以社會福利觀點反思未成年子女扶養費之司法裁判程序

Abstract

父母對於未成年子女之扶養義務，不因結婚經撤銷或離婚而受影響，我國民法第1116條之2定有明文，而按我國民法第1055條第1項規定，夫妻離婚如對於未成年子女權利義務之行使或負擔，未為協議或協議不成時，法院得依夫妻之一方、主管機關、社會福利機構或其他利害關係人之請求或依職權酌定之，而法院為該裁判時，依民法第1055條之1，須依子女之最佳利益，審酌一切情狀。如法院欲酌定未成年子女扶養費之數額，則按民法第1119條，須衡量受扶養權利者之需要，與負扶養義務者之經濟能力及身分，決定父母對未成年子女之扶養程度。 「子女之最佳利益」、「受扶養權利者之需要」及「負扶養義務者之經濟能力及身分」皆屬不確定法律概念，實務運作上，法院在酌定子女扶養費數額及父母之比例分擔時，會考量哪些因素？法院實際進行個案情況裁量時，會面臨哪些裁量困難？法院實務裁判之結果呈現情況如何？以上實務運作層面之問題，以裁判案例研究來分析最為適當。 本研究透過文獻內容分析與裁判案例分析，以未成年子女扶養費用為中心，探討及分析「經法院裁判酌定子女扶養費」之相關裁判實務發展情形、裁判理由及結果，得出之研究結果包括：1.現行法院酌定子女扶養費模式採兩階段酌定說；2.即便個案類型不同，但多數裁判酌定子女扶養費數額時，並不會偏離子女居住地之月消費支出之金額過多；3.即便父母身分與資力佳，法院仍裁定月消費支出之數額作為子女扶養費；4.社會補助與津貼是否應列為子女扶養費之一部分，實務裁判見解有所歧異。本文亦於研究中納入社會福利觀點探討父母離婚後對未成年子女之影響，發現父母共同行使及負擔對未成年子女之權利義務，會影響當事人申請福利身分。 最後，本文針對我國法院酌定子女扶養費之裁判未來發展提出研究建議，於離婚及家事事件程序部分建議：1.政府可投注更多資源推動當事人調和解離婚程序；2.法院可善用社工專業對經濟弱勢之敏感度，強化其於司法訪視調查中評估者與資源轉介之角色功能。於未成年子女扶養費裁判實務適用建議：1.福利補助及津貼之受領資格非長期取得，建議不得從父母負擔之子女扶養費總額中扣除；2.法院於裁判中對貧困家庭之認定須採一定標準且可納入社會福利觀點，本研究亦實際提出貧困家庭之認定方法；3.裁量子女扶養費時可納入社會法觀點，並可建置子女扶養費數額分級制度，而本研究亦嘗試運用社會救助法之家庭資產調查模式，解決國稅局財稅資料無法如實呈現當事人經濟情況之困境，並提出法院可採用之家庭資產調查模式與子女扶養費數額分級制度方向。

Article 1116-2 of the Taiwan Civil Code has expressly stated that the obligation of parents to maintain their minor child shall not be affected by the annulment of the marriage or the divorce. According to Paragraph 1, Article 1055 of the Taiwan Civil Code, after the husband and the wife effect a divorce, one party or both parties of the parents will exercise the rights or assume the duties in regard to the minor child by mutual agreement. If the mutual agreement did not or could not be completed, the court may decide an appropriate result according to either its own authority, or the applications of the husband or the wife, the authorities concerned, the social welfare institution, or any other interested person. When the court makes the jurisdiction in the Article of 1055 of the Taiwan Civil Code, it should be decided in accordance with the best interests of the minor child. If the court wants to determine the extent of furnishing maintenance, according to Article 1119 of the Civil Code, it shall be determined according to the needs of the person entitled to maintenance, the economic ability, and the social status of the person bound to furnish it. However, “the best interests of the child”, “the needs of the person”, and “the economic ability and social status of the person” are uncertain legal concepts. How does the court apply these to an individual case? What factors will be considered by the court? What difficulties will the court face when making actual case-by-case decisions? How is the result of the court's practical judgment presented? To answer the practical questions above, case studies can be the most effective research method. This paper focuses on the maintenance expenses of children through literature analysis and case law analysis, and further discusses and analyzes the development of relevant judicial practices as well as their reasons and results of "the maintenance for children decided by court’s authority". Through case law analysis, this research concludes: 1. The court’s decision-making of the maintenance for children adopts a two-stage discretionary theory; 2. Generally, even if the types of cases are different, the amount of the maintenance for children, which is decided by the court, is quite similar to the amount of monthly consumption expenditure from the Survey of Family Income and Expenditure; 3. Although some parents have better economic abilities and social statuses, the court still decides the amount of the maintenance for children according to the amount of monthly consumption expenditure from the Survey of Family Income and Expenditure; 4. Judicial practices reveals different opinions on whether social subsidies and allowances should be included as part of the maintenance for children. This paper also incorporated the perspective of Social Welfare to explore the impact on children after the divorce of parents, and found that parents' joint exercise and responsibility for children's rights and obligations would affect them to apply for welfare resources. Finally, this paper proposes recommendations for the future development of judicial practices of maintenance for children in Taiwan. There are two recommendations for divorce and family affairs procedures: 1. The government could devote more resources to promoting divorce by mediation and divorce settlement; 2. The court can make good use of the sensitivity of the social work profession to economically disadvantaged people and strengthen its role as an evaluator and a resource referrer through the court visits and investigations. There are three recommendations for judicial practices of considering the maintenance for children : 1. The qualifications for receiving welfare subsidies and allowances are not long-term, and it is recommended that they should not be deducted from the maintenance for children ; 2. The court should adopt a certain standard for identifying economically disadvantaged families in judicial practices. This paper also proposes a method for identifying economically disadvantaged families; 3. The Perspective of Social Security Law could be incorporated into the process of decision-making of the maintenance for children by the court, and a grading system for the amount of the maintenance for children could be established. This paper attempts to propose a family asset investigation model and a grading system for the amount of the maintenance for children that can be adopted by the court.