Alimony

ALIMONY (from Latin alimentum - food), a legal term denoting means of subsistence provided by one family member to other needy incapacitated family members (children to parents, spouse to spouse, etc.). The most significant obligation in daily life and social-hygienic terms is the father's obligation to pay alimony to the mother for the support of children born to her. The laws regarding alimony vary in different countries. The circle of relatives entitled to alimony is defined differently (relatives in the direct line under the German code, as well as in-laws under the French code, etc.); many bourgeois countries (and Russian law before the revolution) impose the obligation to pay alimony only on the husband. The claim for alimony is closely connected with the issue of establishing paternity, which presents particular difficulties in the so-called conceptio plurium. In the legislation of most bourgeois countries, proof that a woman had sexual relations with several men during the period of conception exempts the husband from paying alimony (exceptio plurium consumptorum). Under the RSFSR Code, paternity is established in this case by court order for one person. Among modern bourgeois countries, Norway has the most perfect legislation, where allowance for the support of an illegitimate child is paid to the mother by the state, which then collects the corresponding amount from the father. In the RSFSR, the right to receive alimony has been determined since January 1, 1927, by the Code of Laws on Marriage, Family and Guardianship, approved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on November 19, 1926. Soviet legislation here proceeds from the complete equality of spouses and protects, above all, the interests of children, regardless of the form of marriage and its formal or actual dissolution. At the same time, the law and judicial practice of the USSR provide a number of real advantages to the weaker party (the mother). Both parents are obliged to provide support to minor children, as well as after they reach majority, if they are needy and incapacitated (Article 42 of the Code). The amount of alimony is determined depending on the financial position of each parent (Art. 48). When registering the divorce of spouses by the civil status registry offices, the question of which spouse the children will remain with for upbringing and to what extent each will bear the expenses of support must necessarily be raised; if the spouses reach an agreement, it is recorded in the divorce registry book; the agreement does not deprive the right to seek support in a larger amount (Art. 22); if the agreement is not fulfilled, the people's court, at the request of the interested party, issues a court order for the collection of alimony (Art. 23). In the absence of an agreement, the court resolves the issue of the amount of alimony in the general proceedings, and when accepting the claim, the court temporarily determines the amount of alimony until the case is concluded (Art. 24). The same proceedings apply to the collection of alimony for children whose parents were not in a registered marriage or in actual marital relations. In case of a change in the financial situation of the parents, the court's decision on the amount of alimony may be changed by the court (note to Art. 50). Deprivation of parental rights does not exempt parents from the obligation to pay alimony (Art. 51). If needy incapacitated children cannot receive alimony from their parents due to their absence or insolvency, their brothers and sisters, grandfather and grandmother, having sufficient means, are obliged to pay alimony (Art. 54 and 55). Adoptive parents are obliged to support the adopted children, and in case of adoption annulment (if required by the interests of the children), the court awards alimony from the adoptive parent (Art. 67). Children are obliged to pay alimony to parents if the parents are incapacitated and needy (Art. 49). Grandchildren are obliged to support incapacitated needy grandfather and grandmother (Art. 55). A needy incapacitated spouse (also during unemployment) has the right to receive alimony from the other spouse, if the latter, according to the court's determination, is in a position to provide support. If the marriage (registered or actual) is dissolved, the right to alimony in the RSFSR continues for one year in case of incapacity and for six months in case of unemployment (Art. 14-16); in the Ukrainian SSR, the right to alimony ceases in case of the spouse's incapacity that arose no later than a year after the divorce, only upon the incapacitated person entering a new marriage, and in case of unemployment - after the expiration of a year (Art. 129 of the Ukrainian Code). According to the Code of the Byelorussian SSR (Art. 32), in case of unemployment, alimony is paid for 9 months after divorce. In case of pregnancy from a person with whom the woman is not in a registered or actual marriage, she has the right to alimony during pregnancy and for six months after childbirth (Art. 31 of the RSFSR Code); in the Ukrainian SSR - 1 year after childbirth (Art. 11); in the BSSR - also 1 year (Art. 45). Claims for alimony are exempt from fees, which are collected from the defendant, and since 3/4 1924 are also under the jurisdiction of the plaintiff's place of residence (note to Art. 25 of the Civil Procedure Code); in these cases, free defenders are appointed; for alimony, collections can be made from the defendant's earnings in the amount of up to 50% of the remaining earnings after deducting the minimum wage of the given locality, whereas for other collections the amount should not exceed 20% (Art. 289 of the Civil Procedure Code); in addition, alimony enjoys the right of priority collection along with arrears of social insurance and wages; court decisions on the collection of alimony are subject to immediate execution (Art. 187 of the Civil Procedure Code). All this and some other advantages in the matter of claiming alimony (criminal liability of parents for non-payment of alimony) put plaintiffs in particularly favorable conditions. The amount of alimony awarded varies greatly: in cities, courts award tens of rubles per child, and even up to 1/3 or 1/5 of the defendant's earnings; in rural areas, usually 4-5, rarely 10 rubles per month. In the first years after the October Revolution, the number of alimony cases in courts was relatively small and increased significantly from 1923 and in subsequent years. To assist mothers in obtaining alimony, legal consultations have been organized in the departments for the protection of motherhood and infancy, which provide them with legal assistance; there are 140 such consultations in the RSFSR. The socio-hygienic significance of alimony, as one of the elements of the protection of mother and child, is very great. Being an institution of private responsibility for children, alimony retains its significance in the USSR under transitional conditions until the complete socialization of child rearing.