payment for more than a year are no different from a debt for several months. The sanctions that can be applied in case of a one-year delay will be standard - administrative and criminal sanctions, the introduction of bans and restrictions through the FSSP. However, if payments are evaded over a period of several years, the amount of penalties may increase significantly.

Find out more Parental rights under the Family Code of the Russian Federation

Within three years

If a malicious alimony holder has been “accumulating” the debt for three or more years, he may even receive a slight advantage. When collecting a penalty for non-payment, a limitation period of 3 years is applied. This means that some of the plaintiff’s claims can be defeated in court. Nothing will change regarding other consequences:

the recipient can confirm the amount of the debt through the court, receive a separate writ of execution for the debt;
the bailiff is obliged to initiate administrative and criminal cases if non-payment is more than two months in a row;
since if there is a delay of several years, the amount of debt is large, the debtor will most likely be deprived of his driver’s license and prohibited from traveling abroad;
The bailiffs will collect all resulting debt by seizing and selling the property.

The funds mentioned above are usually enough for even the worst defaulter to get a job and start paying off his debts. If the debtor goes “on principle” and categorically ignores enforcement measures, we recommend that you consult a lawyer. Only with the support of an experienced specialist can you count on collecting and actually receiving the entire amount of the debt.

Restriction of the debtor's right to leave the country

After a court order or court decision, together with a writ of execution, is sent to the bailiff service to collect alimony from the debtor, the bailiff initiates enforcement proceedings . Often, in order to induce the debtor to fulfill the monetary payments ordered by the court, the bailiff (both independently and at the request of the claimant) has to resort to enforcement actions (Article 64 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”).

One of these actions is the temporary restriction of the debtor’s right to leave the country. This is enshrined in paragraph 15 of Art. 64 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”. The legality of such a restriction is also confirmed by paragraph 5 of Art. 15 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ of August 15, 1996. This article contains a number of grounds on which a citizen may be temporarily prohibited from leaving the country, but in this case we are only interested in the ground that is associated with the citizen’s evasion from fulfilling the obligations imposed on him by the court .

In addition, clause 5 of Art. 15 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ of August 15, 1996. establishes a specific period for such a restriction - until the obligations imposed on the person are fulfilled or until an agreement is reached between the parties.

In order for the bailiff to issue a ruling on such a restriction, several conditions must be met:

failure by the debtor to fulfill the requirements specified in the court decision, as well as in the writ of execution, within the deadline for voluntary execution;
the amount of debt must exceed ten thousand rubles ;
statement of the claimant or the bailiff’s own initiative.

If a writ of execution is issued not on the basis of a court decision, the bailiff or recoverer may apply to the court to impose a restriction on leaving the country for the debtor. A copy of the resolution on such a restriction must be sent to the debtor, as well as to border authorities and territorial authorities competent in the field of migration. These provisions come from Art. 67 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”.

Such a restriction can become a convenient tool, especially if the claimant has information that the debtor may flee abroad in order not to pay alimony.

The procedure for bringing a debtor to criminal liability

The procedure for bringing a debtor to criminal liability begins from the moment the defendant is brought to pay alimony. A document regulating the payment of alimony, drawn up on a voluntary basis and certified by a notary, acquires the force of a writ of execution submitted to the bailiff service for the purpose of collecting alimony. A lawsuit for child support that is granted by the court ultimately results in the issuance of a writ of execution to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff shows the writ of execution to the employer, who withholds the required amount from wages in favor of supporting the children. The document is also submitted to the bailiff service, which initiates enforcement proceedings. In certain cases, the debtor's account is seized and he may be given a prison sentence for failure to pay alimony.

If the debtor continues to evade the payment of alimony, according to the articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, a fine of several thousand rubles is assessed. A court ruling deciding the case in favor of paying a fine can become significant evidence in bringing the debtor to criminal liability, who may be imprisoned. It became possible to initiate a case to bring the defaulter to criminal liability through bailiffs and by contacting the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The case materials are submitted to the court, and during the consideration of the case, a verdict is made on the guilt or innocence of the person who may be imprisoned.

