The IDP mother will receive alimony for the child

Publication date: June 13, 2023

In less than a month, the problem with alimony faced by a resettled woman from the Donetsk oblast was solved. The lawyers of the Chervonohrad NGO “Youth Initiative Center” helped the woman to obtain payments through the court from her ex-husband who stopped financially supporting the child after the official divorce.

Halyna* is an internally displaced woman from the Donetsk oblast. Before the war, she lived in Kramatorsk with her 8-year-old son. Halyna did not live with the father of the child, who was born in their marriage in 2014, but before the full-scale invasion, her husband helped the family financially. But after the couple officially broke up their marriage in December 2022, no financial support for their son came from the man.

With this problem, the woman turned to the lawyers of the “Youth Initiative Center” during an on-site consultation in March 2023. She asked for help in collecting alimony for the child.

• Having familiarized ourselves with the situation, we prepared a court order for the collection of child support. And already on March 28, 2023, a court order was registered in the Kamianka-Buzka District Court of the Lviv oblast to collect alimony from the father for the maintenance of the son, — explains Andrii Mytsak, a lawyer of the organization. 

In particular, the father was obliged to pay 1/4 of all his income for the benefit of the child until she reaches the age of majority.

Lawyer’s comment

According to Art. 180 of the Family Code of Ukraine, parents are obliged to support the child until he reaches the age of majority.

According to Art. 160 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, a court order is a special form of a court decision issued by the court based on the results of consideration of the requirements provided for in Art. 161 of the Civil Procedure Code.

An application for the issuance of a court order can be made by a person who has the right to claim, as well as bodies and persons authorized by law to protect the rights and freedoms of other persons.

According to Art. 183 of the Family Code of Ukraine, the collector of alimony has the right to apply to the court for the issuance of a court order for the collection of alimony in the amount of one-quarter for one child, one-third for two children, and half of the earnings (income) of the alimony payer for three or more children, but no more than ten subsistence minimums per child of the appropriate age for each child.

According to Art. 191. of the Family Code, alimony for a child is awarded by a court decision from the day the lawsuit is filed, and in the case of filing an application for the issuance of a court order — from the day such application is filed.

Alimony for the past time can be awarded if the plaintiff submits to the court evidence that he took measures to receive alimony from the defendant, but could not receive it due to the latter’s evasion of their payment. In this case, the court can award alimony for past time, but not more than 10 years.

*Name has been changed for ethical reasons.

The material was created with the support of the international charity platform GlobalGiving and the Legal Empowerment Fund (Fund for Global Human Rights program) and the Legal Development Network. The content of the publication is solely the responsibility of the Legal Development Network and does not necessarily reflect the views of the previously mentioned organizations.

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