Child maintenance (also called “child support”) is regular, reliable financial support paid towards a child’s everyday living costs such as food, clothing, and housing. It is payable following separation, divorce or the end of a civil partnership. It can also apply if you have never been in a relationship.
It is paid by one of the parents who does not live with the child, to the other parent, caregiver, or guardian with the child’s main day to day care.
You must have a maintenance arrangement if your child is under 16 (or under 20 if they are still in full-time education studying for):
- A-levels
- Highers (Scotland), or
- equivalent.
Child maintenance might stop earlier – for example, if one parent dies or the child no longer qualifies for child benefit.
Both parents are responsible for the costs of raising their children, even if they do not see them.
Who needs to pay child maintenance?
You will have to pay maintenance if you:
- are the child’s biological or adoptive parent
- do not live with the child as part of their family.
- are the child’s legal parent
What is child maintenance to be spent on?
Child maintenance payments are intended to cover the everyday living expenses of a child. These expenses typically include:
Food, housing, clothing, childcare, health care, educational expenses, and transport. The recipient of child maintenance has the discretion over how the funds are used.
When does child maintenance end?
Child maintenance typically ends when a child reaches the age of 16 and they are not in full-time education. When a child is in full-time education, child maintenance continues until the child reaches 18 years old or ceases full-time secondary education, whichever is later. If the child remains in full-time non-advanced education such as A-levels or equivalent, payments may continue until they are 20 years old. For children in full-time education, payments usually end on the 31st of August following their 18th birthday, or when they finish their course, whichever is later.
What happens if I don’t pay child maintenance?
Failure to pay child maintenance can lead to the following legal and financial consequences. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) can instruct the payers employer to deduct maintenance payments directly from their wages.
The CMS can also direct that regular payments or a lump sum withdrawal are removed from the paying parent’s bank account.
Alternatively, the CMS may obtain a Liability Order that allows them to take action to recover unpaid child maintenance. One method of enforcement is to send bailiffs to collect the debt.
A court can revoke the paying parent’s driving license or passport for up to two years if they are found to have deliberately avoided payment.
In extreme cases, the court can impose a prison sentence for non-payment.
How can child maintenance be arranged?
Parents are free to choose the best maintenance arrangement to suit their family’s needs. There are 3 different ways to arrange maintenance:
- Some people arrange maintenance voluntarily with each other referred to as a “family-based arrangement”. Family-based arrangements are private child maintenance agreements between both parents about who will provide what for a child. They don’t have to be just about exchanging money – the paying parent could, for example, agree to provide school uniforms, pay for school trips or extra-curricular activities. The main benefits of family-based arrangements are that they are private, quick, and easy to set up. They are also flexible and can be changed if your circumstances change without anyone else becoming involved. Research has shown that separated parents are twice as likely to be happy with a family-based arrangement as they are with a statutory arrangement imposed on them.
- Use the Child Maintenance Service, which calculates and collects the correct maintenance payments. The Child Maintenance Service can also act if a parent does not pay.
- Allow a Court to decide the amount of maintenance payments. This usually happens when the paying parent lives overseas or has a high salary.
What is a Child Maintenance Agreement?
A child maintenance agreement is an arrangement between parents regarding the financial support for their child. A child maintenance agreement usually includes the following: The amount of maintenance payable, the duration, payment method & how the agreement can be reviewed & adjusted if there is a change of circumstances. This agreement is typically made when the parents are no longer living together, such as in the case of divorce, separation, or unmarried parents who are not in a relationship.
How do I set up a child maintenance agreement?
To make a private child maintenance agreement without involving the Child Maintenance Service, you and the other parent need to agree on the following:
- The amount of maintenance to be paid. You can use a Child Support calculator to determine this.
- How often the payments will be made (for example weekly or monthly), and when they will begin.
- The method of payment; this could be by standing order or bank transfer.
- Decide whether the child maintenance will be adjusted for inflation, or any other significant changes in a parent’s income or circumstances.
- A future date to review the terms of the agreement.
You should record the agreement in writing, and have it signed by both parents. It is a good idea to keep a record of all payments made.
How is child maintenance calculated?
The amount of financial support an absent parent pays is dependent on many different factors. These include income, assets, age of the child, levels of savings, pension contributions, any special health needs the child has and any additional support already being given to support the home where the child lives.
In relation to income, child maintenance is calculated according to how much the paying parent earns per week. The figure used is gross weekly income, which represents the figure before National Insurance, tax etc., have been deducted.
The easiest way to get an idea of how much the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) would ask the absent parent to pay is by using the Child Maintenance Service calculator.
To use the calculator, you will need to know if the one of you who will be paying gets any benefits and how much they earn. If you both look after your child, (for example under a birdnesting arrangement), you will also need to know how many nights each week the child spends with each of you.
Does shared care affects child maintenance?
Yes, it does. If your child spends some time with the paying parent during a year, this will reduce the amount of child maintenance he or she pays by the following:
52 and 103 nights: child maintenance is reduced by 1/7th for each child.
104 and 155 nights: child maintenance is reduced by 2/7th for each child.
156 and 174 nights: child maintenance is reduced by 3/7th for each child.
175 nights or more nights: child maintenance is reduced by 50%, plus an extra £7 a week reduction for each child.
Can my ex’s new partners income be taken into account for child maintenance?
An ex’s new partner’s income is not taken into account when calculating child maintenance. Child maintenance payments are assessed solely on your ex’s taxable gross annual income, including earnings from employment, self-employment, pensions, and certain benefits. The Child Maintenance Service will not increase or decrease the child maintenance amount regardless of whether the paying parent has a new cohabiting partner.
What is the child maintenance Consent Order 12 month rule?
This means that the agreement for child maintenance contained in the Consent Order is only valid for the first 12 months. After 12 months you can ask the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to arrange maintenance for you.
Can I stop child maintenance if I can’t see my child?
Child maintenance and contact to a child are separate legal issues and should not be confused. The financial support of a child is a legal obligation that continues whether or not you have contact to your child. Both parents are responsible for financially supporting their child.
If you are being prevented from seeing your child, you should continue paying child maintenance but take appropriate legal action to enforce your legal rights.
Failure to pay child maintenance can result in serious consequences such as the suspension of your driving license, or an attachment of earnings.
Do I have to pay child maintenance if I am not a child’s father?
You are not required to pay child maintenance if you can prove you are not the biological father of the child. If there is a dispute as to paternity, the Child Maintenance Service can request a DNA test to establish parentage. If the DNA test confirms you are not the child’s father, you can apply to the Court for a Declaration of Non-Parentage. A declaration ensures that individuals who are not parents are not held liable for child maintenance or other parental obligations or responsibilities.
What is a family based arrangement?
A family based arrangement is a private informal agreement between parents on how they will financially support their child without involving a third party such as the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) or the Court. Parents can agree on any arrangement that suits their situation, including regular payments or direct payment for specific items like school uniforms or school trips. An arrangement can also include non-financial contributions, such as childcare. A family based arrangement is not legally enforceable, and relies on cooperation between parents. If one parent stops cooperating, either parent can seek a formal arrangement through the CMS or court.
Resources
For more information on family based arrangements visit the Child Arrangement form.
This arrangement form can help you work together to make sure your children receive as much support as possible. Use it to write down what you have both agreed so you have a record of how much child maintenance one parent will pay.
For more information on everything to do with child maintenance, visit Gingerbread’s dedicated child maintenance information page.
Our article What is child custody in England & Wales provides more information on living arrangements for children and parents.