A Guide to Child Maintenance by Child Maintenance Options

B) The Child Maintenance Options Service

C) Your Child Maintenance Options
1. Private Agreements
2. The Child Support Agency
3. Using the Courts

Call Child Maintenance Options in confidence on freephone*
0800 988 0988
From 8 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday
From 9 am to 4 pm Saturday

Visit Options online at www.cmoptions.org

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The information which we provide is not a substitute for independent professional advice and users should obtain professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.

A) Child maintenance – An introduction

What is child maintenance?

Child maintenance is regular, reliable financial support that helps towards the child’s everyday living costs. The parent who does not have main day-to-day care of the child (the non-resident parent) pays child maintenance to the parent who does have main day-to-day care (the parent with care). In some cases, this person can be a grandparent or guardian.

Why is child maintenance important?

An effective child maintenance arrangement can make a significant difference to a child’s well-being, because it can help create a more stable environment for them.
What’s more, research shows that the more their father is interested and involved in their life, the more children are likely to do well at school, stay out of trouble and develop self esteem and healthier relationships as an adult.

How can child maintenance be arranged?

There are three ways you can arrange to pay or receive child maintenance:

through a private agreement
through a statutory arrangement, provided by the Child Support Agency
using the Courts

Where can I get information about my options?
The Child Maintenance Options service provides impartial information and support. To speak to someone today call 0800 988 0988 or visit www.cmoptions.org.

B) The Child Maintenance Options service

What is Child Maintenance Options?

Child Maintenance Options is a new service for separating and separated parents, as well as family, friends, guardians, and anyone else with an interest in child maintenance.

Child Maintenance Options will help you to find the right child maintenance arrangement for you and your child, by giving you impartial information on all the options available to you.

Options can also provide practical support on many of the other issues you may face when parenting apart.

How can Child Maintenance Options help me?

Child Maintenance Options provides information and support that will help you to:

understand your options if you don’t already have a child maintenance arrangement or your current arrangement isn’t working as well as you’d like
help you to understand how much child maintenance might be payable – whether that’s through a private agreement or CSA arrangement

It can also help you deal with other issues linked to child maintenance, such as housing, work, money and emotional well-being - by putting you in touch with other helpful groups that offer specialist advice.

C) Your child maintenance options

Option 1: A private agreement between both parents

Separated and separating parents can make a private agreement about child maintenance, without using the Courts or the CSA.

There are lots of benefits to having a private agreement:
It’s quick and easy to set up.
There’s little paperwork to do.
There are no set rules so you can be more flexible. For example:
- You can agree between you on how much payments should be, and when they should be made.
- If either parent’s circumstances change, your agreement can change straight away if you both agree to it.
- If you agree that you would rather pay for or receive things like clothing for your child instead of money, you can.
It can help to keep things friendly between you and the other parent.

However, a private agreement could fail if either parent won’t agree to the terms of the agreement, or if they aren’t honest about their situation.

A private agreement is not usually legally binding.

Is a private agreement the right choice for me?

This type of arrangement may be right for you if you’re confident that you can sort out payments with the other parent.

A private agreement may not be for you if you’d rather avoid contact with the other parent or you don’t think you can reach an agreement with them.

Help with setting up a private agreement

Child Maintenance Options can talk you through all aspects of a private agreement and help you if this option is best for you and your child.

The Options Maintenance Calculator gives you an indication of what your payments might be should you use the CSA. You could use this amount as a starting point for your private agreement.

Child Maintenance Options can also provide you with a private agreement form. You can use this to keep a record of what you have agreed with the other parent.

Option 2: A CSA arrangement

The Child Support Agency (CSA) is the government’s statutory child maintenance service.

If you feel you can’t make a private agreement work, you can ask the CSA to calculate how much child maintenance should be paid and pass that money on to the parent with care.

The CSA will also:

try to find the other parent and help sort out parentage disputes if you need them to
look at your payments again if your circumstances change
take action if payments are missed

Either parent can make an application to the CSA. Non-resident parents are legally required to pay the amount the CSA calculates.

How does the CSA collect and pass on payments?

The CSA can collect payments in several ways, including

by Direct Debit
direct from a non-resident parent’s earnings
direct from a non-resident parent’s benefits

Child Maintenance payments can be made every week or every month – whichever option is most suitable for your circumstances.

If child maintenance is taken from your benefits, it can be deducted at the same time as your benefits are paid to you. This can be every two weeks or every four weeks.

When the CSA receive a child maintenance payment, they will transfer it to the parent with care’s bank or building society account.

Is the CSA the right choice for me?

This type of arrangement may be right for you if:
you want to avoid contact with the other parent
you want the added security of the CSA managing payments for you

Maintenance Direct

The CSA also offer a service called Maintenance Direct, where child maintenance is calculated by the CSA but not collected by them. With this service the non resident parent makes payments directly to the parent who has the main day-to-day care of the child.

With Maintenance Direct, parents can agree between themselves how and when money is paid, and child maintenance amounts can be varied if circumstances change.

The CSA are still available to give advice and guidance if any changes of circumstances mean a new calculation needs to be made, or step in if the non resident parent doesn’t make the payments that are due.

You can get an idea of how much child maintenance you might pay or receive through the CSA with the Options Maintenance Calculator.

Option 3: Using the Courts

There is also the option of arranging child maintenance and enforcing payment through the Courts.

Consent Order (a type of court order in England and Wales)

This is an official ruling made by a court. It is normally used when parents are deciding a divorce settlement or sharing assets. Both parents normally have to work with solicitors to agree the amount of child maintenance to be paid. They then apply to the court to turn the agreement into a Consent Order.

