The modern world provides us with endless manners of how to organize our family life. It is quite often that parents sharing a child each live alone or with another partner. This also results in an endless number of relationships and emotions experienced by the families. Regardless of whether the relations between the parents are harmonious or they cannot even think of each other, it is still necessary to answer the following two basic questions:

First: When will each of us see the child?

Second: How much will each of us pay for the needs of the child?

In the field of law, the first question belongs to the topic of regulation of care and contact with the minor. (The issue of care and contact with the child is addressed in this article).

The second question which is dealt with in this article belongs to the topic of alimony for a child paid by the parent. Below, you shall find several basic topics related to alimony, which I discuss with my clients, in the form of frequently asked questions and their answers. If you are interested in the issue of determining the amount of alimony, read this article.

1. Is it only the court´s decision that gives me the obligation to pay alimony?

No, it is not. The obligation to pay alimony is regulated by the legislation itself. It emerges at the moment when the child is born and continues to the moment when the child is able to handle his/her own living expenses, even if it was never discussed in court proceedings. However, the legislation fails to provide any specific amounts which the parent shall pay for purposes of the child´s needs. Therefore, I recommend submitting a motion to the court which will determine the amounts with binding effect.

2. Who is obligated to pay alimony?

In general, the alimony is paid by the parent in whose custody the child is not to the hands of the parent in whose custody the child is, and later to the child himself/herself.

If the child is in the alternating custody of both parents, then the court usually imposes the obligation to pay alimony on both parents mutually. The court´s decision my read that the mother is obliged to pay the amount of CZK 5,500 each month to the hands of the father and the father is obliged to pay the amount of CZK 5,000 each month to the hands of the mother. If the parents are able to reach an agreement, they may offset these amounts and only the parent with the higher amount of alimony pays the difference (in this case, the mother would send CZK 500 to the father each month).

3. In which cases do I have to contact court in relation to alimony?

You are obliged to submit the matter of alimony to the court if you are divorcing the parent of your child, even if you are able to agree upon everything between yourselves (in such a case, the court is obliged to authorize your agreement formally, see point No. 6). It is impossible to have the divorce granted without court-determined alimony for the child.

People who were not married are not obliged to determine their alimony via court proceedings. However, they will end up there if they fail to reach an agreement out of court.

Nevertheless, I recommend even to unmarried couples who had agreed upon the amount of alimony to have their agreement approved by the court just as a precaution. You will prevent any pointless future misunderstandings.

Furthermore, you will have to submit the matter to the court if you want to change the amount of alimony later, i.e. to increase or decrease the amount of alimony (see point No. 4).

4. Will the court determine the amount of alimony once and for all?

No, it will not. The court always decides based on the current state at the time of rendering the decision.

If there is a significant change in circumstances, then it is possible to submit a motion to the court requesting the increase or decrease of the alimony amount. However, it must be a significant and long-term change. For example, if you lose your job, but then you find a new job with a similar salary two months later, then it is not considered to be a change which would justify the change of the alimony amount by the court.

To provide examples, significant changes in circumstances on the side of the child which would justify the increase of the alimony amount include: the beginning of kindergarten or school attendance, a serious illness, the beginning of a new extracurricular activity and so on. On the side of the obliged parent, significant changes in circumstances usually include the improvement of his/her economic situation or the end of alimony obligations towards other people.

On the other hand, there are also reasons for the decrease in alimony, such as the termination of extracurricular activities, receiving a housing scholarship at university, and similar circumstances on the side of the child. On the side of the parent, these may include an illness, the loss of work or a new alimony obligation.

5. How much money will I pay for the court proceedings determining the alimony?

The motion to initiate the proceedings for the purposes of determining the amount of alimony is free of court fees. However, it is impossible to specify any further expenses in advance. It is all based on the fact whether the parents are able to reach an agreement or not, whether they will accept the decision of the first-instance court or whether they will keep filing appeals, whether they use the services of attorneys or mediators, and so on.

6. Can I agree upon the alimony amount with the other parent?

Yes, you can. However, if you are getting a divorce, then the agreement must be authorized by the court. The court shall assess whether the agreement meets the circumstances, abilities and opportunities of the parents and the child. If the agreement is not clearly unreasonable, then the court will authorize it in most cases. However, it cannot be taken lightly, because it is important to really consider whether the agreed amount of alimony corresponds to the needs of the child and the circumstances of the parents.

7. What if I do not demand any alimony from the other parent? What if I do not want to pay any alimony to the other parent?

Sometimes, in agitation, my clients say: “I do not want anything from him/her, he/she can keep the money.”

That might be generous, but it is not very reasonable and not even in accordance with law to be precise.

On other occasions, the clients say: “In the divorce, I gave him/her a house and a car, and I even sent him/her a rather large sum of money. I will not pay him/her more money every month on top of this.”

It is understandable, but it is also unreasonable and illegal.

Frequently, the rights and obligations of parents towards each other and the rights and obligations towards the child are being confused. The alimony obligation of a parent towards a child is directed towards the child, not towards the other parent. The other parent is only the person who receives the alimony and manages it (until the child is mature enough to manage the alimony himself/herself).

The other parent shall manage the alimony for the benefit of the child. He/she cannot refuse the alimony or use it to cover the needs of the parent´s own needs or the needs of other household members.

Not even the fact that one of the parents gave to the other parent generous gifts after the breakup terminates the alimony obligation towards the child.

The alimony obligation cannot be refused unilaterally or through an agreement between the parents. Also, the alimony obligation towards the child is strictly separated from the mutual property relations between the parents. Therefore, the refusal to pay the alimony or to accept the alimony constitutes a violation of the parental responsibility and may even become a crime in the end.

8. For how long am I obliged to pay the alimony?

The alimony obligation of the parent towards the child continues till the child is able to make his/her own living.

There is a frequent misunderstanding that the alimony obligation expires when the child celebrates his/her 18^th birthday or when the child finishes his/her studies.

It is true that once the child completes his/her studies, it is presumed that the child is able to make his/her own lining. However, this cannot be presumed without exceptions, since there are cases when the parents are obliged to contribute to living expenses of an adult child who completed his/her studies (such as due to a medical condition, pregnancy or if a son completed the mining school and all the mines were closed at the same time before he was able to requalify).

At the same time, there are cases when the child keeps studying without any goal, changes schools, has not interest in completing his/her studies and taking care of his/her own life. In such a case, it would be reasonable to consider the termination of the alimony obligation even prior to the completing of the child´s studies.

9. What are the penalties for failing to pay the alimony?

The failure to pay the alimony constitutes a statutory obligation of the parent towards the child. In such a case, the parent, who receives the alimony, or the child himself/herself are entitled to enforce your obligation through the execution proceedings.

If you fail to pay the alimony for a long period of time, you commit the crime of neglecting of mandatory alimentation. In such a case, you face the punishment of imprisonment of up to one year, and even up to three years in more serious cases.

What can I do for you in this matter?

• one-time or regular legal meetings in relation to the development of your case
• negotiations with the other spouse and his/her attorney
• intermediation of mediation services or family therapy sessions
• drafts of agreements on alimony arrangements
• drafts of motions for the determination of alimony by court
• representation in the course of court proceedings
• enforcement of alimony owed
• submission of criminal motions towards the person failing to pay alimony
• provision of legal services for the purposes of defence of those accused of this crime
• representation of injured parties in the criminal proceedings