Family law guide
By Tom Atkinson
Part of: CMS vs Court Order: Which to Use for Child Maintenance in 2026
Consulting with a child maintenance lawyer could early on could well lead to an early and cost effective settlement being agreed.
Child maintenance is required once a family life is disturbed through the separation or divorce of the parents. Following a parent’s separation one parent will have custody for the child whilst the other will be in regular contact. Despite a separation or divorce it is the right of the parents to ensure they are responsible for bringing up their child.
Child maintenance is the regular and reliable financial support that helps with a child’s everyday living costs, and it is the legal right of the child to be supported financially by both parents. It usually falls to the parent who does not have the main day-to-day care of the child to make those payments.
For parents or separating couples who need guidance on child maintenance arrangements, this guide explains what child maintenance is, how the legal framework works, how payments can be agreed and calculated, when a child maintenance lawyer can help, and what happens if arrangements need to change or involve the Child Maintenance Service or the courts. Child maintenance covers costs such as food, clothing, school expenses and the cost of running a child’s main home, so getting the right advice can make a real difference to a child’s quality of life while helping parents meet their legal responsibilities.
Child maintenance is paid by the non-resident parent, meaning the parent who the child does not live with for the majority of the time. There are 3 ways in which child maintenance can be agreed. These are:
Calculating family law child maintenance payments depends on how you agree with your former partner.
If an agreement can be reached amicably then it is entirely up to both parents as to what arrangements, they agree upon. You could decide how much child maintenance should be paid, whether you want to pay a fixed regular amount or whether payments will be varied to help with the expenses throughout the year. Parents can also reach an agreement of whether they want to pay directly for school activities, accessories, uniforms and holidays.
Quite often families are able to calculate the family law child maintenance payments by using the online calculator provided by the Government online, as the CMS uses a formula to work out payments. This child maintenance calculation is based on the paying parent’s gross income on a weekly basis, including state pension and certain benefits, and it may be reduced where the child has overnight stays with the paying parent. The CMS does not take the receiving parent’s income into account when making that calculation.
When the calculation of family law child maintenance takes place, whether this be through the Government led Child Maintenance Scheme or the court, there are several factors which will be taken into account some of which are:
At Kabir Family Law, our child maintenance lawyers have the requisite skills and knowledge to be able to assist you in assessing your family’s circumstances to try and assist you in calculating the child maintenance payments for your child.
Our family lawyers in Northampton are available to provide a free consultation to discuss any child maintenance queries.
Prior to dealing with child maintenance payments many people consider their options with a child maintenance lawyer. Child maintenance lawyers will be able to advise you on all 3 methods by which child maintenance payments can be made. With their experience they will be able to advise you on the prospects of achieving child maintenance payments through the Child Maintenance Service and the family court. Child maintenance lawyers may be able to assist you in reaching a successful agreement with your former partner which has the same result as you going to the court or through the Child Maintenance Service.
The legal requirement for family law child maintenance is based on both parents’ legal responsibility for the financial costs of bringing up the children. Following a separation, the parent who is not the main carer of the child will pay money to the other parent who has day to day of the child. This family law child maintenance payment is also known as child support.
Parents can attempt to reach an amicable agreement between themselves in which they can decide and agree on how much maintenance should be paid, and when and how these will be paid, so there is reliable financial support paid for the child’s needs. If this cannot be decided there is the option of the Child Maintenance government schemes, including where a parent may be required to pay child maintenance through a formal process. There are 3 schemes run by the government.
The recent scheme of 2012 is run by the Child Maintenance Service. This is available to all new applicants. The Child Maintenance Service CMS can calculate child maintenance and can also collect payments from the paying parent. The Schemes of 1993 and 2003 are run by the child support agency. The 1993 scheme applies to cases before 3rd March 2003 whereas the 2003 scheme applies to cases opened on or after 3rd March 2003.
What child maintenance covers is your child’s everyday living costs. GOV.UK describes it as “regular, reliable financial support that helps towards a child’s everyday living costs”. There is no fixed list of items it must pay for. The Child Maintenance Service does not add up a child’s bills. Its formula starts from the paying parent’s gross income, then allows for the number of children and the nights they spend with that parent (our CSA calculator shows the figure the CMS would set). Once the money is paid, the parent who receives it decides how to spend it.
Yes, as part of the child’s everyday costs, but there is no separate amount for any of them. None of the six steps in the CMS calculation adds a sum for uniform, trips or childcare. Parents with a family-based arrangement can share these costs another way. GOV.UK’s own example is a parent who “pays for things like housing, school uniform, trips or clubs”. Private school fees are different. A court can order a parent to pay some or all of them on top of CMS maintenance (Child Support Act 1991, section 8(7)). Our guide to private school fees after separation explains how that works.
Not without the other parent’s agreement. Once the CMS has worked out the amount, that amount is what is due. It is paid straight to the other parent under Direct Pay, or collected and passed on by the CMS under Collect and Pay. Buying uniform or paying for a trip yourself does not automatically count towards it. Payments made while an application is still being processed can sometimes be credited as “voluntary payments”, but only where regulations allow (Child Support Act 1991, section 28J). If you would rather cover set costs than pay a sum, agree it with the other parent as a family-based arrangement and put it in writing. A child maintenance lawyer can help you agree the terms and record them.
Quite often a parent can agree with the other parent on what the family law child maintenance money is spent on. This is usually if a family based arrangement has been agreed between the parents. If, however the child maintenance payments have been calculated by the Child Maintenance Service or by the court then this can be difficult. Once the money is handed over to the other parent, there are no rules or regulations in place regarding how the money is spent. As the resident parent, your partner will get to choose how the money is spent given that they are responsible for making decisions concerning the child’s day to day upbringing.
