Father requested to reduce child support for a child with a disability from 15 to 8 thousand hryvnias: what the appellate court decided

The Kherson Appellate Court reviewed the decision of the court of first instance in a dispute regarding the determination of the amount of child support for a minor child.

Case circumstances

As reported by the court, the plaintiff applied to recover child support from the child's father in a fixed monetary amount. She justified her claims by stating that the child requires constant treatment, rehabilitation, special education, and daily care due to health conditions.

After reviewing the case materials, the court of first instance partially satisfied the claim and set the amount of child support at 15,000 hryvnias per month.

The defendant appealed this decision, considering the amount of child support set by the court excessive. In his appeal, he requested to reduce it to 8,000 hryvnias per month, arguing that the plaintiff did not prove the volume of the claimed expenses for the child and did not take into account his actual financial capabilities.

Appellate court decision

Reviewing case No. 954/2853/25, the panel of judges noted that Article 51 of the Constitution of Ukraine imposes on parents the obligation to support their children until they reach adulthood. The court also applied provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular Articles 3 and 27, according to which the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in all matters concerning children, and every child has the right to a standard of living adequate for their physical, mental, spiritual, moral, and social development.

Additionally, the appellate court was guided by the norms of the Family Code of Ukraine. The court noted that according to Article 141 of the Family Code of Ukraine, mother and father have equal rights and responsibilities regarding the child regardless of whether they are married or live together. The court also reminded that according to Article 180 of the Family Code of Ukraine, both parents are obliged to provide for the child until they reach adulthood.

According to part three of Article 181 of the Family Code of Ukraine, child support may be awarded as a portion of the income of the mother or father or as a fixed monetary amount. When determining the amount, the court considers the circumstances provided for in Article 182 of the Family Code of Ukraine: the health and financial situation of the child and the payer, the presence of other dependents, the property and property rights of the payer, as well as other significant circumstances.

The appellate court also took into account the provisions of Article 184 of the Family Code of Ukraine regarding the determination of child support in a fixed monetary amount and Article 185 of the Family Code of Ukraine, which provides for the obligation of parents to participate in additional expenses for the child caused by special circumstances, including illness.

In this case, the court considered that the child has a disability, requires constant care, treatment, rehabilitation, and special education, and lives with the mother who provides daily care. At the same time, the father is of working age, has no other children or dependents who are incapacitated, and has worked abroad for a long time.

At the same time, the appellate court noted that the determined amount of child support is not fixed. According to Article 192 of the Family Code of Ukraine, it may be increased or decreased by court decision in case of changes in the material or family status of the parties, deterioration or improvement of health of any of them, or in other cases provided by law.

Evaluating the legality of the decision of the court of first instance within the arguments of the appeal in accordance with Article 367 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, the appellate court concluded that the decision was made in compliance with the norms of substantive and procedural law.

By the ruling of the Kherson Appellate Court dated 08.06.2026, the decision of the Novovorontsovskyi District Court of Kherson region dated 27.02.2026 was left unchanged.

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