Who will pay child support for the child?
Leda, 8, filed a lawsuit against her father through her mother, requesting an increase in child support. The defendant father claimed that the grandmother was the one who should pay the increased child support if and when it was due.
The matter reached the Family Court as part of a proceeding TAMSH 22645-11-13 So-and-so n So-and-so and others.
This is an exceptional and relatively rare ruling in the landscape of family law and rulings in matters of Foods Children.
The circumstances that led to the filing of the lawsuit
The parents met in 2003, when the father was already divorced with one child, and the mother was single. In 2005 they Signed a financing agreement who settled the property matters between them, the agreement was not approved in court but only before a notary to whom the two turned.
As part of the agreement, it was decided that as the couple separated, the father would bear the cost of the child. Foods In the amount of 900 NIS and half of their daughter’s medical expenses. It was also agreed that the higher the child support imposed on the father by a court, the grandmother would bear the difference and to that end she would sign a bond.
During 2005, the couple separated while the mother was pregnant. After she gave birth, their daughter lived with the mother, and the two moved to the city of Sharon.
In 2013, the girl, through her mother, filed a child support claim against the father, in which child support was claimed at a rate of 2,900 NIS per month, and child support expenses in the amount of 1,900 NIS.
In the meantime, until a final decision is made, the court determined that the father will pay temporary child support in the amount of 1,650 NIS.
The parties’ claims for the alimony claim
The mother claimed that the father’s financial capacity is good and allows him to pay child support at a higher rate than agreed upon in the contract, while at the same time the mother does not work and therefore her income is not high at all.
In the defense he submitted to the court, in which he presented his arguments regarding the defendants’ child support, the father claimed that the agreement he signed with the mother in 2005 should be honored.
In addition, the father issued a third-party notice against the grandmother, claiming that to the extent that he is charged additional amounts, the grandmother must fulfill her obligations in accordance with the agreement signed at that time.
The father also claimed that, contrary to the mother’s claim, his financial situation is not good and he does not work at all and makes a living from disability benefits.
The grandmother claimed that the agreement she signed was contrary to public policy and therefore the court should ignore it. She also claimed that the agreement was signed to the detriment of the child, and that this was enough to annul it.
In addition, the grandmother claimed that she did not know how to read or write Hebrew at all and the contents of the contract were not explained to her at all.
Child support obligation according to Israeli law
The Family Law Amendment Law, 5719-1959, states that the obligation to pay child support is autonomous and mandatory. In addition, Section 12 of that law states that the minor is not obligated at all to the agreements that exist between the parents, provided that those agreements have not been approved by the court.
In reality, it is often customary to enter into agreements similar to the agreement signed in these circumstances, and indeed to stipulate that whenever a child support claim is filed, which family member will compensate the father.
Read more: Appeal against child support payment
Family Court Decision
In accordance with the legal rule, the court determined that the agreement does not bind the minor, however, it determined that this does not negate the content of the contract.
The verdict reads: “The above does not negate the validity of the agreement as a whole, but only to establish that the girl herself is not bound by the provisions of the agreement regarding child support. I would like to mention that the financial provisions in the agreement do not require court approval as a condition for their validity, since the parties were not legally married. I would also like to mention that the agreement was never canceled and no application for its cancellation was filed.“.
In a passing remark that is irrelevant to the decision, the court also ruled that the agreement was signed before the girl was born, so it is doubtful that a court would have approved such an agreement.
Therefore, regarding the claims raised in the lawsuit, the court accepted the lawsuit and determined that the amount of alimony would be 1650 NIS, plus half of the housing expenses, summer camps, and medical expenses not covered by the health basket.
As for the father’s claims against the grandmother, the court determined that the grandmother did not bother to call the notary who signed the agreement to testify. Consequently, she refrained from presenting evidence that could support her position and therefore this should be seen to her detriment, so the court rejected her claim regarding her lack of knowledge of the language.
The court also rejected the grandmother’s claim that the agreement was contrary to public policy.
It was determined that there are exceptional cases in which courts will annul similar agreements when there are weighty reasons and when such agreements are completely contrary to the best interests of the child, but in these circumstances no such considerations were found. Accordingly, the court determined that the agreements must be honored, and that is how it should be acted upon in the circumstances.
Therefore, the court ruled that the grandmother would pay the father the difference between the value of the child support agreed upon in the contract and the value of the child support that was determined. This is an amount of 750 NIS each month.
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