Contacting the debtor’s employer or the Federal Bailiff Service. If the maintenance payer is officially employed and does not conceal the workplace, you may send the writ of execution directly to the company’s accounting department, which must comply. Up to 70% of salary will be withheld. You may ask bailiffs to check the amount withheld by the employer. The writ can also be sent to the Federal Bailiff Service office where the debtor lives.

Having a debtor declared missing. If a bailiff cannot locate a maintenance debtor for a year after receiving the last information about them, a court may declare them missing. This entitles the child to a state survivor’s pension. The application is filed with the court where the interested person lives or is located.

Recovering a penalty. If child support is not paid despite an agreement or court decision, a penalty can be claimed in addition to the debt: 0.1% of unpaid support for each day of delay. The court may waive it if the debt arose for a valid reason.

Restrictions

  • A debtor may be barred from travelling abroad if maintenance debt exceeds 10,000 rubles. A bailiff may impose this at the claimant’s request or independently.
  • A debtor may be deprived of the right to drive if maintenance arrears exceed 10,000 rubles. A bailiff may do this at the creditor’s request or on their own initiative.

Administrative and criminal liability. If debts accumulate for more than two months after enforcement proceedings begin, this is an administrative offence. The penalty is 150 hours of compulsory work, administrative arrest for up to 15 days, or a fine of up to RUB 20,000. It is a criminal offence if the debtor fails to pay child support when a violation report is already in place.

Deprivation of parental rights. Wilful non-payment of maintenance can lead to a court depriving a parent of parental rights. The payment obligation remains, but the parent cannot claim maintenance from the child in old age.

Important!

  • If steps were taken to obtain maintenance before going to court but payment was evaded, maintenance may be recovered for the previous 3 years.
  • If a writ or maintenance agreement exists but payments could not be collected through the payer’s fault, the money can be recovered for the entire period;
  • Even after the child turns 18, the debt must be repaid for the entire period.