How to Collect Alimony from a Serviceman: What the Law Provides and How the Withholding Mechanism Works

In Ukraine, alimony from servicemen is collected on the general grounds defined by the Family Code of Ukraine. Military service, including mobilization or contract service, does not affect the parents' obligation to support the child and is not a basis for its termination or automatic reduction. The fulfillment of alimony obligations is carried out in the general procedure — based on a court decision or another enforcement document within the framework of enforcement proceedings.

In particular, the child's right to support and the parents' obligation to pay alimony are enshrined in Article 180 of the Family Code of Ukraine, according to which parents are obliged to support the child until they reach adulthood regardless of the fact of being married. Article 181 of the Family Code establishes the ways to fulfill this obligation — by agreement of the parties or by court decision.

If alimony is not paid voluntarily, the court decision is subject to compulsory enforcement. For this, the court order or writ of execution is transferred to the state enforcement service or a private executor in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Enforcement Proceedings."

After the enforcement proceeding is opened, the executor issues a ruling on the seizure of the debtor's income and sends it to the place of income receipt — to the enterprise, institution, or organization where the person works or serves.

In the case of military service, such a ruling is sent to the military unit that accrues and pays the monetary allowance.

According to Article 69 of the Law of Ukraine "On Enforcement Proceedings," enterprises, institutions, organizations, individuals, and individual entrepreneurs who pay the debtor salary or other income are obliged to make deductions from these funds and transfer them to the account of the state enforcement service or private executor within the time limits established by law.

The law also requires such institutions to send a monthly report to the executor on the deductions and payments made. In the case of servicemen, these functions are effectively performed by the military unit that accrues and pays the monetary allowance to the person from whom alimony is collected. In case of termination of funds transfer to the claimant, enterprises, institutions, organizations, individuals, and individual entrepreneurs must notify the executor within three days about the reason for stopping payments and indicate the new place of work, residence, or study of the debtor, if known.

In particular, according to Article 196 of the Family Code of Ukraine, in case of arrears due to the fault of the alimony payer, the recipient has the right to claim a penalty (fine) of 1% of the unpaid alimony amount for each day of delay, but not more than 100% of the debt amount.

From Which Incomes Alimony Is Withheld

The list of incomes considered when determining the amount of alimony is fixed by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 146 dated February 26, 1993. In 2022, amendments were made to it, which clarified and expanded the list of payments to be considered when calculating alimony.

The calculation of alimony includes all components of the serviceman's monetary allowance: official salary, salary by military rank, monthly allowances, surcharges, bonuses, and other types of monetary allowance established by law. It also includes additional remuneration, in particular in the amount of 100,000 hryvnias paid for participation in combat operations.

Previously, "Judicial-Legal Newspaper" reported that according to the Family Code of Ukraine, the obligation to pay alimony arises only after legal confirmation of paternity. If a man is not recorded as the father on the birth certificate and does not voluntarily recognize the child, the mother has the right to apply to the court with a claim to establish paternity.

Judicial practice confirms that serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine does not prevent alimony collection. Moreover, the status of a person missing in action also does not exempt from the obligation to support children.

The Horodok District Court of Khmelnytskyi region considered case No. 686/25433/24 on collecting alimony for the maintenance of three children from their father — a serviceman who went missing on September 1, 2023, during a combat mission in Donetsk region.

The plaintiff filed a claim for alimony for three children. She stated that she lived with the defendant as one family without marriage registration from 2006 to 2014, and the couple had three sons. The fact of paternity of the missing man was established by a court decision that came into legal force on March 11, 2025.

The court of first instance partially satisfied the claim and ordered to collect alimony as a part of the income monthly starting from September 19, 2024 — the date of filing the claim. The plaintiff filed an appeal insisting on alimony collection from September 1, 2023 — the date the father went missing. Separately, the serviceman's current wife filed an appeal, believing that payments should start from March 11, 2025 — the date paternity was established.

Following the review, the appellate court left the decision unchanged. The court noted that the status of a missing person does not exempt from the obligation to support children, but alimony was correctly determined from the moment of filing the claim. The appellate court also indicated that to recover for the past period, it is necessary to prove evasion from payment and measures taken to obtain alimony, which was not established in this case.

The appellate court dismissed both complaints, and the decision of the court of first instance remained unchanged.

In particular, the Supreme Court in the composition of the Cassation Administrative Court considered case No. 161/867/23 regarding the procedure for paying unpaid monetary allowance of a deceased serviceman and simultaneously the claim for repayment of alimony arrears.

According to the case, the plaintiff applied to the court in the interests of the minor children of the deceased serviceman with a claim against the military unit of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The claims were aimed at recognizing the military unit's inaction regarding non-payment of monetary allowance and additional payments to the deceased serviceman as unlawful, as well as obliging to make payments due considering the interests of the minor children and to repay alimony arrears.

The Khmelnytskyi District Administrative Court partially satisfied the claim filed by the mother in the interests of the minor children of the deceased serviceman. The court concluded that the military unit's order to pay all unpaid monetary allowance exclusively to the deceased's wife was made without considering the rights of the minor children who were dependent on him. Therefore, the court recognized the order unlawful in this part and obliged the military unit to recalculate and pay the monetary allowance considering the children's shares.

The Seventh Administrative Court of Appeal agreed with this approach and left the decision unchanged, supporting the conclusion on the necessity to consider the rights of minor children when distributing due but unpaid amounts.

However, on September 30, 2024, the Supreme Court overturned the decisions of the courts of first and appellate instances. The Cassation Administrative Court noted that paragraph 1 of section XXX of Procedure No. 260 establishes a clear order of payments, according to which the primary right to receive unpaid monetary allowance belongs to the wife (husband) of the deceased serviceman. Only in her absence does the right pass to other persons, including children or dependents. Therefore, the Supreme Court recognized that the payment of the entire amount to the wife was lawful, and the conclusions about mandatory distribution among children were erroneous.

Separately, the Supreme Court considered the claim regarding alimony arrears in the amount of UAH 33,359. The court concluded that this part of the dispute does not fall within the jurisdiction of administrative courts, as it concerns family legal relations and must be resolved in civil proceedings. Therefore, the proceedings in this part were closed without consideration on the merits.

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