Insights

Can the alimony agreed in the Ningbo divorce agreement be changed?

Ningbo Author：LuXu WANG

At the time of divorce, the agreement stipulates that the child will not pay alimony to the woman or the man. After a few years, the woman will be able to raise the child alone, and can she ask the man to pay for it? The conclusion starts with: yes. The agreement in the divorce agreement that "one party does not bear the maintenance fee" is valid for both parties, but it does not deprive the child of the right-when the economic situation of the party directly raising the child changes significantly, or the necessary expenses for the child's life, education, medical care, etc. increase significantly, it can still claim to pay or increase the maintenance fee to the other party in the name of the child. Whether and how much it can rise is determined by the court in combination with the actual needs of the child, the income of the other party and the local living standard. 20%-30% of the monthly income is only a reference range rather than an iron law.

1. legal basis: two rules and read

the first paragraph of Article 1085 of the Civil Code stipulates that if a child is directly raised by one party after divorce, the other party shall bear part or all of the alimony. The amount and time limit of the cost shall be agreed upon by both parties, and the court shall decide if the agreement fails. The second paragraph immediately stipulates that the agreement or judgment "does not prevent the child from making a reasonable request to either parent for more than the original amount of the agreement or judgment when necessary". This is the direct basis for "agreeing to ask for more if you don't pay alimony.

Article 16 of the Interpretation (II) of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Code of the the People's Republic of China Civil Code, which came into effect on February 1, 2025, further clarifies: if the divorce agreement stipulates that one party directly raises the children and the other party does not bear the maintenance fee, the agreement is legally binding on both parties; however, the economic situation of the party directly raising the children after the divorce changes, resulting in a significant reduction in the original living standard, or if there is a significant increase in the necessary and reasonable expenses for the child's life, education, medical care, etc., and the child requests the other party to pay maintenance, the court shall support it in accordance with the law. It can be seen that there is no contradiction between "the validity of the agreement" and "the children can claim again"-the effect of the former is the internal arrangement between the parents, while the latter guarantees the necessary needs of the children, and the interests of the children take precedence.

How to determine the amount of 2. maintenance: standards and intervals.

The legal framework for determining the amount of alimony is based on the actual needs of the children, the affordability of both parents and the actual local standard of living (Article 49 of the (I) on the Interpretation of Marriage and Family). Specific reference:

  1. for those with fixed income, they can generally be paid at 20%-30% of their total monthly income; for those who bear more than two child support, the proportion can be appropriately increased, but generally not more than 50% of the total monthly income.
  2. If there is no fixed income: it shall be determined by reference to the total income of the current year or the average income of the same industry, according to the above proportion.
  3. There are special circumstances: the proportion can be appropriately increased or reduced-for example, children suffering from major diseases, high-cost private schools, etc., can be raised.

What needs to be reminded is that "20%-30%" is a reference interval rather than a judgment guarantee: the court depends on whether the actual needs of the children reach this figure. Judging from the national judges, most of the monthly alimony is in the range of 1,000 yuan to 2,000 yuan. Therefore, lawsuits for raising alimony are mostly seen in cases where divorce has been carried out for many years and the original agreement of several hundred yuan per month has obviously failed to keep up with the child's expenses. Take (example, fictitious) a father with a monthly income of 15000 yuan as an example. The range of 20%-30% is 3,000-4,500 yuan. However, if the child's daily expenses are calculated at about 2500 yuan, the court is more likely to decide between 2,500-3,000 yuan instead of mechanically setting the upper limit.

Under what circumstances can 3. request an increase or resumption of payments: Scenario breakdown

  1. significant deterioration in the economic situation of direct dependents: If unemployment, illness, income drops significantly, the original agreement "all borne by one party" has been unsustainable, the original standard of living significantly reduced, can request the other party to pay.
  2. The necessary expenses for children have increased significantly: entering the junior Senior high school, participating in necessary extracurricular counseling, increasing medical expenses, rising prices, etc. If the original amount is obviously insufficient, an increase may be requested.
  3. The original agreed amount is significantly lower than the local standard of living: If the monthly 300 yuan and 500 yuan agreed more than ten years ago are obviously lower than the current price and the local consumption level, they can request to be raised to a reasonable level.
  4. Significant increase in the income of the other party: an increase in income alone is generally not sufficient to require an increase, but must be combined with an increase in the actual needs of the child, which usually occurs at the same time.

When will 4. support be paid: pay attention to the deadline rules.

The period of payment of maintenance is generally until the child is eighteen years old. However, the judicial interpretation also stipulates that adult children who are still in school and receive Senior high school education or below, or who are unable to maintain a normal life for non-subjective reasons, such as losing or not completely losing the ability to work, belong to "adult children who cannot live independently" (Article 41 of the (I) on the Interpretation of Marriage and Family Editions), and their parents still have the obligation to support them. In other words, if a child has reached the age of 18 but is still studying in Senior high school, or is unable to live independently due to illness and disability, the alimony cannot be stopped "one size fits all". Children who have reached adulthood and are studying in university are generally not subject to legal mandatory payment, and whether their parents support them or not is voluntary.

