Consequences of Non-Payment of Alimony/Child Support

The most important rule a father should remember is that no child should have to seek “employment” or “take loans” in order to support himself.

If a divorced father cannot pay his alimony, he will find out very fast how serious his problem is. Of course it could be that he could not pay the alimony due to a fundamental change of circumstances in his life and in this case he can ask the court to reduce the amount of child support (but there is no certainty it will be granted, as most requests are denied). Until a favorable decision is reached he must find financial resources to pay the child support or he may find himself in a very “delicate” situation.

Also remember that the interest on debts derived from alimony payments is very high, so the delay in payment of child support may result in a heavy loss to the man. As a result, it is always wise to pay - and on time.

If a divorced parent does not pay the full debt, the woman can open proceedings against him in the “Otsaa La Foal” and could make his life very difficult. Among the remedies at her disposal are: A lien on his salary, on his savings or on any other assets owned by him, suspension of his driver`s license, an exit ban from leaving Israel and finally issuing arrest warrants against him.

Exit Bans

It is possible to receive from the “otsaa la foal” an exit ban order against the father even without an actual debt for child support. Why is this possible?

The rationale behind this ban is to prevent evasion of the divorced father from paying child support by fleeing the country. This is not automatically done by the judges, there is a need to carefully explain the request and to prove that there is a “real” concern the father will leave the country permanently.

You must prove that there are good enough reasons for the father to leave the country and not return, for example: a job abroad, substantial savings and assets abroad, a foreign source country, heavy debts, creditors putting pressure on him and more.

Also evidence such as an abrupt withdrawal of a large amount of money from his bank account, or he is suddenly in serious difficulties in his business, etc. can be seen as a special reason to grant an order to delay his exit.

This “ban” doesn’t mean the father can never leave the country again, but now he must reach an arrangement with the execution authority - “otsaa la foal” and post certain guarantees to ensure the payment of the balance for child support to his children from now on.

These guarantees will have to be something the mother can translate fast into cash in order to feed the children if the father chooses not to come back after all.

The National Insurance and Child Support (“Mezonot Ieyeladim”):

When can you “sue” the National Insurance Institute for non-payment of child support from the father?

This type of Social Security offered by the NII (“Bituah Leumi”) will be paid to the mother only if the woman earns less than a certain threshold amount, although higher than the minimum wage, but lower than average wage, which is currently (April 2011) 8,727 shekels. If the mother earns less than this monthly income, the NII will complete up to 75% for the total alimony’s sum awarded to the wife by the court, and again up to a limit. At the same time the National Insurance Institute will try to legally collect the amount from the reluctant father, therefore making the reluctant father a debtor towards the NII.

The woman is still entitled to claim the difference not paid from the reluctant father but remember that this is no easy task if he is not found or doesn’t have the money to pay, etc.

Attention: It is also legally possible to sue the father’s parents for any amount the father does not pay for the alimony granted to children by the court (civil or rabbinic court).

A word of wisdom:

You probably know better than any lawyer or judge the real situation and whether there is a real eminent danger of the father leaving the country permanently. Use this tool only in case of extreme necessity and never as a weapon against the father. Do not forget that if in the end the ban was ordered as a result of “non-kosher” means the father will have the right to sue you for any damage caused due to this ban.

Sincerely,

Tzvi Szajnbrum, Attorney at Law