Child Maintenance

Child Maintenance is not a state benefit as such: the state pays no money towards the child in question. Child Maintenance is a state-supported system which ensures that both parents contribute money towards the upbringing of their child. A child is any young person under sixteen, or under nineteen if they are in full-time education. If you have separated from your partner or if you are caring for a child on behalf of the parents, the absent parent or parents of the child will be responsible for paying Child Maintenance to you. The Child Support Agency, available on 0845 713 3133, is the official agency which can help you to make an arrangement with the absent parent or parents. You might prefer to contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau or a lawyer for more assistance. The Child Support Agency will negotiate payments on your behalf and can collect payments and take action if payments are not made.

If you are caring for the child and currently claiming other state benefits, you may be registered for Child Maintenance services automatically. The amount of Child Maintenance that you will receive will however be reduced if you are receiving benefits. Depending on the benefits that you are currently entitled to, you may receive a maximum of £10 a week of Child Maintenance, regardless of how much the absent parent or parent has paid in Child Maintenance. The remainder of their payment will go to the government. This encourages many families to make arrangements for Child Maintenance themselves and avoid going through the state system. However, any Child Maintenance you receive, whether or not it has been claimed through the Child Support Agency, will count as income and may affect your eligibility for any means-tested benefits that you receive.

You may be reluctant to claim Child Maintenance if you have a difficult relationship with the absent parent or parents. If you have good reason to suspect that claiming Child Maintenance would put you or the child at risk from the absent parent or parents then you can ask the benefits service and Child Support Agency not to make any attempts to contact them. You must have a good reason for asking these services not to get in touch or the benefits that you receive might be affected. If one or both parents live abroad, the Child Support Agency may be unable to assist with the Child Maintenance claim. In such situations you are advised to consult a lawyer or seek help from your local Citizens Advice Bureau. If the absent parent or parents deny that they are in fact the child’s parents then the Child Support Agency can ask them to take a DNA test. If they refuse they are usually assumed to be the parent.

Child Maintenance is calculated depending on your individual circumstances and those of the absent parent or parents. Depending on how much income the absent parent or parents have, the Child Support Agency will calculate whether they must pay Child Maintenance and if so then how much they will have to pay. The amount of Child Maintenance required will also be adjusted depending on how many children there are, with which parent they spend the majority of their time, what state benefits the absent parent or parents receive and whether their declared income correlates with their lifestyle. If the circumstances of the person caring for the child in question or the child’s absent parent or parents change at any time, you must contact the benefits service to keep them informed. This enables them to ascertain whether you are receiving the money to which you are entitled. You may qualify for the Child Maintenance Bonus: see Child Maintenance Bonus.

The Child Maintenance you receive will be based on your individual case history. The Child Maintenance payments to which you are entitled will either be paid to you directly or via the Child Support Agency. The form of payment, such as direct debit or standing order, will be determined by mutual agreement. It is a criminal offence to withhold information from or give false information to the Child Support Agency, and doing so may result in prosecution. If you must pay Child Maintenance and fail to do so, you may face prosecution and be forced to pay the legal costs of both parties involved. Unless you are caring for a child and ask the authorities not to contact the absent parent or parents without having a good reason, your benefits should not be affected. If you are entitled to Child Maintenance you may be able to claim Tax Credits: for more information see Tax Credits.