CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS (MEÐLAG)

 
All parents have an obligation to take care of their children. If the parents are no longer together at the birth of the child, or separate after the child is born, they are required to negotiate the terms of child support. The most common arrangement is for the parent with whom the child lives on a daily basis to receive a fixed amount of money each month from the other parent, that is, child support payments. It is necessary to receive authentication of the contract from the commissioner of the municipality.

 
The law decides the minimum amount of child support, referred to as “basic child support”. It is now 17.249 krona a month for each child. It is not possible to negotiate a lower amount than the minimum decided by law, however, parents are at liberty to discuss higher payments, for instance double child support payments, etc. Such requests are estimated on the basis of the total annual income of both parents.

 
Child support payments are made until the child reaches the age of 18. It is possible to be granted a legal extension on this age limit until the child is 20 years of age, if the child in question is a student or is participating in job training. If this is the case the child may apply to the sýslumaður for an extension. The student applies, not the parent, and if granted the support the money belongs to the student and not the parents. This first step is to go to your local commissioners office (syslumaður).

 
Child support payments may be done directly, by agreement between the parents, but it is also possible to apply to Tryggingastofnun Ríkisins (Social Security Institute) to serve as an intermediary between the parents. Be aware that the Tryggingastofnun does not pay more than the basic child support for each child. Parents who receive higher child support payments must make their own arrangements with the payee, for any part of the payment that is over the minimum amount.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS?
(BOTH PARENTS ARE IN ICELAND):

• A contract of child support payments must be signed by both parents and certified by the commissioner (Sýslumaður). If parents fail to reach an agreement the commissioner will make a ruling on the issue.
• An application for child support must be submitted to the customer service dept. (Þjónustumiðstöð) of the Social Security Institute (Tryggingastofnun) at Laugavegur 114 or to agencies outside Reykjavík that provide the service on behalf of Tryggingastofnun.
• The original contract or ruling must be attached to the application
• If the mother has applied for verification of paternity from the father of the child, she will be eligible for temporary payments, and has to submit to the commissioner some form of confirmation of this.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS?
(ONE PARENT LIVES ABROAD):

• Fill-out an application for a ruling on child support payments at the commissioner’s office. This application should be submitted with the child’s birth certificate with the name and last known address of the parent who lives abroad. The commissioner will then issue a ruling on temporary child support payments.
• The directive should then be submitted to the Customer Service dept. of the Social Security Institute (þjónustumiðstöð tryggingastofnunar) at Laugavegur 114 or to regional agencies outside Reykjavik that provide the service on behalf of Tryggingastofnun.
• Support is paid until the child is 18 years of age even in cases where the responsible parent does not make payments and efforts to collect payments owed have not been successful.
• Be aware that temporary child support payments are never higher than the basic child support.
• If the parent living abroad has paid child support payments in his or her country of residence, and the amount is lower than the basic amount the parent living in Iceland is entitled to, the commissioner can direct the SSI to pay the parent the difference.
• Back payments of child support do not exceed one year provided that the child has been a resident of Iceland during that time.

 
It takes the Social Security Institute seven to ten days to process applications for child support benefits. Credit balances will be paid when an application has been processed and approved. Payments are made directly into the bank account of the parent on the first day of each month.