Child maintenance redistributed after the eldest child came of age

The task

The client is a father of four: two children from a previous marriage, for whom he paid maintenance under a court order, and two growing up in his current family. When the eldest son turned 18, the statutory duty to pay maintenance for him ended. A common misconception is that from that day the payer may simply pay less. The amount fixed by a court order does not change by itself: until a new judgment is in place, the bailiffs and the recipient may demand payment in the old amount. Only a court recalculates the share due for the remaining children.

What we did

• Analysed the existing court order and calculated how the maintenance should change once the eldest son came of age, taking into account the two children in the client's current family.
• Prepared a claim to vary the amount of maintenance (Article 119 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation), with the calculation and evidence of the parties' financial and family circumstances.
• Represented the client in court and dealt with the other side's objections.
• Took the case through to judgment and its entry into force — so that the new amount applies in the enforcement proceedings as well.

The result

In July 2026 the court gave a new judgment: the maintenance was redistributed to reflect the eldest son's coming of age and the interests of all the client's children. We do not disclose the parties' names. The practical lesson of the case: apply to the court in advance, before the event — proceedings take time, a judgment does not take effect immediately, and until then payment is due under the old order.

This description reflects the result in a particular matter on particular facts. A result in one case neither guarantees nor implies a similar result in another.