In the past, the union of two people was considered sacred,and today divorces are more the norm than the exception to the rule. Families break up all the time, unfortunately, this is no longer surprising. Sometimes even a new life that seems to be the fruit of love between two people is not a reason to get married. In addition, in the modern world, women have become more independent and are no longer afraid to raise a child without anyone's help. Today, a single mother is not condemned by society, relatives do not turn away from her and friends do not criticize her. A girl who has received the proper education, who works in one company or another, is capable of raising a baby alone - it is not at all necessary to be married. Naturally, raising a baby in such conditions, that is, without being married, is much more difficult than doing it together. First of all, do not forget that as a boy or girl grows up, they will ask certain questions, and the most common of them is - «Where is my dad?» A child, watching his peers, seeing complete families where there are both parents, can feel deprived. Such children often look for a "substitute" for a father: they often reach out to grandfathers, show an active interest in male friends who are part of the house. Therefore, in this case, the most important thing is to correctly and clearly explain to the baby where his dad is and why he does not live with you. Be patient and find the right words! Another important, if not more - one of the main - issue that every single mother faces is financial. Naturally, it is quite difficult to earn money, feed, shoe, dress and subsequently educate your child, especially given the frightening high cost of modern life. Fortunately, such women are entitled to social benefits. To receive assistance from the state, first of all, you need to know your rights. However, we will talk about what compensation is assigned to single mothers a little later. First, let's take a closer look at another issue - who exactly falls under this status. After all, as it turns out, from the point of view of the law, not every woman raising a child on her own is considered a single mother.
A lonely mother by law and in everyday life
From the perspective of the average person, a woman who does notis married and is raising a child alone - this is a single mother. It would seem that everything is logical, simple and understandable, but the law is a much more serious "authority" that has its own rules. Thus, according to the regulations and norms in force in the territory of the Russian Federation, the status of "single mother" is not assigned to everyone. We suggest dwelling on this in more detail. So, women who gave birth to a child (or several children) at least 300 days and more after a divorce from their spouse can count on social benefits for caring for a child who lives in an incomplete family, that is, without a father. In the event that the baby was born when his parents were still married or from the moment of birth and immediately before the dissolution of the marriage the specified period was fewer days, and the man, that is, the ex-husband, disputed his paternity, the woman is also assigned the status of "single mother". Naturally, she is guaranteed a certain amount of state assistance - social benefits. Another option is possible: for example, a new mother loses the father of her baby, that is, becomes a widow. In this case, according to the letter of the law, she does not fall under the status in question, which means that she is not entitled to the benefits assigned to single mothers. Here, the state helps in a slightly different way: a woman can apply for benefits in connection with the loss of a breadwinner. A man leaving the family is not uncommon. Another thing is that this looks wild, especially when such an act is committed by a new father. If this happens to a girl who has just given birth - that is, less than 300 days have passed since the baby was born - or the woman is still pregnant, then she will not be assigned the status of "single mother". In this case, you will have to demand alimony from the negligent parent, for which you should go to court.
What to do and how to be?
Every woman, due to certain life circumstancessituations, forced to raise a child on her own and considered a single mother by law, should not only know what payments and benefits she is entitled to, but also not forget about the pitfalls that may arise along the way. For example, experts strongly recommend that when filling out a birth certificate, not to indicate the surname of the second parent in it. This is due to the fact that in some cases - for example, when traveling outside the Russian Federation - you will have to obtain written permission from the father to take the baby out of the country. Exactly the same situation will arise when registering a child at the address where the mother lives - this will also require the official consent of the father, even though he, as they say, "has disappeared without a trace." However, as you know, every coin always has two sides: for example, if you leave the "paternity" column blank in the certificate, then in the future the baby will not be able to claim the father's property due to him and, accordingly, will not be an heir. As you can see, "single mother" in common parlance and in the language of lawyers are two completely different things. A divorced woman with one, two or even three children on her hands does not always have to count on the corresponding payments. After all, it is one thing to call yourself a single mother and quite another to be considered as such according to the current legislation. So, let's clarify once again in which cases a girl who is raising a child on her own can legalize her status:
- First, if she gave birth to a crumb without being married, and paternity was not established either in court or in a voluntary manner.
