Child Support When the Payer Has Undeclared Income, Runs a Sole Proprietorship or Has No Formal Job: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Qualification: absent an agreement, the court sets the amount reasonably and fairly, within the limits of the child's normal maintenance needs (CC, Art. 1214). The CC sets no percentages or shares of income; the court fixes a sum. The key point: the parents' and the child's ACTUAL financial situation is taken into account (CC, Art. 1214); the absence of a salary certificate does not mean zero capacity to pay.
2. The child's needs are the first half of the calculation: an estimate of expenses (food, school, clubs, treatment, housing) supported by receipts; special expenses are added, along with participation in additional costs such as a serious illness or disability of the child (CC, Art. 1215).
3. The payer's real means: each party proves its position with witnesses, written and physical evidence, and experts (CPC, Art. 102). Photos and social media, a car, trips, rent, witnesses; data from the Public Registry is open to anyone (Law of Georgia on the Public Registry, Art. 6), so extracts on real estate and on sole-proprietor status can be obtained.
4. Requesting evidence: what a party cannot obtain itself, the court will request on motion (CPC, Art. 103); in family cases, also on its own initiative (CPC, Art. 354); bank statements are released under bank secrecy only by court order (Law of Georgia on Activities of Commercial Banks, Art. 17). A party who hides documents without good reason may have the burden of proof shifted onto it (CPC, Art. 136).
5. Claim and interim protection: a plaintiff in a child support claim is exempt from court costs (CPC, Art. 46); before the decision, the court may issue an interim order on the child's maintenance (CPC, Art. 355). In the decision, request support in a fixed sum; if circumstances change, it may be reduced or increased (CC, Art. 1221).
6. Alternative to litigation: the parents may set the amount by agreement (CC, Art. 1213), in the form of a notarised agreement with a fixed sum.
7. Where to apply: district (city) court; Public Registry for extracts; banks only on court order.
8. Evidence: estimate of the child's expenses with receipts; Public Registry extracts; photos and posts showing the lifestyle; information on a car; correspondence about income; witnesses.
9. Traps: importing Russian-style shares of income: in Georgia the court sets a sum; demanding a sum without calculating the child's needs; illegally obtained evidence (for example, hacked correspondence) will not be accepted by the court.

Be sure to check

• the court sets the amount reasonably and fairly, by the child's needs and the parents' actual situation, not by an income certificate
• how to prove real income: lifestyle, property (Public Registry), witnesses
• the court's power to request evidence (including bank statements) and the consequences of the respondent refusing to produce documents
• interim order on maintenance until the decision; plaintiff exempt from court costs