The ex-husband does not pay alimony regularly. He pays once every few months, after I remind him several times that he hasn't paid. It will never be the amount for all the months he missed, says an interviewee who wished to remain anonymous for the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG).
She lives in a small town in the north of Montenegro. In order to feed her children, she works two jobs: one for minimum wage, and the other part-time for even less money. The ex-husband is from a wealthy family, has large property and is engaged in business. At the time when alimony was determined, he did not have a regular salary, so he was given a small amount, explains the interviewee of CIN-CG. "That's only about 60 euros per child. However, he doesn't pay for that either," she explains.
She has not yet decided to initiate proceedings against her ex, but if the situation with non-payment of mandatory child support continues, she will report him, she says.
She is just one among thousands of single parents in Montenegro. And many others do not manage to get out of the vicious circle of economic violence and wait for years for the payment of alimony for their children.
The system does not yet have an adequate answer to the problem of non-payment of maintenance, and the obstacles are numerous, CIN-CG research shows. Alimony amounts are generally low, but even so, the other parent often does not pay them. Court processes for failure to pay child support are long and tedious, with no appropriate penalties to deter such behavior in the future. In addition, the collection procedure, after the end of the court process, passes to the bailiffs, which can be additional tiring for the victims. The procedure for the Alimony Fund, which was institutionalized by the decision of the Parliament of Montenegro in 2022, is complicated, which has led to the fact that the number of requests is small.
According to available data, non-payment of alimony is frequent. Most often, mothers are the ones who are not paid, and the reasons for non-payment include financial difficulties, lack of responsibility or deliberate avoidance of obligations, he states. Dejana Ponoš from the "Parents" Association.
Ponoš points out that in practice minimum amounts of alimony are often awarded due to the lack of information about the parents' financial situation or because of the judges' subjective assessments: "It is not uncommon for parents to avoid meeting their obligations towards the child in various ways, and even if they do, they manage to avoid the obligation because are, for example, before the court without work and income, but in reality they work illegally, that is, they are unregistered. Sometimes their employers also help them with that."
She reminds that the amount of alimony remains unchanged in most cases and remains around 70 euros per child, as it was a decade ago. In order to increase that amount, she explains, more hearings are needed and can last for several months, despite the fact that the laws stipulate that family cases should be resolved by urgent procedure.
Our country does not have a Register of single parents, and the results of the census that would show their exact number are still awaited. According to Monstat data, the number of single parents was around 14.000, of which over 11.000 were mothers. According to the 2011 census, the number of children living with single mothers was 25.000, and with single fathers around 5.000.
According to research by the Safe Women's House, which was conducted a decade ago, a third of fathers in Montenegro did not pay child support for more than two years, and 70 percent for more than a year. In almost 93 percent of cases, children after divorce belong to the mother.
"We are now expecting the results of the population census from 2023 and we are counting on the fact that the state will finally create a strategy for taking care of single-parent families and the children who grow up in them," Ponoš points out.
Huge number of returnees, judgments have no purpose
From the analysis of convictions, carried out by CIN-CG for non-payment of maintenance in the previous two years, in three cities, one of which is in the central, the second in the south, and the third in the northern part of the country, it is concluded that more than two thirds of those convicted returnees, who were previously mostly punished for not paying alimony, but also for other criminal acts.
The number of prison sentences is very small, although this criminal offense is punishable by up to two years in prison, and if there are serious consequences for the dependent person, the sentence can be up to five years. Out of the total number of verdicts analyzed by CIN-CG - 55 of them - there were only five prison sentences, and those were minimal.
Of the available 33 convictions on the website of the Basic Court in Podgorica for the years 2022 and 2023, 24 refer to returnees, of which 14 were previously convicted for failure to provide maintenance. None of the returnees convicted of the same criminal offense received a prison sentence. In those two years, only two prison sentences were imposed - two and a half and five months each.
In this Basic Court, a settlement was accepted for the defendant to be in house arrest for three months because he did not pay alimony for two children for four years. Although he was previously convicted twice for the same criminal offense, the court says that "the proposal of the parties regarding the sentence is acceptable because it is in accordance with the interests of fairness."
A similar situation exists in the Basic Court Bar. Of the nine analyzed verdicts, six refer to returnees, and only one is a prison sentence.
Thus, in that court, a man, who was previously convicted twice for failure to provide maintenance, was given a suspended sentence for the third time because he did not pay alimony of 60 euros each for his two daughters for six years. Although it is clear to the layman that such a verdict cannot have any effect, the court in its explanation appreciates that "according to the defendant, it is not necessary to impose an effective prison sentence, that by imposing a suspended sentence, the purpose of imposing a suspended sentence will be fully achieved and thus have a sufficient influence on the defendant that he does not commit criminal acts in the future".
CIN-CG had insight into 12 judgments of the Rožaje ODT, half of which, six of them, concerned returnees, mainly for non-payment of child support, but also for other criminal offences. The judge sentenced two prison sentences, for one returnee 90 days, and for one returnee 80 days in prison.
