Child Maintenance Options

Any lone parent in need of financial assistance has the right to claim child support maintenance from the absent, or non resident, parent of the child or children. The Child Support Agency (or CSA) is a government executive agency with authority to collect and distribute maintenance benefits from one parent to another. This maintenance payment is calculated according to income, collected and distributed to the parent with care.

Child support payments however can also be collected in other ways. Understanding the options available, and the positive and negative aspects of each option, can enable parents to choose the most appropriate method of collection and distribution to meet their needs and requirements.

Choices

There are three choices to consider when looking at child support maintenance:

Private Agreement

Provided there is an amicable relationship in place between both parents, a private agreement offers a flexible option. Without getting the courts or Child Support Agency (CSA) involved the parent with care and the non resident parent will be able to sit down and discuss financial requirements and expectations. The decision that is reached between them is known as a private agreement, and can be drawn up in an official document if required.

Consent Order

This option requires a court ruling to be made. A Consent Order is a mutually agreed decision regarding how much maintenance is to be paid, and the frequency of these payments. This agreement can be made privately, between the parents, or with the aid of a solicitor. This agreement is then given to the courts in order for it to be turned into a Consent Order. This form of arrangement usually takes place if parents are already going to court, either as a means of dividing assets or as part of divorce proceedings.

The Child Support Agency

If there has been an acrimonious divorce or separation, or communication has broken down between parents, the Child Support Agency (or CSA) will gather relevant information, calculated maintenance payable, collect payment and distribute to the parent with care.

The process requires the collation of information, regarding non resident parent’s income and circumstances, from the parent making a claim for child support. This information is then assessed and maintenance payment is then either collected from the non resident parent or directly from the parent’s employer.

However, if the parent with care is unable to provide contact information for the non resident parent, the CSA will have to trace the parent. This process slows down the application for child maintenance considerably but there may be no other suitable option available to the parent with care.

If family circumstances change, it is also the resident parent’s responsibility to inform the Child Support Agency of these changes, as maintenance payments received may be affected in some way.

Many parents with care prefer to have an arrangement that facilitates payment of maintenance and provides security. The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC), of which the Child Support Agency is a part, is able to provide this form of secure agreement.