Maintenance is payable while the child is under 16, and continues to age 20 where the child remains in approved full-time non-advanced education — A-levels, T-levels, NVQs up to level 3 and similar. University does not count: maintenance ends when the child moves into higher education. Eligibility tracks Child Benefit, so if Child Benefit stops, the maintenance obligation normally stops with it. Payments can also end earlier if the receiving parent is no longer the main carer, if they ask for payments to stop, or on the death of either parent.
An existing child maintenance agreement or existing agreement can be changed once made, and child maintenance can be adjusted if financial circumstances change. Both the parents can try and discuss and reach an agreement on any changes to be made, which is especially important when financial circumstances change significantly. If the parents are unable to make the changes required or agree on these then the Courts and the Child Maintenance Service can become involved if one parent thinks things need to be considered again.
The CMS only calculates on gross income up to £3,000 per week (£156,000 per year). Once the paying parent’s income passes that ceiling, the formula stops scaling — a parent earning £400,000 is assessed on exactly the same figure as one earning £156,000. Where the child’s needs are not met by that capped figure, the receiving parent can apply to the family court for top-up maintenance under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989. The court can order significantly more, and can also order school fees, which the CMS cannot. Top-up maintenance remains enforceable beyond twelve months provided a maximum CMS assessment stays in place
Child maintenance lawyers will be experienced to deal with child maintenance top up. High net-worth cases often need additional legal assistance to secure a fair maintenance outcome where the circumstances involve complex income or assets. They can advise you on the prospects of making a child maintenance claim, as well as discussing the possibility of reaching an agreement with your former partner amicably without the need for court intervention, and can also assist you challenge CMS decisions where income or obligations have been assessed inaccurately or incompletely. The court can usually enforce child maintenance for only 12 months before the CMS regime becomes central again, save in the top-up context already mentioned. At Kabir Family Law our child maintenance lawyers can help you consider the inter play between child maintenance, spousal maintenance and the overall financial settlement, including related financial claims, to make sure you reach a resolution that works for you and your family. We can also advise you about court proceedings or support you through negotiations and mediation, including helping ensure maintenance obligations and payments are legally enforced.
Spousal maintenance is payments which you may need to make to your former spouse to help with their living costs and maintenance following a divorce. This is separate to family law child maintenance, and maintenance should be paid for the child separately from any spousal maintenance owed to a former spouse. As such you may be required to pay spousal maintenance in addition to child maintenance. This will need to be calculated based on the financial needs and expectations of the receiving party.
Quite often families are able to reach a private agreement on child maintenance payments between separating parents without the need of involving the child maintenance service or the courts. This could be a relatively quick and cheaper option. A private agreement form can be used as a written record, but it is not automatically legally enforceable.
Child maintenance lawyers are able to analyse and assess the finance position of the partner who would be making the payments to assist in advising how much child support, including support for one child, may be appropriate. This could be an ideal option where former partners remain amicable following their separation.
If, however the parents are not amicable then child maintenance lawyers can assist in trying to reach an agreement by attempting to reconcile any differences for the child’s needs. Child maintenance lawyers can also attempt to mediate between the parents to avoid the matter proceeding to the Child Maintenance Service or the family court. This route is often useful for separating parents who want to avoid immediate CMS or court involvement.
Parents often utilise the service of child maintenance lawyers to draft a consent order. This is used when parents manage to arrange an agreement between themselves. Consent orders provide a mechanism to make an informal agreement legally binding and therefore enforceable.
This will mean that the agreement can be relied upon if the paying parent fails to adhere to the terms agreed. At Kabir Family Law our child maintenance lawyers can assist in finalising and preparing the terms of the family law child maintenance payments consent order so it can be agreed and approved by the family court.
A child maintenance lawyer can advise you on dealing with Child Maintenance Service. Following a relationship breakdown child maintenance lawyers can protect your interests as well as provide you with prospects about your chances of achieving what you want. At Kabir Family Law, our child maintenance lawyers can assist you in reviewing the non-resident parents’ income and finances to allow you to calculate the family law child maintenance payments which are likely to be ordered by the Child Maintenance Service and the courts.
By utilising child maintenance lawyers, you are therefore likely to see what you may obtain and can consider whether you would still like to proceed with the Child Maintenance Service and the Court, particularly where the paying parent’s income figures are disputed, or attempt to reach an agreement directly with your former partner.
If you are a parent who is receiving child maintenance then you will not have to pay any tax on the payments you receive.
There is no tax relief on paying family law child maintenance. If however you or the person receiving the maintenance was born before the 6th April 1935 then you may be able to claim tax relief in some circumstances. Changes in pension contributions can still affect child maintenance assessments, even though they do not create tax relief here.
At Kabir Family Law our specialists have experience in dealing with Child Maintenance payments, advising divorcing parents across family law and children law matters. If you require more information or require assistance in reaching an agreement for these payments then contact us on 0330 094 5880 to discuss your options or let us call you back. You can otherwise book a time that suits you.
8 of 41 guides — scroll sideways for more
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Placement Orders
Parental Alienation & Alienating Behaviours
Narcissistic Parental Alienation
Practice Direction 12J: Your Complete Guide to Domestic Abuse Protection in Family Court
Clare’s Law & Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme
Temporary Child Custody
Short videos from the Kabir Family Law team, explaining family law in plain English.
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