In the defenses cited in the verdicts, the accused generally cite poor financial status as a reason for non-payment of alimony. In the explanation of one verdict, it is stated that "parents are obliged to support their minor children, even at the cost of their own needs and renunciation of their own existential minimum".
However, the sentences that are awarded, as well as the fact that the judgment says that a certain amount must be paid, most often remain a dead letter on paper.
Complicated post-judgment collection
When the court awards the amount that the parent who did not provide maintenance must pay, the parent is obliged to fulfill it within a certain period. If he fails to do so, the custodial parent initiates proceedings before the public bailiffs, who try to collect the debt. Only when the executor fails to collect the debt, the parent has the right to turn to the Alimony Fund.
Neither the courts nor the bailiffs have data on how many of these judgments are executed, that is, how much money is collected for alimony. Thus, the question arises as to the expediency of making such judgments.
The Basic Court in Podgorica told CIN-CG that in order to successfully execute judgments, we must turn to the bailiffs, while the Chamber of Public Bailiffs does not have data on how many debt collection procedures have been initiated and carried out before public bailiffs in the last two years under final judgments for failure to provide maintenance.
"Public executors do not keep a separate registry for the types of executive documents and receivables that are collected, therefore we are not in a position to provide the requested information," said the Chamber.
The "Parents" Association points out that the collection of arrears of alimony can be challenging due to the lack of effective mechanisms for the execution of judgments and monitoring of payments. They propose the introduction of stricter measures for the monitoring and execution of court judgments, as well as effective mechanisms for determining the financial status of parents. It is also necessary, they point out, to provide free legal assistance to parents who exercise their parental rights independently. "If the parent with whom the child lives has a legally binding court judgment in which the amount of maintenance is clearly indicated, as well as the deadline for payment, at any moment he has the right to initiate proceedings before public bailiffs for the collection of the due debt," says the Association.
They explain that parents often do not resort to this procedure for fear that the other parent will get "angry" and stop seeing the child, but also because of the existence of the shadow economy, where the other parent is either not officially employed, receives part of the money "on hand" or has no assets. in your name.
"Unfortunately, practice has shown that it often happens that the second ex-spouse deliberately transfers all property to another name in order to avoid paying maintenance," the Association points out.
And the interlocutor from the beginning of the story has a similar experience. As she says, her ex-husband is from a wealthy family, he owns apartments and business premises in several expensive locations in Montenegro, but nothing was registered in his name at the time when the amount of alimony was determined.
The "Parents" Association reminds that the claim for non-payment of arrears of support does not expire and the parent can file it until the child turns 18, when the child must file the claim independently.
Alimony fund ineffective
The payment of alimony from the Fund started back in November 2022, but was suspended after a few months due to different interpretations on whether they can be paid retroactively. The fund did not function for almost a year. At the end of 2023, the Law on Temporary Child Support was changed and it is allowed to pay alimony only from the moment the request is submitted, and only for two months, after which the parent must submit the request again for the next two months, if the alimony is not properly paid.
Until now, temporary support has been paid for 87 decisions of centers for social work, as of June, for 110 children, in the amount of 125.895 euros, according to the Alimony Fund for CIN-CG. "Temporary support was paid for 68 legal representatives who submitted a request for one or more children to exercise this right before the centers for social work. Out of 68 legal representatives, in 55 cases the applicants are mothers, while in 13 cases the applicants are the fathers of the children", said this institution.
Currently, 90 children benefit from the right to temporary maintenance, while the right to temporary maintenance has ended for 20 children in the meantime, since in some cases the parents who are obliged to pay alimony have started making regular payments of alimony or in cases where the children have reached the age of 18 years of life, they explained from the Alimony Fund.
The budget for the payment of temporary support for the year 2024 is one million euros, which, according to this institution, will be enough to pay support to all children whose right has been recognized, as well as to other children whose parents are still applying.
In order for children to realize the right to temporary support, it is necessary to fulfill the condition that the other parent has not paid alimony for two consecutive months or in the past 12 months, according to this institution. "It is very important to emphasize that the Alimony Fund fully fulfills its purpose, bearing in mind that so far the payment has been made according to all the solutions we received from the centers for social work", they said from this institution.
CIN-CG addressed the local centers for social work, which individually decide who will receive the right to temporary support. Requests for temporary maintenance are most often rejected due to the party's inability to collect the necessary documentation, according to the Center for Social Work Mojkovac, one of the two centers that responded to us. Thus, eight requests for temporary support were submitted to that Center, but two requests were rejected.
"For the applicants for temporary support, according to their statement, the biggest problem is the delivery of the document by the public bailiff. The Center does not have the possibility to make a decision on the way that would make it easier in the future for the parties who submit requests for this right, because it acts in accordance with the regulations issued by the Ministry of Finance, that is, the Alimony Fund", say the Center for Social Work Mojkovac.
