National Alimony Debtors Register exceeds 30,000 people and debt totals more than $47 billion pesos
There are 29,472 men (97.08%) and 885 women (2.92%) on the register, which has been in operation for three months. In addition, in most cases the debts correspond to one person, although there are currently 575 people who have more than one case against them.
There are currently 30,357 people registered on the National Alimony Debtors Register, which has been in operation for three months, 29,472 of whom are men (97.08%) and 885 are women (2.92%). At present, there are 1,869 enrolled institutions and a total debt of more than $47 billion Chilean pesos (US$58,750,000).
Most of the people registered are in the Metropolitan Region (12,024), followed by the Valparaíso Region (5,431) and the Biobío Region (2,693). In most cases, the debts correspond to one person, although there are currently 575 people who have more than one case against them.
“These figures show the need for the country to regulate what happens when the obligation to provide resources for the optimal development of children and adolescents is repeatedly violated. This also shows us how the amount impacts the lives of the majority of those who care for children and adolescents alone, who are overwhelmingly women. Our strategy continues to be to formalize the alimony debt before family courts, so that people can enforce it through the Debtors Register, as well as the mechanism for the effective payment of alimony that we managed to make law, and will come into force in May,” said Women and Gender Equity Minister Antonia Orellana.
Justice and Human Rights Minister Luis Cordero also spoke about the importance of creating this mechanism. “I want to highlight that for the first time there will be figures in this regard. This will allow the State to make better decisions when designing new public policies with a view to improving the conditions of citizen development,” he stated.
“Our strategy continues to be to formalize the alimony debt before family courts, so that people can enforce it through the Debtors Register,” Antonia Orellana, Women and Gender Equity Minister.
How the National Debtors Register works
To appear on the register, an alimony case must be brought against a debtor before the Courts of Justice, which must evaluate the background information. The person seeking alimony payments must apply to the corresponding court for settlement of the debt, which will be brought to the attention of the debtor. If the latter has a debt of three continuous months and/or five discontinuous months and does not make payment once the settlement has been made, the court will send the information to the Civil Registry and Identification Service (SRCEI) so that the debtor can be placed on the National Debtors Register.
This mechanism is a remote, free and instant electronic system. It can be consulted by any person or institution that has a legal obligation to do so, such as debtors, plaintiffs, legal representatives, courts, banks, notaries, municipal authorities, and other public and private institutions.
Among the consequences of appearing on the National Debtors Register are: the withholding of tax rebates during the income tax return process each year; the impossibility of obtaining or renewing a driver’s license and/or passport; and the withholding of credit operations (from 50 UF1 until reaching 50%).
During implementation of the register, the Women and Gender Equity Ministry identified and developed measures to improve compliance with the law in the case of financial service providers. Express powers were given to the Financial Market Commission to monitor and punish these actors, which was approved by Congress last December. The law states that, from March, the Financial Market Commission must supervise that the financial service providers it oversees are complying with the obligation to consult the register.
1Unidad de Fomento: An indicator whose value in pesos is adjusted daily in accordance with the Consumer Price Index.