If, during the divorce, the former spouses managed to agree on the procedure for calculating alimony, this is an ideal situation. But this is not always the case. One of the controversial issues is the accrual of alimony for a child if a loan is taken from the alimony father.
What's more important: alimony or credit
After a divorce, the child stays with one of the parents - usually the mother. And the other parent pays child support, and this is usually the dad. And he must pay alimony, even if he pays the loan.
Problems with calculating the amount of alimony arise less often if the father, in agreement with the mother, pays a certain fixed amount to the child or children. It is another matter if alimony is to be levied on a percentage basis. That is, make up a certain share of the parent's income:
- for one child - 25% and income;
- for two children - 33%;
- for three or more children - 50%.
How, in this case, will the father's income be determined - before or after the monthly payment on the loan? In fact, the priority is to pay alimony. That is, for one child, you need to give a quarter (one third or half) of the salary and / or other income, even with a large loan.
When the court can reduce child support due to a loan
In some cases, the father can obtain a reduction in payments through the court. But whether the court will agree with the arguments of the alimony depends on the specific situation. The mere debt on the loan in these cases is not a reason to pay children less.
The court takes into account many factors, including:
- When a loan is taken: before, after or during marriage.
- The purpose of the loan. It is one thing if the money went to the former family, and another - for the personal purposes of the borrower.
- Loan amount.
- The total income of the child's father.
- The man has other dependents.
- Will the child receive sufficient support from the first marriage if the father's requirements are met?
If the ex-wife disagrees, she can also go to court. In practice, judges most often try to protect the interests of the child as much as possible.
When a loan is taken before the wedding
Obligations for such a loan after a divorce remain entirely with the spouse who took this loan. Sometimes ex-husbands seek to reduce alimony, because there is an unpaid loan. But the whole situation is important here.
Anton bought an apartment on a mortgage for 15 years and soon married Olga. A daughter was born in the marriage, but two years later the couple decided to separate. Olga and her child went to live with her parents.
Meanwhile, Anton continues to pay the bank. After a year and a half, he created a new family, twins were born from his second wife. Although the man works, given the loan, it became difficult to give a quarter of the income to the eldest daughter. Anton decides to petition the court for a reduction in the amount of alimony.
Given that Anton's income is relatively small, the court may well meet him halfway. Moreover, after the divorce, the first wife began to provide for herself and her daughter well. However, Olga also has the right to file a counterclaim and demand that Anton pay alimony in full.
The loan was taken during a life together
If the husband borrowed from the bank after the wedding and spent the money on the needs of the whole family, then he shares the loan obligations with his ex-wife in half. In this case, a man can take on the entire loan, but reduce alimony payments.
Sveta and Victor have been married for five years. At the beginning of his family life, a man took out a consumer loan to buy furniture. During the divorce, the property was divided equally. The same should have happened with the loan, but for the convenience of Sveta and Victor entered into an alimony agreement.
It was decided that Victor would repay the loan without the participation of his ex-wife, and the monthly payments for the child would be reduced by the amount of Sveta's loan payment. When Victor has paid the bank in full, the money for the maintenance of his son will be charged in full.
When the ex-husband and wife cannot agree peacefully, they have to go to court again. But the man still needs to prove that the loan he took was really spent on the whole family. For example, if he bought a car for himself with borrowed funds, then it will not work to reduce alimony.
If a loan is taken after a divorce
A loan taken after the breakup of relations between spouses is able to affect the amount of alimony least of all. In this case, the man goes to the bank, already knowing about his obligations to the children. And the new burden is already his voluntary work.
After the divorce, Valery pays money to support his daughter. He took out a loan to buy a new apartment for himself. Valery tried to petition the court to reduce the amount of alimony, but to no avail. The payment to the child will still be calculated based on the total income of the father.
However, there are special, really serious cases when a loan taken after a divorce can become one of the reasons for reducing alimony. For example:
- the man was forced to borrow a large amount for his treatment or to buy very expensive drugs;
- the loan was used to pay for the treatment of close relatives;
- the loan was necessary to buy a home, while the previous home became completely unusable.
