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Alimony has become a rule that helps maintain the well-being of children in the event of divorce, annulment or simply a process of alimony in favor of the children, however, if you do not have the responsibility of carrying out these payments, you can fall into the Crime of non-payment of pensions.
Within this crime there is a large number of questions and questions, such as the sentence you can receive, what are the deadlines for non-payment to receive a complaint, what are the articles of the law on these crimes and more.
Today we will be breaking down everything you need to know about this crime.
what is the Crime of non-payment of pensions?
is defined as Non-payment crime to the delay or lack of responsibility for the payment of a pension to children or spouses, which is previously established. Now, this first enters as a crime of family abandonment.
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This is a more common situation than it seems, since many parents refuse to pay the support due to emotional situations such as sadness or resentment towards their spouse.
What the law seeks with this is to protect the well-being of the child who is in the midst of a divorce or annulment of marriage.
What are the articles that talk about this crime?
Within the criminal code, we can find 2 articles that talk about this crime, which are 227 and 228.
In it article 227 we can find:
"1. Whoever stops paying for two consecutive months or four non-consecutive months any type of economic benefit in favor of their spouse or their children, established in a judicially approved agreement or judicial resolution in the cases of legal separation, divorce, declaration of nullity of the marriage , filiation process, or food process in favor of their children, will be punished with a prison sentence of three months to one year or a fine of six to 24 months.
2. Anyone who fails to pay any other economic benefit established jointly or solely in the cases provided for in the previous section will be punished with the same penalty.
3. The repair of the damage from the crime will always involve the payment of the amounts owed”
The first thing that this article says is the sentence that can be obtained by those who commit the Crime of non-payment of pensions, which will go from 3 months to 1 year in prison or mules from 6 to 2 years.
Likewise, non-payment is not only given for alimony, it can also be due to other processes, however, the penalty will be exactly the same.
In article 228 we can find:
“The crimes provided for in the two previous articles will only be prosecuted after a complaint has been filed by the aggrieved person or their legal representative. When the person is a minor, a person with a disability in need of special protection or a helpless person, the Public Prosecutor may also file a complaint.
In order for it to be considered a crime, the person who is ceasing to receive the pension must be a minor or disabled, otherwise, there is no type of claim or crime.
What happens with the Crime of Non-Payment of Pensions if the person is unable to pay the pension?
In order to demand a pension, a prior study of the debtor's income must be carried out, however, the economic situation of a person can change radically.
This situation makes us wonder what happens if the economic situation changes and you cannot pay? Is this still a crime? This is a rather complex situation, because the crime occurs if the person does not want to pay, but in this case, the person cannot pay.
What is penalized in this crime is having the money to make the payment, and not wanting to do it, however, if the person does not have the money, a new evaluation of the debtor's income must be carried out and the amount of the payment adjusted. same.
What are the types of family abandonment crimes?
Non-payment is one of the main crimes in terms of abandonment to the family, however, there are other crimes that are also punishable by law, among them are:
Abandonment of guard and custody
When guard and custody is given to a person, it must always be maintained; however, if the person decides to leave the person for no apparent reason, it will be considered a crime of abandonment of the family.
This crime does not spare if it is a minor or a disabled person, it will be equally punished. The sentence for this crime can range from 18 to 3 years.
However, there are some special considerations, since, if the abandonment of health or sexual freedom is in danger, the sentence time increases between 2 to 4 years in prison.
Delivery of guardianship to a third party
This is another big problem, since without any type of authorization you will be committing a crime. Depending on how you deliver it to the person in charge and to whom you deliver it, you can run with fines of 6 to 12 months.
Now, if there is an aggravating circumstance and the person you are in charge of is in danger, it can take you to prison for 6 to 2 years.
Use of the disabled for begging
It is very important to understand the difference between a support received voluntarily, and using a person with a disability to obtain something. If there is any type of violence or intimidation of the disabled person, the penalty will be from 1 to 4 years.