Deprivation of parental rights for non-payment of child support

There are often cases when, due to non-payment of alimony, debtors are deprived of parental rights . This is justified by the fact that if a parent does not take part in the child’s life and does not pay alimony for his maintenance, then, accordingly, he should not have parental rights. Art. 69 of the Family Code includes a number of grounds for deprivation of parental rights, including evasion of the duties of a parent, which can be expressed in malicious evasion of child support .

Deprivation of parental rights occurs exclusively in court. In accordance with Art. 70 of the Family Code, such cases are considered upon application:

one of the parents (or persons who replace them);
prosecutor;
guardianship and trusteeship authority, commission for minors and other similar bodies that were entrusted with responsibilities for protecting the rights of minors.

In addition to the issue of deprivation of parental rights, the court must also resolve the issue of further payment of child support for the parent who was deprived of parental rights. That is, according to Art. 71 of the Family Code, those parents who have been deprived of parental rights lose all rights that are based on the fact of relationship with the child, including to receive maintenance from him in accordance with Art. 87 Family Code. But this does not mean that such a parent is released from the obligation to support his child.

Also, the child does not lose property rights (including the right to inheritance) in relation to his parent, who was deprived of parental rights. Therefore, such a measure can be quite effective, since in the future the child will not be obliged to support such a parent, but the parent himself (if the court decides so) will be obliged to support the child, including by paying alimony.

Example

Alekseeva filed a lawsuit in which she asked to deprive Makeyev of parental rights in relation to their minor son. In substantiating her claims, the plaintiff indicated that Makeev does not take any part in the child’s life, does not meet with him, is not interested in his life, and also does not pay child support.
Alekseeva was provided with documents confirming the fact of registration of the marriage, as well as its dissolution. A son’s birth certificate and a court decision to collect alimony arrears from Makeev were also presented.
The court, having examined the case materials, satisfied Alekseeva’s demands to deprive Makeev of parental rights. In addition, the court sent the prosecutor a copy of the decision to resolve the issue of criminal prosecution of Makeev under Art. 157 of the Criminal Code, since he maliciously evades paying alimony.

Criminal liability for non-payment of alimony

We should not forget that liability for failure to pay alimony can be the most severe, that is, criminal . Criminal Code in Art. 157 provided for liability for malicious evasion of payment of funds for the maintenance of children (that is, alimony) by a court decision.

Punishment under this article may be one of the following (by court verdict):

correctional labor for a period of one year;
forced labor for the same period as correctional labor;
arrest for up to three months;
imprisonment for up to one year.

However, punishments such as forced labor and arrest are not applied today , due to the fact that the conditions for their execution have not been created in the penal system of the Russian Federation. correctional labor and imprisonment can be applied .

In addition, you should read that criminal punishment for a parent who maliciously evaded paying child support can become a punishment not only for him , but also for the child himself. The fact is that in the future, when finding employment (for example, in law enforcement agencies), problems may arise due to the fact that one of the parents was convicted of a crime (even if such a parent was deprived of parental rights). In this case, it may come to the point that he will be denied work in such a structure for precisely this reason.

That is why you should think carefully about whether the process of criminal prosecution under this article should be initiated for the parent who maliciously evades paying child support. It may be that you should not resort to such a measure, since no benefit for the child or for the parent who cares for the child, but there may well be a negative outcome (not being hired).

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Watch the video, when and who faces criminal liability for non-payment of alimony?
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Author of the article

Irina Garmash

Family law consultant.

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Revocation of driver's license for failure to pay child support

Today, a bill , according to which parents who do not pay child support will be deprived of their driver's license. It is worth mentioning right away that today this is only a draft law, that is, there is no . However, if such a bill is approved by deputies of the State Duma, such a law may actually begin to take effect .

In Western European practice, similar laws are already in force, and they show high efficiency - the percentage of alimony collected has increased sharply . In addition, the justification for such innovations is the fact that after the introduction into the legislation of our country of the right to restrict the departure of debtor citizens from Russia by bailiffs, the percentage of alimony paid also increased.