A Consent Order means the court can enforce payment if the non-resident parent fails to pay. However, getting a Consent Order can be expensive. Legal aid won’t cover these costs if you are only going to court to get a Consent Order for child maintenance.

Unfortunately, you can’t ask the CSA to make a child maintenance arrangement during the first 12 months of a Consent Order.

A Consent Order can include provisions for

the payment of school fees
child maintenance for step children or disabled children
child maintenance for those who are in further education and certain other specific situations

Minute of agreement (in Scotland)

Things are slightly different in Scotland. If you can make a private agreement with the other parent (usually with help from solicitors), it can be made into a contract called a Minute of Agreement. This can be registered to make it legally binding.

If the parent without the main day-to-day care fails to pay the child maintenance agreed in the Minute of Agreement, a sheriff officer (the Scottish equivalent of a bailiff) can collect and enforce payments.

D) Leaflets and guides

Child maintenance - getting started
An introduction to child maintenance and the different options available to you.

Private agreement form
A private agreement is one of the options for sorting out child maintenance, where you and the other parent reach an agreement between yourselves. This leaflet explains more about this option, and includes a form that you can use to keep a record of your agreement.

Money and finance: for parents living apart
This leaflet provides information about money matters for parents living apart, including the best way to manage your finances.

Housing rights and options: for parents living apart
This leaflet has lots of useful information on your housing rights and options as a separated parent, including financial help you may be entitled to.

Employment rights and opportunities: for parents living apart
This leaflet gives parents who live apart information about employment opportunities and rights. This includes where you can find help with childcare and looking for a job.

Emotional well-being: for parents living apart
This leaflet can help you deal with the feelings you may have when raising a child apart from the other parent. It also talks about how to support your child during what can be an emotionally difficult time.

Legal rights and responsibilities: for parents living apart
This leaflet explains the rights and responsibilities of separated parents, with information on what services and specialist legal advice are available. It also discusses some of the practical considerations for separated families.

Kids in the middle
This leaflet gives you guidance on how to minimise the affect that your separation has on your children from Agony Aunt, Deidre Sanders.

E) Child maintenance FAQs

How do I set up a child maintenance agreement?

Parents can set up a child maintenance arrangement between themselves, through a private agreement.
You and the other parent don’t have to involve anyone else when setting up a private agreement, but if you want to you can speak to Child Maintenance Options for free, impartial information on this kind of arrangement.

If you think a private agreement will not work for you, you may be able apply to the Child Support Agency (CSA). The CSA can accept applications from:

either parent
children aged 12 or over who live in Scotland
other people caring for children (for example, grandparents or other legal guardians)

But, you can’t ask the CSA to make a child maintenance arrangement during the first 12 months of a Consent Order.

To put a Consent Order in place, both parents need to agree how much child maintenance is going to be paid and how often. You can do this either privately between yourselves or through solicitors. You can then apply to the court to turn this agreement into a Consent Order.

Child Maintenance Options will be able to tell you more about all of these types of arrangements.

Which children are covered by child maintenance?

Child support law governs the level of child maintenance that should be paid by a parent who is not resident in the child's household, to the parent with main day-to-day care of a child. The CSA use child support law as a basis for the child maintenance arrangements they put in place.

For child maintenance purposes, a child is anyone under 16 or someone between 16 and 19 who:

is not, nor has ever been, married or in a civil partnership, and
is in full-time non-advanced education.

However, in certain circumstances, someone under 19 and over 16 can still be regarded as a child for child maintenance purposes even if they are not in full-time non-advanced education.

How much child maintenance should be paid?

With a private arrangement, you and the other parent can agree between yourselves how much child maintenance should be paid, and how often.

A private agreement would also give you the flexibility to allow for times where you would rather pay for or receive specific things for your child, for example new clothes or a school trip, instead of money for child maintenance.

You can get an idea of what your payments might be if you were to use the CSA by using the Child Maintenance Options calculator. You could use this figure as a starting point for negotiating a private agreement.

If you cannot agree on an amount, the Child Support Agency (CSA) can calculate a child maintenance amount for you

How does the Child Support Agency calculate child maintenance?

The Child Support Agency (CSA) calculates an amount using rules set out by child support law. This amount is based on:

the net income of the non resident parent,
the number of children the non resident parent has to pay child maintenance for,
the number of other children who live with the non-resident parent, and
the shared care arrangements for your children.

You can get an idea of what your payments might be, using the Child Maintenance Options calculator. You could also use this figure as a starting point for discussing a private agreement.

What child maintenance payments can a court order?

The court still retains its powers to make orders for

the payment of school fees
child maintenance for step children or disabled children
child maintenance for those who are in further education and certain other specific situations

It can also order that capital sums be paid for children, or that property must be made available for them, in certain circumstances.

Child Maintenance Options can provide more information on court orders and the other options available to you.

If child maintenance has been agreed, does the CSA have to be involved?

If you have arranged child maintenance through a private agreement, the CSA and the courts will not usually become involved.

The CSA will only become involved at the request of a parent. However there are some circumstances where you cannot use the CSA – Child Maintenance Options can tell you more about this.

Do I have to use the CSA to manage child maintenance?

No. There are several options for arranging child maintenance.

Child Maintenance Options can provide more information on the different choices available to you.

You may prefer to agree a figure for child maintenance in a private agreement that is based on the CSA calculation. Child Maintenance Options can help you with this. You can get an idea of what this figure might be using the Child Maintenance Options calculator.