The Family Law Amendment Law (Alimony and Child Support), 1959 establishes the rights of minor children and regulates parents’ duty to bear the maintenance of their
children. According to Israeli law, every parent must provide the support
necessary for their children’s needs. Therefore, it is important to us to sort
out the mess for you a little, and discuss various aspects of the Alimony and
Child Support Law and its relationship to Israeli civil law.
What are parents’ obligations under the Alimony and Child
Support Law?
The Family Law Amendment Law, i.e. the “Alimony and
Child Support Law” – stipulates (Section 3 A) the obligation of a parent
to support his or her children as written in the law: “A person is
obligated to support his minor children and his spouse according to the
provisions of the personal law applicable to him, and the provisions of this
law shall not apply to this child support”. In other words, the Alimony and
Child Support Law states that the parent has an obligation to support his children according to the law of the religion to which he belongs. This means that the religious law takes precedence over the Alimony and Child Support Law, and if a person is subject to child support obligations according to the laws of his religion – the sections of the Alimony and Child Support Law will not apply to him.
When will the Alimony and Child Support Law apply to the
parent?
Thus, the Family Law Amendment Law (Alimony and Child Support) will apply to the parent in two main situations: one, if there is no obligation of alimony and child support according to the law of the religion to which the parent belongs, and second, when the parent is defined and considered
a “religion-less” person in Israel, that is, a person who does not belong to
one of the recognized religious denominations in Israel.
In its instructions, the Alimony and Child Support Law
clarifies the parent’s obligation to support his minor children according to religious law (Section 3b): “A person who is not obligated to support his minor children and his spouse according to the provisions of the personal law applicable to him, or to whom no personal law applies, is obligated to support them, and the provisions of this law shall apply to this alimony and child support.”
There is a clear intention on the part of the legislator to
establish the rights of minor children in Israel and to ensure that their
parents provide them with support – both in cases where religious law does not
apply the obligation of child support to the parent and in cases where the parent
is considered to be “religion-less”.
According to the law in Israel there are a number of religious
denominations that are recognized in the country. The following denominations
are recognized in Israel: Jewish, Eastern-Orthodox, Muslim, Latin-Catholic,
Gregorian-Armenian, Armenian-Catholic, Syriac-Catholic, Chaldean-Uniate,
Chaldean-Armenian, Greek-Catholic/Melkite, Maronite, Syrian Orthodox. Any
person who is subject to Israeli law and does not belong to one of these
denominations – will be subject to the provisions of the Alimony and Child
Support Law.
Child support for minors – what are the parents’
obligations?
The Family Law Amendment Law (Alimony and Child Support)
clarifies the matter of child support for minors (section 3a): “The father
and mother of a minor are responsible for his or her support.” That is,
each parent is obligated to support their minor children. Moreover, the
legislator defines that: “without taking into account the issue of which
parent has custody of the child, child support shall be imposed on the parents
at a rate proportional to their income from any source”. That is, the
Parental Alimony and Child Support Law also refers to the parent’s income level
and states that the child support payments will be determined in proportion to
the income level.
Child support agreement – with court approval
The Parental Alimony and Child Support Law clarifies how the
scope of child support between two parents is determined (Section 6): “The
scope of child support, its amount and implementation methods shall be
determined, in the absence of an agreement between the parties, by the court
taking into account the circumstances.” That is, the parents must reach an
agreement between them regarding the child support, and if they do not reach an
agreement, the court will decide on the matter while taking into account all
the circumstances.
However, there is an important restriction in this regard,
as stated in section 12 (a) of the law: “An agreement regarding support of
a minor and a waiver of such support does not bind the minor, as long as it has
not been approved by the court.” That is, even if the parents reached a
middle ground and established an agreement between them regarding the child
support, the agreement will not apply to the child until is approved by the
court. This is due to the legislator’s intention to make sure that the child’s best
interests are at the center of the parents’ decision and that this is reflected
in the agreement between them. In addition, it should be emphasized that the
law gives the court the full authority to change an agreement established
between parents even after it has been approved by it, if it deems it
appropriate to do so, as mentioned in the Family Law Amendment Law (Alimony and Child Support) section 13.
A minor’s right to file an independent claim for child
support
Even after an agreement between the parents regarding child
support has been signed and approved by the court, the minor has the right to
file a claim for support. If an independent claim for support is filed by a
minor, there will be a “substantial two-step test”. In the first step, the court will check whether the legal court at the time held a thorough hearing on the issue of child support and took into account all the circumstances.
In the second stage, the court will check whether the minor
was deprived, de facto, of the amount of child support he or she was awarded.
If no deprivation is found, there will be no renewed hearing. On the other
hand, if it is found that the minor suffered substantial deprivation of the support
awarded, the issue of child support will be re-examined both in the course of
the regular claim and in the course of an independent claim.
Is there a support obligation for adult children and
family members?
According to family law and the provisions of the Parental Alimony
and Child Support Law, a parent will be obligated to support his adult child
and other members of his family under three specific conditions:
1. In situations where the family member cannot provide for his
or her own needs from work, assets or any other source.
2. After fulfilling the parent’s needs, the needs of his partner and the needs of his and his partner’s minor children.
3. When the family member cannot receive the support because
it is part of an inheritance or cannot receive it from a previous family member.
Arranging child support in the best way possible
Our office specializes in family law, and our team of
attorneys are mediators by training and specialize in the field of family law.
In our office you will receive assistance in arranging the child support for
your children in the best possible way. Our office specializes in providing
legal assistance in agreements such as: divorce, cohabitation, joint parenting,
etc., which require many years of expertise, experience and extensive legal
knowledge in family law. For the sake of your children, it is important that
you choose experienced attorneys in the field in order to protect their
interests and make sure that the child support agreement will indeed benefit
them. Our office will provide you with courteous, professional and attentive
service. It is important to note that this is an agreement that has a
significant impact on your life and the lives of your children, therefore it is
critical that you make decisions on the matter after serious consideration, in
a responsible and informed manner, and precisely for this purpose – you have
us.
Contact us for legal advice