What circumstances are taken into account by the court when determining the amount of alimony

Circumstances that are taken into account by the court when determining the amount of alimony in Ukraine

When determining and changing the amount of alimony, the court takes into account:

• the state of health and financial situation of the child;
• the state of health and financial situation of the alimony payer;
• the alimony payer has other children, a disabled husband, wife, parents, daughter, son;
• other circumstances of significant importance.

Family lawyer in Ukraine

Scriabina Daria Sergeevna

Family lawyer

Our lawyers are often asked the question: What is the minimum amount of alimony for one child? Can the court reduce the amount of alimony if the alimony payer provides evidence of health problems?

On our website advokat-family.com.ua you will find all the answers to your questions in the field of family legislation of Ukraine.

Minimum and maximum amount of alimony in Ukraine

The minimum amount of alimony for one child cannot be less than 30% of the subsistence minimum for a child of the corresponding age, with the exception of cases provided for in Article 184 of the SK.

The novelty of the Family Code is that the law does not establish the maximum amount of alimony, but only the minimum.

In our practice, there was a case when two mothers who gave birth to children from the same father went to court for the recovery of alimony from him.

One of them asked the court to establish the amount of alimony in the amount of 1/4 of the share, and the other – 1/6 of the income received by the father (although the court can also order alimony in a fixed amount).

One of the plaintiffs, in support of her claim, gave such an argument that it is impossible to take all the funds from the father to pay alimony, he also needs to live for something. The court satisfied both claims in the amounts indicated above.

What does the court take into account when determining the amount of alimony in Ukraine

There is a concept that the court itself determines and changes the amount of alimony, but at the same time it takes into account the following circumstances:

• the state of health and financial situation of the child;
• the state of health and financial situation of the alimony payer;
• the alimony payer has other children, a disabled husband, wife, parents, daughter, son;
• other circumstances that are significant for the case.

As the above example showed, it is the plaintiffs who determine the size of the claims, and the court only checks their legality and compliance with the circumstances of the case and, if the plaintiffs’ claims are justified, satisfies them.

Therefore, it is not worth expecting that the court itself specifies the amount of alimony, since this provision is a prerequisite for a statement of claim.

Moreover, legal practice shows that in the competitive process the parties have the burden of proving the validity of their claims.

And the court can only find out whether the claims of the plaintiff change, and consider the case within the scope of the claimed claim.

The legislator does not establish the maximum amount of alimony, since it will be determined by the court, taking into account the capabilities of the father, mother and the needs of the child.

This provision is suitable for the adversarial principle of the civil process and each family and the needs of the child have their own specific features, therefore, generalizing and bringing all cases to the determination of alimony to a certain subsistence level is a stereotypical solution to the legal situation, which will be far from real legal relations.

Therefore, the information presented above should be perceived not as a kind of standard, but only as a guideline, which should take into account the obligation of the state to provide assistance to a child whose parents are unable to support the child for objective reasons (part 8 of article 181 of the UK).

Determination of the minimum amount of alimony in Ukraine

Regarding the minimum amount of alimony per child, then in Part 2 of Art. 182 of the SK indicates that the amount of alimony for one child cannot be less than 30 percent of the subsistence minimum for a child of the corresponding age, with the exception of cases provided for in Art. 184 SK.

So, in fact, the minimum amount of alimony per child is not a dogma, but only one of the criteria for determining the amount of alimony. This situation can be explained as follows.

Suppose that the amount of deductions is determined as alimony in a share of the earnings of the child’s mother or father, then it turns out that no one is worried about the final amount of alimony per child?

No, one cannot agree with such a provision, and when, when deducting alimony in a share of earnings, the total amount of alimony per child will be less than 30 percent of the subsistence minimum for a child of the corresponding age, in this case, state assistance should be assigned. In addition, this should be indicated when considering a case on determining the amount of alimony for one child.

Compared to the first edition of this provision (before the amendments were made on September 22, 2005), the minimum amount of alimony per child was 17 UAH (that is, the non-taxable minimum income of citizens could not be less).

It is clear that for 17 UAH a child cannot be supported, and even if we proceed from the fact that parents have equal responsibilities for maintaining a child, then 34 UAH is not the amount that can ensure the proper physical, spiritual development of a child, feed, dress and learn her. But there are also additional costs for the child for his treatment and education.

Therefore, the state could not leave the child without material means of subsistence and took and is now taking on obligations for her material support. So, part 8 of Art. 181 of the UK stipulates that if the other parent is unable to support the child, she is assigned temporary state assistance, which cannot be less than 30 percent of the subsistence minimum for a child of the corresponding age (see Appendix No. 24).

Family lawyer on the circumstances that are taken into account by the court when determining the amount of alimony in Ukraine

In deciding the case under the circumstances that are taken into account by the court when determining and changing the amount of alimony, the most optimal is to contact a family alimony lawyer who will help you quickly and efficiently resolve the case in your favor.

Our lawyers specialize in solving family law cases, so they know the subtleties and nuances that will help speed up the process.

The advantages of going to lawyers and divorce attorneys are:

• the promptness of the decision of the case under the circumstances that are taken into account by the court when determining the amount of alimony;
• quick preparation of documents for their submission to the court;
• saving material and time resources in solving the case;
• the ability to resolve issues online.

Daria Sergeevna Scriabina

Family lawyer

The best way to save time and money in the circumstances that are taken into account by the court when determining the amount of child support is to seek advice from a good family lawyer!

To resolve the case, you need to call or write to our family divorce lawyers and we will provide you with all the necessary information as soon as possible! Our lawyers will help you draw up an agreement between parents on the payment of alimony, file a divorce from your children or shorten the term for divorce.

Frequently asked questions to a lawyer in Ukraine

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