Termination of Alimony Obligation by Set-off Agreement

In addition to set-off, a legal structure similar in purpose but different in terms of implementation is widely used in legal practice – a set-off agreement. At the same time, the question of applicability to it of the relevant restrictions inherent in set-offing in accordance with Article 410 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation remains debatable. This is due to the fact that conditional restrictions on the set-offing capacity of claims can be differentiated into two large groups: 1) prohibitions and restrictions motivated by the unilateral nature of set-offing (Article 410 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) and clearly not relevant to the set-off agreement due to its contractual nature; 2) prohibitions and restrictions that do not contain a single logic in themselves (Article 411 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and other regulatory acts). In the second case, it becomes necessary to assess the applicability of each of the restrictions separately to the set-off agreement. The article analyzes the possibility of overcoming the ban on the alimony set-off with the help of an set-off agreement. The author concludes that the agreement on the set-off of alimony is possible only as a special case of termination of the alimony obligation and only in part of the resulting debt. The form of this agreement can theoretically be simple written and, more preferably, notarial. However, in the absence of a direct indication in the law of the possibility of concluding such agreements in simple written or notarial form, today it is necessary to go to court for their approval as amicable agreements.