Changing the amount of alimony established by the court for minor children: analysis law enforcement practice

The proclamation at the constitutional level of the priority of children as a vector of the state policy of the Russian Federation actualizes the issues of improving family legislation and law enforcement practice that develops regarding alimony obligations. The purpose of the article is to conduct a deep scientific and practical analysis of law enforcement practice related to the change in the amount of alimony established by the court for minor children. It is established that both the parties to alimony obligations and, in some cases, law enforcement officers incorrectly use the norms of paragraph 1 of Article 119 of the RF IC. So, the key problem is the lack of evidence of the claimed changes in material and (or) marital status, affecting the amount of alimony and entailing the inability to fulfill alimony obligations in the same amount. It is proved that the “formal” approach of the law enforcement officer to the consideration of such disputes leads to ignoring the principle of priority of the interests of a minor child, the degree of security of the alimony payer, the “burdensomeness/ non-burdensomeness” of paying alimony in the same amount, very common cases of fictitious legal relations indicating obvious abuse of the right. It is concluded that reducing the amount of alimony and exemption from their payment are exceptional “options” of family law, which should be applied only if there are serious grounds (for example, the disability of the alimony payer caused by his disability).