BO "BF "Caritas Kharkiv": How free legal aid helped Olga collect alimony

The court twice refused to issue a court order to Ms. Olga to collect alimony for the maintenance of her minor son. For the first time, this happened due to the fact that the child's place of residence was not indicated in the application for issuing a court order and no evidence was attached to confirm the child's residence together with her.

The second refusal concerned Olga's request to the court to collect alimony in a smaller amount than is provided for by the current legislation: instead of one-fourth of the debtor's earnings (income), the woman asked to set the share of alimony at the level of one-sixth of the income (but not less than 50% of the subsistence minimum for a child of the appropriate age).

Mrs. Olga turned to BO "BF "Caritas Kharkiv" for legal assistance, and lawyer Artem prepared a statement of claim for the collection of alimony. By the decision of the October District Court of Kharkiv, the lawsuit was satisfied and alimony was collected for the maintenance of the minor son until he reaches the age of majority.

In February 2024, Ms. Olga already received the first payment for her son's maintenance.

Free legal aid in the Kharkiv region is provided by the Caritas Kharkiv Foundation in cooperation with the DRC thanks to funding from the Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine (HFU).