The parent who does not live with the child must perform their parental duties by paying child support – among other obligations. The actual amount of child support is a crucial matter, which is primarily decided upon by the parents – provided they can achieve an agreement – or by the court.
Is it possible for the child support to follow the inflation?
Luckily, the answer is yes. The Hungarian Civil Code offers multiple possibilities in this matter.
For one, it is perfectly possible for the parents to agree on the amount of child support by taking into consideration the inflation. Therefore, they can agree to increase the amount of child support by the official inflation rates.
Secondly, in lieu of an agreement, the law allows the courts to decide on the amount of child support by increasing it yearly, according to the official inflation rates. In this case, the inflation rate reported by the KSH will be applicable, and the amount of child support shall be automatically increased accordingly every year. This method guarantees that the amount of child support will keep its value despite of inflation. The official inflation rate is reported by the KSH on the 15th January every year, therefore – in practice – the amount of child support shall be increased in the following month.
It is also possible to increase the amount of child support even if the original agreement of the parents did not include such automatic increase.
It is also important to note that such automatic increase is only able to keep up with the official inflation rate, however it is not able to keep up with the child’s increasing needs. Still, in case it is necessary, the parent living with the child is also able to sue for the increase of child support because of the child’s changing needs.
What can I do if they don’t pay child support in the first place?
In such a situation the parent living with the child may initiate the enforcement of child support payment. In case the child support is non-enforcable, it is also possible to request the state to pay an advance support, instead of the parent. From 01st January 2022, the rules regarding advance support have changed drastically, and nowadays it is much simpler to acquire child support this way: the advance payment has less conditions, and it may be requested after 3 months’ delay. The maximum amount of the advance payment is 50.200,- HUF per month.
Although the lack of the parents’ agreement regarding child support, a possible lawsuit and the problems regarding the enforcement of the child support may seem like a big hassle, it is always important to keep in mind that the child has ever increasing needs that must be paid for. Therefore, it is recommended to keep the child support payment under control and to seek professional help where necessary.
