Publication date: 23.04.2024
lawyer, 23 years of experience in enforcement.
Article 179 of the Family Code of Ukraine establishes that alimony received for a child is the property of the child and the parent or other legal representative of the child, in whose name the alimony is paid, must dispose of the alimony exclusively for the intended purpose in the interests of the child.
A minor child has the right to participate in the disposal of alimony received for his maintenance, as well as to independently receive alimony and dispose of it in accordance with the Civil Code of Ukraine. In view of the above, Article 186 of the Family Code of Ukraine provides for control over the targeted spending of alimony.
Control over the targeted spending of alimony is carried out by the body of guardianship and care in the form of inspection visits to the recipient of alimony, the procedure and frequency of which are determined by the central executive body implementing state policy in the field of adoption and protection of children's rights. At the request of the payer of alimony (except for those who have arrears of alimony), inspection visits of the recipient of alimony are carried out by the body of custody and guardianship outside of schedule, but no more than once every three months.
Therefore, in order to verify the intended use of alimony, the payer of alimony must contact the district, district in the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol state administrations, executive committees of village, settlement, city councils, the center for the provision of administrative services at the place of residence of the recipient of alimony, or the appropriate service for children with a corresponding statement.
To confirm the payment of alimony, together with the application, the alimony payer must submit a calculation of the arrears from the payment of alimony for the last 12 months, issued in accordance with the Instructions for the Organization of Enforcement of Decisions, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine dated April 2, 2012 No. 512/5, registered in To the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on April 2, 2012 under No. 489/20802, as well as information about the place of residence of the recipient of alimony. If the alimony payer applies for an inspection visit repeatedly during the year, a calculation of the arrears for the payment of alimony for the period that has passed since the date of the previous inspection visit is submitted.
If child alimony is not paid according to a court decision (according to an agreement between the child's parents, an agreement between parents on the payment of child alimony), the alimony payer provides copies of other documents confirming the payment of child alimony and their amount.
The recipient of alimony must be informed about the inspection visit by sending a registered letter with a notification of delivery no later than 7 calendar days before the scheduled day of its implementation, with further coordination of the date and time of the visit by means of telephone and/or electronic communication (if possible) .
It is also worth knowing that in case of arrears of alimony payments, the alimony payer will be refused an inspection visit of the alimony recipient.
Please note that in the case of detection of improper spending of alimony,a lawsuit for reducing the amount of alimony, the payer has the right to apply to the court with a claim to reduce the amount of alimony or to deposit part of the alimony to the child's personal account at the branch of the State Savings Bank of Ukraine. Therefore, misuse of alimony is one of the grounds for reducing the amount.
The applicant can submit an application for an opinion on the targeted spending of child support in person, by sending documents by mail (by registered mail), but it would be advisable to contact a lawyer or a lawyer who will represent the interests of the applicant, help collect the necessary documents and, accordingly, accompany the consideration of the specified application by state institutions and reduce alimony in the future.
