As of 1 July 2021, Act No. 588/2020 Coll., of 16 December 2020, on Substitute alimony for a dependent child (the Substitute alimony Act) shall enter into force.
What the substitute alimony is?
Substitute alimony is a social benefit provided by the state.
Who is entitled to substitute alimony?
The entitled person is a dependent child according to the Act on state social support, who has a permanent residence in the Czech Republic. A dependent child is a child up to the age of 26 at the latest, if he / she is constantly preparing for a future profession, or if he / she is unable to do so due to an unfavourable health condition.
Fulfilment of the condition of permanent residence is not required regarding
a child who is a family member of an economically active parent (EU citizen) who is employed or self-employed in the Czech Republic, or retains such a position and has the right to equal treatment under European Union regulations, as well as a child who is an economically active family member an inactive EU citizen who, according to the test, does not represent an unjustifiable burden on the system, another category are children of foreigners covered by European Union law, as persons granted subsidiary protection, as one of the forms of international protection. The last category is children resident in other Member States of the European Union. These are citizens from so-called third countries who have a residence status in another member state of the European Union and enjoy the right to free movement of persons and equal treatment guaranteed by EU Directive No. 109/2003.
Under what conditions does the entitlement to substitute alimony arise?
The substantial condition for the alimony entitlement is the fact that a) execution or b) judicial enforcement of the judgement determining the amount of alimony takes place against the obligated parent. It is therefore not enough to have a final judgment in hand. In this context, it should also be noted that judgements determining the amount of alimony are preliminarily enforceable by law, so the execution or judicial enforcement of a judgement may be commenced before a judgment determining the amount of alimony is in a legal force.
The entitlement to substitute alimony arises or is maintained even in cases where the judicial enforcement of the decision or execution was stopped due to the lack of property of the liable person, in the last 4 months before the application, or during the procedure for substitute alimony or after granting the right to substitute alimony.
The amount of substitute alimony
The right to substitute alimony expires after 24 payments of substitute alimony at the latest. If the alimony is paid in part, in a lower amount than the one determined by the court, the amount of the substitute alimony is determined so that the total of the substitute alimony and the partial payment of the imposed alimony is in the amount of the alimony thus imposed, but not exceeding CZK 3,000.
The amount of substitute alimony is set for a period of 4 calendar months.
An example is given in the explanatory memorandum to § 4 of the Substitute Alimony Act:
The amount of substitute alimony paid for January, February, March and April 2021 will be based on the common alimony imposed and paid for the months of December, November, October and September 2020. The amount of substitute alimony is based on the average of the imposed alimony and alimony really paid for these months. Alimony is set at CZK 1,000 per month. In September 2020 CZK 200 was paid for alimony (CZK 800 not paid), in October 2020 CZK 500 was paid (CZK 500 not paid), in November 2020 CZK 100 was paid (CZK 900 not paid) and in December 2020, CZK 500 was paid for alimony (CZK 500 not paid). The liable parent was supposed to pay CZK 4,000 for these four months, but he/she paid only CZK 1,300. The entitled person (child) will be paid substitute alimony in the next 4 months (January February, March, April 2021) together in the amount of the difference between CZK 4,000 and CZK 1,300, ie CZK 2,700, so CZK 675 will be paid monthly.
Application for substitute alimony
The written application is submitted by the entitled child (represented by the parent) to the Labor Office on a form, a model of which will be published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in a manner enabling remote access.
The application includes
a) a writ of execution (court judgment), the content of which is the determination of the alimony obligation towards the child,
(b) a document proving the amount of partial alimony (if it is paid), proof that the alimony claim has been assigned or, where applicable, a statement that the alimony has not been partially paid and that the alimony claim has not been assigned, and
(c) proof that the child is dependent.
If alimony is recovered abroad, the application must also be accompanied by a document certifying that an application for enforcement of the judgement has been submitted to the competent authority abroad or an application for alimony through the Office for the International Protection of Children has been filed.
If the applicant attached false documents to the application and provided false information, he could commit the crime of fraud.
Change in the amount of substitute alimony
If the amount of the alimony obligation changes and the entitled person informs the Labor Office thereof, the amount of the substitute alimony will be changed from the calendar month in which the title determining the new amount of the alimony obligation became enforceable. If the amount of alimony obligations changes and the entitled person does not inform the Labor Office, the increase in substitute alimony will be made from the calendar month following the calendar month in which this fact was discovered, or a reduction in substitute alimony from the calendar month in which the title determining new amount of alimony obligation.
The obligation of the entitled child to inform about the change of facts decisive for the duration of the substitute alimony entitlement.
The entitled person is obliged to inform the Labor Office of any change in the facts decisive for the duration of the claim, within 8 days from the date of the change of these facts, and to prove the facts decisive for the duration of the claim, payment and amount of substitute alimony at the request of the Labor Office within 8 days from on the date of delivery of the invitation. Natural and legal persons are obliged, at the request of the Labor Office, to communicate free of charge the data decisive pursuant to this Act for the right to substitute alimony, its amount or payment.
Extinction of the right to substitute alimony
Entitlement to substitute alimony lapses if the entitled child ceases to meet the conditions for entitlement. The right to substitute alimony also expires if the obligation to prove the facts that affect the award, payment, amount and duration of the right to substitute alimony is not fulfilled even within the period of additionally imposed alimony.
However, the right to substitute alimony expires at the latest after the payment of 24 benefits of substitute alimony paid for the entire period when the child is dependent. After the payment of 24 payments of substitute alimony per child, it is no longer possible to apply for substitute alimony again. If the entitled person is entitled to substitute alimony, even though it is not paid for some time, the benefit is in the amount of CZK 0 per month, these zero installments are not included in the above-mentioned 24 benefits of substitute alimony. Entitlement to substitute alimony also expires upon termination of the child's dependency.
Overpayments
The recipient of the substitute alimony who received the substitute alimony or part of it, although he must have known that it was paid incorrectly or in an amount higher than it was due, or otherwise caused the substitute alimony to be paid incorrectly or in the wrong amount, is obliged to return, even consumed.
