Parental obligation to support children: alimony and additional expenses

Under Ukrainian law, parents have an obligation to provide for and maintain their children.

Ukrainian law establishes such types of child support as the payment of child support and the recovery of additional expenses that are not covered by child support and are separate from child support.

What is alimony?

Alimony is a certain obligation of one of the parents established by the state to pay money for the maintenance of their child. Alimony can be paid voluntarily or enforced by a court decision.

Voluntary payment of child support may be based on an oral agreement between the child's parents regarding the procedure, frequency and amount of funds to be paid, and may also be fixed in a written agreement, which may be formalized in the form of a contract where the terms and conditions are agreed upon.

Enforcement of alimony is possible either by a court decision in a lawsuit or in writ proceedings. After the court decision enters into force, you can obtain a writ of execution and transfer the case to the executive service, where enforcement proceedings will be opened against the debtor and the bailiff will take measures to recover alimony from the person.

In other words, alimony is used to meet the child's nutritional needs, pay for school or kindergarten, buy clothes for the child, and organize leisure activities.

And if these funds are not enough, it is necessary to contact the other parent to settle the issue of collecting additional funds.

What are the additional costs?

The law establishes the obligation of parents to contribute to additional expenses. Such expenses may be related to special circumstances, such as the development of the child's abilities, illness, injury, etc.

Today, there is a certain legal practice where national courts have recognized such costs as additional:

• Additional expenses for the child's treatment (for example, the need for medicines, medical examination, or replacement of contact lenses).

• Additional expenses for the development of the child's abilities, including the purchase of sports equipment, musical instruments, a laptop for studying, etc.

• Additional expenses can also include costs associated with studying at foreign educational institutions and others.

Of course, in order to satisfy a claim for additional expenses, the plaintiff must have some evidence of such expenses. If it is the purchase of a musical instrument or sports equipment, then there must be receipts for such purchase. If these are additional treatment costs, the patient's medical record with the specified diagnoses and treatment, as well as the relevant receipts from a pharmacy or medical institution may be evidence.

In other words, to prove the fact of additional expenses, the plaintiff must provide evidence that unequivocally confirms such expenses.

In addition, when considering a case, the court clarifies certain circumstances, which may include:

• Did both parents give their consent to the child's education in a private educational institution, if such education is provided?

• If a child attends a singing class or a boxing class, do these classes promote the development of abilities and meet the child's desires?

When considering a claim for the recovery of additional childcare expenses, the court takes an individualized approach to each case, so no template approach is applied to such cases.