- Secondly, if the child was born after 300 (or as already mentioned more) days from the moment when the process of official dissolution of the union of his parents was not yet completed.
- If the birth occurred when the womanlegally had the status of a wife, or by that time the required number of days had not yet passed after the divorce, and her husband was listed in the certificate, but on his own or someone else's initiative he contested paternity. It should be taken into account that you must have an official document in hand - a court decision that has entered into force - that the man is not the father.
- Single mothers also include women who, without being married, themselves adopted or adopted the child at will.
The legislation in force in the territory of the Russian Federation,allows a new mother to register the baby under her last name and give him absolutely any patronymic. To obtain the above-mentioned status, and therefore the corresponding allowance, it is necessary to undergo certain procedures:
- First, contact the social security authorities - social security or RUSZN - to which you belong at your place of residence, and write an application.
- The next step is to assemble a specific packagedocuments to provide all the same services. To do this, you will need a certificate of birth of a crumb, as well as a certificate of the composition of the family (taken in the Housing and Communal Services), work and savings books and, of course, a passport.
In some cases, an official may requirealso a certificate from your place of work, which must be issued by an accountant, as confirmation of the accuracy of the information you have provided about your own income. Please note that when filling out the application, information about the latter must be provided only in writing. The benefits that a single mother receives differ from the usual ones in their size. It is important to note that in different subjects of the Russian Federation, women may be assigned additional payments.
State support 2013: payments to single mothers
Well, with those who are single mothers, andwe have determined what documents need to be collected to obtain this status. Now let's move directly to the monetary issue. According to statistics and promises of the Russian government, this year (compared to last year) social benefits were indexed. This coefficient was 1.055. The amounts of benefits, of course, are not astronomical, but any help is never superfluous. So, if a woman is raising a child (or children) on her own and, according to the law, as mentioned above, falls into the category of "single mother", then accordingly she is entitled to certain assistance from the state. In principle, such payments are guaranteed to all new mothers, the only difference is their size. Naturally, the amounts assigned to single mothers are somewhat higher, namely:
- According to the current law,the allowance to pregnant women who rose early (up to twelve weeks) to register with a gynecologist, in 2013 is 490 rubles 79 kopecks. As for a lump sum payment at the birth of a baby, this figure is 13087.61 rubles.
- Monthly allowance for the care of one childthe age of up to one and a half years increased from 2326 to 2453.93 rubles, and for the second and subsequent children it is about 4907.85. However, it should be borne in mind that indexing is applied only if the baby was born on or after 1 January of the current year.
- As for the parent capital, in 2013the state pledged the amount of 408960.51 rubles. Also, a single mother has the right to receive payments for the care of a sick child, the size of which is assigned individually, depending on the specific circumstances. For example, if the baby is listed at the hospital, the calculation will be made based on the length of the mother's work experience, and for outpatient treatment, the first ten days will be paid in full, and later the woman will receive 50% of her salary.
- In addition, if anytroubles at the enterprise where the single mother works - for example, during its liquidation or staff reduction - she is also protected by the state. This means that she cannot be fired even for such an article as "unsuitability for the position held". If the company is going through the liquidation process, the current manager is obliged to employ single mothers, as well as pregnant women and those who have small children under three years old.
- To single mothers the state is guaranteedthe right to additional leave, which is granted annually and is not less than fourteen days. You can take it at any time convenient for you. However, do not forget that in this case, wages are not saved.
If a single mother is on a housing waiting list, shehas a priority right to receive it (compared to other women). In addition, a child raised in a single-parent family (naturally, we are talking about the absence of a father) can be enrolled in a children's institution for full state support. If we talk about schools, then by decision of the director, the child can be given textbooks, as well as free meals in the canteen. As the popular wisdom says: "Knowledge is power." Therefore, you need to not only have a general idea of what responsibilities are imposed on you - as a mother, a citizen of Russia, and so on - but also be informed in matters related to state-guaranteed assistance. To do this, you should thoroughly study the current legislation, or you can do it even easier - contact a specialist of the social protection agencies to which you are registered.
