Reduction of alimony

Alimony obligations have always been an important institution of legal relations in the family law of Ukraine.

This is explained by the fact that a large number of couples in love first get married, give birth to children, and then have problems that they cannot cope with, and as a result, all this leads to divorce and the payment of alimony for the joint children of the ex-spouses.

In addition, in practice, there are often cases when one of the spouses is unable to pay alimony properly or certain circumstances have appeared in his life that gives him the right to reduce the amount of alimony. This shows the relevance of the chosen topic.

Therefore, in this article, we will consider the reasons for reducing the amount of alimony provided by the normative legal acts of Ukraine.

How can alimony be reduced?

Currently, Ukrainian legislation provides for 2 methods by which the amount of alimony can be reduced, namely:

• Voluntary order. Parents can agree among themselves and conclude a notarized contract, which will regulate the procedure and amount of alimony payments by one of the members of the former spouse. Changes to such an agreement can be made only by concluding a separate agreement in writing, which provides for a reduction in the amount of alimony. A separate contract must be signed by two parties and is subject to notarization;
• Judicial procedure. If alimony obligations were assigned by a court decision, their amount can be changed only by applying to the judicial authorities. In addition, if the parents cannot agree to change the amount of alimony voluntarily, then in this case it is also necessary to contact the judicial authorities.

What are the legal grounds for reducing alimony?

From the analysis of the provisions of the SCU, it can be seen that the amount of alimony, which was assigned in court or by agreement of the child’s parents, can be changed only by a court decision at the request of the alimony payer in the event of a change in his financial or family status, deterioration of health, etc.

So, it can be said that the Ukrainian legislation does not provide an extended list of reasons for which it is possible to clearly determine when the amount of alimony should be reduced.

However, if we turn to practice, namely actual court decisions in the field of family law, then on this issue there are the most common cases in which courts usually reduce the amount of alimony awarded.

Such situations in practice are:

• the presence of alimony obligations of the 1st or 2nd groups of disability at the payer, as a result of which he needs money for his treatment, care, maintenance, food, etc.;
• if the payer of alimony obligations has created a new family and has children;
• if the payer of alimony obligations has lost his main job, which was the only source of his income, and he is unable to find a job with the same level of income as he had before;
• if the payer of alimony obligations found out that the child who is the recipient of alimony is the owner of the property that brings him income on a permanent basis, and because of this, the need to pay alimony in the amounts that were previously assigned disappeared;
• if the payer of alimony obligations must provide financial support to other members of his family (mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandfather, grandmother, etc.);
• the presence of the payer of alimony obligations that is too high official income from which alimony was assigned to the child, exceeding its real needs for provision and proper upbringing.

Importantly! The parents or the court must assign such an amount of alimony that will ensure the development of the child and carry out his proper upbringing. In addition, Ukrainian legislation establishes a minimum amount of alimony – 50% of the subsistence minimum for a child of the appropriate age.

Therefore, it is impossible to reduce the minimum amount of alimony guaranteed by the state.

Are you the payer of alimony, but you have life circumstances that give you the right to reduce the amount of alimony?

In such a situation, you cannot do without experienced and qualified lawyers – the Prikhodko and Partners law firm.

Our team includes specialists who are well-versed in Ukrainian family law, as they have a thorough knowledge of legislation and many years of work experience.

In addition, we always work for the result for our clients, so when you contact us, you will get only pleasant cooperation!