And from the Danilovgrad Center for Social Work, they claim that the process of starting a procedure with a public bailiff for forced collection of alimony by a parent who does not pay maintenance is often complicated for the parties. "This procedure is initiated in order to obtain the evidence that is needed to exercise the right to temporary maintenance," the Center explains. Even in the Danilovgrad center, not all parents who applied for temporary support were able to meet the requirements for obtaining documentation, so three out of 15 requests were rejected.
It is necessary to simplify the procedures
"Unfortunately, our centers for social work are institutions with a lack of personnel capacity, which need transformation. These centers proved to be insufficiently effective in implementing the Law on Temporary Child Support," he told CIN-CG Branka Bosniak, the president of the Women's Club of the Parliament of Montenegro, who launched the initiative for the passing of this law and the initiation of alimony collection.
Due to the inefficient work of centers for social work, one gets the impression that the law is not good because it did not achieve the expected effect. "The problem is not in the law, but in the institutions responsible for its application. That is why it is necessary to strengthen these centers and to simplify the procedures as much as possible so that the law really comes to life in its full capacity", says Bošnjak. "This sends a bad message and even encourages irresponsible partners to continue disrespecting court decisions and violating children's rights, even though non-payment of alimony is a criminal offense," adds Bošnjak.
The Women's Club of the Parliament of Montenegro considered this law extremely important and a priority because of the huge number of single parents, mostly single mothers, who cried out for the adoption of this law, because they were brought to the brink of existence due to the irresponsibility of the other parent, explains Bošnjak.
"That's why the establishment of the Alimony Fund, through which the state will take responsibility and regularly pay alimony to children, and later collect it from irresponsible parents with the appropriate default interest, was a saving solution," says Bošnjak.
However, that solution did not bring salvation to many single parents, who, despite the Alimony Fund, are still waiting for the payment of child support.
The Association of Parents says that the Alimony Fund did not fully fulfill its purpose due to the complicated procedure, which led to a small number of requests. "Although the parent has the right to apply for alimony indefinitely if the partner does not provide maintenance, the procedure must be repeated every two months," says Ponoš.
The Parents' Association points out that the situation can be improved if the procedures are simplified, but also a system is established that will link all data in one place: court verdicts with maintenance amounts, public executors, Alimony Fund payments, as well as data from centers for social work. Also, they add, campaigns are necessary to inform parents about their rights, obligations and available resources, as well as to promote equal parenting.
Although the goal of every society should be to minimize the number of beneficiaries of the Alimony Fund, that is, that all parents fulfill their financial obligations towards their children, this is an unattainable goal for now, the Association explains. "Unfortunately, one of the big problems is the disinterest of parents with whom the child does not live, and we cannot sanction such things by law, because how can you force a mother or father to love and care for their child? We certainly cannot with the law", the Association concludes.
Single parenthood often leads to poverty and the next generation
“My father never paid child support. He is well-to-do, with large assets. The children from his second marriage grew up in luxury," the young woman, now in her late twenties, tells CIN-CG. She and her sisters were raised by a single mother, without the help of the rest of the family.
"My mother was in debt and loans all her life. She had to sell the land she inherited for nothing in order to raise us. That would be worth much more now," says this girl.
The now grown children are helping their mother pay off her debts, which will be in debt by the age of 75.
Several studies have shown that children of single parents are at increased risk of poverty, especially children of single mothers. One study showed that over 60 percent of children who grow up with single parents are at risk of poverty, in contrast to about 18 percent of children raised by both parents.
In 2021, UNICEF warned that the poverty rate in single-parent families in Montenegro is 35 percent, which is significantly higher than the national average of 25 percent. Every third child in Montenegro lives at risk of poverty, and this problem is particularly pronounced in the north of the country.
In Montenegro, there is currently no research on the financial situation of single and single-parent families, but the data on poverty in the general population are alarming.
According to Monstat data for 2022, 34 percent of citizens are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, or are already extremely socially and materially threatened. About 23 percent of citizens live in households that make ends meet with great difficulty, while those who do not have to think about survival at all are only 0,6 percent. Almost 65 percent of households in Montenegro cannot afford a week's rest away from home. According to Monstat, the poverty line was 450 euros per household last year.
Such a worrying situation, in the already great struggle of single parents to preserve both the physical and mental health of their children, should be an alarm for the institutions to finally pay more attention to this category of the population and make purposeful reforms in this area, which will really be able to be applied in practice .
Montenegro has not signed the Hague Protocol
The report of the European Commission (EC) for 2023 states that Montenegro has not yet signed the Hague Protocol from 2007, which regulates maintenance obligations. This protocol covers maintenance obligations arising from a family relationship, consanguinity, marriage or in-law relationship, including child support obligations, regardless of the marital status of its parents.
In the European Union, in 2021, about 23 percent of children were at risk of poverty, as warned by the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schuter. In his report, he pointed out that single mothers are one of the groups at greatest risk of poverty, and that for them "juggling between childcare and work obligations is almost impossible". Women are far more likely to be single parents than men in the EU and represent as much as 85 percent. Over 40 percent of the total number of children of single mothers in the EU are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
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