This is because the CMS doesn’t take these extra costs into account in its calculation. If you have a question about Child Maintenance Options, you can ask a trained consultant by filling in the form below. If you can, it’s best for you to arrange child maintenance directly with your child’s other parent. Our information helps you understand how to arrange child maintenance payments and use the CMS. You can check what counts as approved education or training on GOV.UK. There are 3 different ways to arrange child maintenance. Talk to the other parent about making your own arrangements. Check how to find specialist advice. Thank you, your feedback has been submitted. If you’re still not sure what the best option is for you, you can read more about the pros and cons of the different options on the Money Advice Service website. Once a court order is in place, the court can force the other parent to pay maintenance if they don’t pay what's been agreed in the order. To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. The service will be free to use if you’ve experienced domestic abuse. Your Council Tax Reduction could be affected. You can apply for a special expenses variation for: • the cost of keeping up regular contact with a child or children that you pay child maintenance for – for example, the cost of fuel to travel between your home and the child’s home (must be at least £10 a week) If you can, it’s best for you to arrange child maintenance directly with your child’s other parent. You’ll have to do this if the parent paying maintenance: earns more than £3,000 a week and you want to top up the maintenance you get through the CMS. The government introduced fees in 2014 for setting up new payment arrangements through CMS. If that were to happen then you would need to consider what options are available for you to pursue child maintenance. Things to remember. What does it mean to have power of attorney? Child Maintenance Options is a free service that provides impartial information and support to help separated parents make decisions about their child maintenance arrangements. Citizens Advice is an operating name of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. Child Maintenance Options. 41,200 parents contacted Options between February and April 2019. We’ll send you a link to a feedback form. You can find out more or opt-out from some cookies. Service options. Child Maintenance Options is a free service that provides impartial information and support to help separated parents make decisions about their child maintenance arrangements. You’ll also have to go to court to ask for more maintenance if you have to pay for extra things like the cost of your child’s disability or their education. If you do not want to be in contact, you can use the Child Maintenance Service who’ll contact the other parent for you. It’s also called ‘child support’. If you contacted Child Maintenance Choices and discussed your options with them, you may wish to make an application for statutory child maintenance. Child Maintenance Options is a free service providing information and support for separating parents. Welsh language: 0800 408 0308. The right childcare provider will help your child to learn, have fun and make new friends, as well as meeting all their day-to-day needs. To avoid these fees, try working with your ex-partner to come to a family-based arrangement. Child maintenance might stop earlier – for example, if one parent dies or the child stops being eligible for child benefit. The Child Support Agency (CSA) now only handles existing cases. This will unfortunately affect some other services it provides including the Child Maintenance Service. Private agreements for child maintenance You can agree child maintenance with the other parent by negotiating with them directly or through your solicitor. 2. You can find out more about making a consent order on GOV.UK. You’ll have to pay child maintenance if you: are the child’s biological or adoptive parent, don’t live with the child as part of their family. Where children are resident abroad (i.e. Sorting out Separation web app, which can help you work out what other areas you need help with as a separated parent. We use cookies to improve your experience of our website. If you don’t have enough money to live on, talk to an adviser. Claiming compensation for a personal injury, Help for victims of rape and sexual violence, Keeping your family in the UK after Brexit, Getting a visa for your spouse or partner, Discrimination in health and care services. It’s called making a private or ‘family-based’ arrangement. 8% of parents already had a family-based arrangement before they contacted Options giving a total of 25% of … You’ll need to pay a £20 fee unless you’re under 19 or have experienced domestic violence or abuse. If you'd like to chat to other Netmums about child maintenance, start a thread in our Benefits and Entitlements forum.The support CMO provided was never intended to substitute professional advice. You need to have child maintenance arrangements for children under 16 (or under 20 if they’re in approved education or training). Arranging maintenance voluntarily with each other. To speak to someone today, call 0800 988 0988 or visit the Options website. Direct Pay: the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) calculates how much child maintenance should be paid, but you and your ex-partner arrange how it will be paid between you. Child Maintenance Options (Options) is a free service that provides impartial information and support to help parents make informed choices about child maintenance. We use cookies to collect information about how you use GOV.UK. Send us a message online if you are logged into your self-service account. Child Maintenance Options, a free and impartial service that provides information, tools and support to help separating and separated parents make informed choices about child maintenance arrangements. Calls to these numbers are free from mobiles and landlines. It could also be a payment towards things like bills or rent for the home where your child lives. Collect and Pay: the CMS calculates how much child maintenance should be paid, collects the money from one parent and passes it to the other. The main carer is usually a parent, but can also be the child's grandparent or guardian. Child Maintenance Options Telephone: 0800 953 0191 Webchat Online form Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm. “Child Maintenance Options is a national service that gives free and impartial information and support to help both parents make informed choices about child maintenance. Registered charity number 279057 VAT number 726 0202 76 Company limited by guarantee. You can record this in a private agreement form available from Child Maintenance Options (see Useful contacts). If you make a private arrangement you can continue paying after then. You’ve accepted all cookies. It’s called making a private or ‘family-based’ arrangement. Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm. Child maintenance If you want to arrange child maintenance, you can either do this with your child's other parent directly, or through the Child Maintenance System (CMS). Child maintenance is regular, reliable financial support that helps towards a child's everyday living costs. New applications are dealt with by the Child Maintenance Service. For cases based in Great Britain. A child means someone who’s under 16, or under 20 if they’re in approved education or training. Parents use the government-run Child Maintenance Service (CMS) if they are unable to come to a family-based arrangement. You might be able to make arrangements for child maintenance as part of the process for ending your relationship. The CMS will then look at your case again. Registered childcare Childcare providers that look after children form birth to eight years old for more than two hours a day, for pay or reward must register with Ofsted (The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills). Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. If a family based arrangement would not work in your case then you should make Child Maintenance Options aware of this and make sure they refer you on to the CMS. Child Maintenance Options is a free service that provides impartial information and support to help separated parents make decisions about their child maintenance arrangements. the other parent doesn’t live with you as part of your family. 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