Another point that is often misunderstood is the statute of limitations: the right to request payment of maintenance, alimony, and maintenance is not subject to the statute of limitations in accordance with the law (Article 196, paragraph 3, of the Civil Code), and the child's past arrears of maintenance can still be claimed, which is different from the three-year statute of limitations for ordinary claims.

How 5. Claims: Procedure and Evidence

the claim to pay or increase alimony should be carried out in the name of the child-the party directly raised as the legal representative, the child as the plaintiff, the party not directly raised as the defendant, to the defendant's domicile of the grass-roots people's court to file a claim for alimony disputes. Procedural negotiation first, negotiation can not be prosecuted; Family cases courts generally organize mediation first.

Focus on preparing two types of evidence: one is evidence of the increase in the actual needs of the child or the decline in the standard of living, including tuition fees, medical expenses, training fees and daily expenses documents, expenditure flow, and proof of the decline in the income of the direct dependant (unemployment registration, sick leave records, wage flow); The second is evidence of the affordability of the non-direct dependant, including its salary flow, personal tax payment record, social security provident fund payment base, real estate and vehicle information under its name, etc. If the income of the other party is not transparent, it may apply to the court for access or make inquiries with an investigation order.

6. maintenance and visitation rights: no "if you don't let me see, I won't pay"

in practice, there is a common wrong confrontation: the party who does not directly support refuses to pay alimony on the grounds that the other party obstructs the visit, or the direct support party refuses to visit on the grounds that the other party does not pay alimony. Neither of these "tit for tat" is legal. The right to claim maintenance belongs to the child, and the right to visit belongs to the parent who does not directly raise it (Article 1086 of the Civil Code). The two rights have different subjects and bases and cannot be offset against each other: non-payment of maintenance cannot be a reason for obstructing visits, nor can obstruction of visits be a reason for refusing to pay maintenance.

The correct relief path is to go their own way: if the alimony is not paid on time, the child can sue for recourse and apply for enforcement, which will have a great impact on the life and operation of the other party after being included in the dishonest list; If the visit is blocked, the court can sue for clear visitation rights. If the other party refuses to assist, the court can take compulsory measures according to law. If the circumstances are serious, the direct dependant may also face the risk of changing the risk of the relationship. Both sides put their children first, and these two types of disputes could have been avoided-writing the visiting time and handover method into the agreement or mediation statement is the lowest cost solution.

Can 7. Still Chase After Years of Arrears: Limitation and Enforcement

can the child's arrears in the process of growing up be recovered together? The answer is yes. The right to claim alimony does not apply to the statute of limitations according to law (Item 3 of Article 196 of the Civil Code), and many years of unpaid alimony can still be claimed. Article 17 of the Interpretation (II) for Marriage and Family Compilation, which came into force in 2025, also makes it clear that if the party who does not directly raise the children after divorce fails to pay alimony according to the agreement or promise, the child's request for payment of alimony shall be supported, if the party directly raising the child requests the other party to pay the expenses it owes, the court also supports it-in other words, the account owed to the child will still count when the child reaches adulthood.

Two points should be paid attention to when recourse: first, the amount of arrears should be based on, and the payables, actual payments and differences should be recorded month by month to avoid "a muddled account"; Second, if the alimony confirmed by the judgment or mediation agreement is not fulfilled, it may apply for enforcement and claim interest for delay in performance. Only based on the arrears promised verbally, the insufficient evidence may be difficult to identify, and traces will be left from the beginning.

8. FAQ

the divorce agreement reads in black and white "the man does not pay alimony". is it OK to go back on our word now?

All right. The "non-payment" agreement is bound by the parents' internal arrangements, once the direct dependency of the financial difficulties or the child's necessary expenses increase significantly, the child can still request the other party to pay in accordance with the law, the court in accordance with the interpretation of Article 16 of the (II), not bound by the original agreement.

Can you claim 30% of the other party's monthly income?

It can be claimed, but the court will not mechanically apply it. 20%-30% is the reference range, which is finally determined by the actual needs of the children, the affordability of the other party and the local living standard. When the needs of the children cannot be met, even if the other party's income is very high, only a lower amount may be awarded.

The child is still studying Senior high school at the age of 18. Can alimony be stopped?

Can't. Adult children who are still in school and receive Senior high school education or below are adult children who cannot live independently, and their parents still have to bear the burden; adult children who are in university are not covered by the legal mandatory payment.

Can I sue directly if the other party does not raise alimony? How long can I be sentenced?

The case can be prosecuted directly, and the trial limit for summary procedure is generally three months, and the ordinary procedure is six months. Negotiate and leave traces before prosecution, and apply for the other party's income evidence at the time of prosecution, which can speed up the trial.

Can I still ask for an increase in child support after years of divorce?

Can. The alimony agreement or judgment does not prevent the child from making a reasonable request for more than the original amount when necessary; after more than ten years of divorce, the original several hundred yuan is obviously insufficient, which is the high incidence of upward adjustment in practice. Whether it can be raised depends on the actual needs of the children and the affordability of the other party, and has nothing to do with the number of years of divorce itself.