According to documents the Ministry of Justice submitted to the government, nearly 42 000 child maintenance dodgers owe the Maintenance Guarantee Fund (UGF) EUR 345 million. According to UGF, the fund pays child maintenance in place of more than 26 000 dodgers.
These parents do not comply with the duty listed in Section 179 of the Civil Law to support their children. By doing this, these people only inflate their debt before UGF. Payment of maintenance on behalf of debtors is over for more than 15 000 people. This includes cases when a child has become an adult and has found a job but the debtor still has not covered their debt before UGF.
The fund’s administration pays
maintenance worth an average of EUR 4.5 million every month, providing maintenance to nearly 38 000 children.
The total maintenance debt in Latvia currently exceeds EUR 345 million. Considering this, the Ministry of Justice and the fund have developed amendments to the law in order to motivate parents to do their duty – provide maintenance to their children and cover debts before UGF.
Amendments to the law will provide the fund’s administration the right to receive information from credit information bureau’s free of charge. UGD administration would receive information about all registered debtors and their outstanding debts.
If the fund concludes the debtor who has reached an agreement with the fund in regards to the order under which maintenance and interest is paid, the administration will request the debtor to increase monthly paid maintenance amounts.
If no agreement is reached in regards to the maintenance payment order, the administration will submit information about the debtor to a sworn bailiff to enforce maintenance. Law enforcement institutions will receive a request to commence criminal proceedings over dodging child maintenance.
The ministry notes that a similar practice is already employed by the fund in situations when debtors have acquired a car in leasing. In such cases cars are registered on the name of the leasing company. The fact of purchase, on the other hand, indicates
the debtor had the money to divert towards such a major purchase instead of child maintenance.
Amendments also state that certain restrictions stated in the law, such as making information about debtors on latvija.lv portal public, prohibition to drive land and marine vehicles and halting of firearm carrying permit, can still be applied even after payment of maintenance from the fund is over and the debtor has a large debt before the fund but refuses to continue covering it.
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