Changing the level of child support after divorce in Vietnam

1. Regulations on child support after divorce

Clause 2, Article 82 of Vietnam's Law on Marriage and Family 2014 stipulates:

"2. The parent who does not directly raise a child shall support this child..”

Article 110 of this Law also stipulates:

"Parents who do not live with their children or live with their children but violate the support obligation have the obligation to support minor children and adult children who have no working capacity and no property to support themselves..”

The law also clearly stipulates that the support level shall be agreed upon by the two parties on the basis of the actual income and ability of the person with the support obligation and the essential needs of the supported person; if they fail to reach agreement, they may request a court to settle it.

When there is a plausible reason, the support level may change. he change of the support level shall be agreed upon by the parties; if they fail to reach agreement, they may request a court to settle it. (According to Article 116 of the Law on Marriage and Family)

Thus, the law does not specify a specific level of support but must be based on factors such as the actual income and ability of the person with the support obligation and the essential needs of the supported person. After a divorce, if one party does not agree with the initial support level, they can renegotiate the change of the level of support. If no agreement is reached, they may request a court to settle it.

2. Procedures for changing child support levels

When requesting the Court to change child support, the requester needs to prepare documents including:

- Application for change of support level. In which, it must clearly state the following: date, month, year, name of the Court handling, specific content of the request for change of support level (personal circumstances, desired level of support), etc.

- A copy of the court's judgment or decision that has settled the divorce and joint custody issues;

- Copy of household registration book or ID card

- Documents proving your support conditions change: proof of current income, bank loan book, ..

- Other relevant supporting documents.

A dossier  request for change of support level shall be sent to the People's Court of the district where the defendant resides, unless one party (or both parties) is abroad.

Resumes can be submitted through the following methods:

- Filing directly with the Court;

- Sending the Court by postal service;

- Submiting online via the Court's Portal (if any).

The fee for requesting the court to change the support level is VND 300,000 according to the provisions of Resolution 326/2016/UBTVQH14

Please refer to a judgment on the dispute over child support level change below:

Judgment 36/2020/HNGĐ-ST dated 14/08/2020 on dispute over child support level change

In the decision to recognize the consent of the divorce and the agreement of the involved parties of the People's Court of Lam Ha district, it was resolved for him and Ms. T to get a divorce. In which, Mr. T is obliged to support Anh's nephew with the amount of VND 2,000,000/month. Due to difficult economic circumstances, he could not afford child support at the amount of VND 2,000,000/month. He filed a lawsuit asking the Court to decrease the child support level from 2,000,000 VND/month to 800,000 VND/month. Meanwhile, the defendant, Ms. T did not agree with the lawsuit claim because her current situation is also very difficult and her children are old enough to go to school, so the expenses for the food, drink, and childcare are also very expensive. She asked the Court to keep the child support level at the amount of 2,000,000 VND/month.

The People's Court of Lam Ha district, Lam Dong province, has decided to partially accept the petition of Mr. Bui Van T. Change the support level from 2,000,000 VND/month to 1,200,000 VND/month.

Key word: child support in Vietnam | support level in Vietnam | child support level in Vietnam | Law on marriage and families in Vietnam | Dispute over child support in Vietnam |

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