I was divorced in 2007 after a 5 year marriage (including 2 years separated). We have a 5 year old child and I'm the resident parent.
My ex has been very lax in paying maintenance, for a long time we got nothing and then £9 a week which has now stopped. My main question is would we be entitled to back payments for maintenance not received in the past?
Whether You Can Claim Arrears Depends on Your Situation
If a paying parent has fallen behind on child maintenance, you may be able to recover some or all of what is owed. How far back you can claim will depend on the nature of your existing child maintenance arrangement.
The rules differ depending on whether you have an existing claim through the Child Maintenance Service, a court order, or no formal arrangement at all.
Answer a few questions about your situation and get a clear summary of your child maintenance rights and options.
Try our Child Support Rights Checker free, here on this site →If You Have a Claim Through the Child Maintenance Service
When you have an open case with the Child Maintenance Service, arrears can build up from the date the CMS first contacted the paying parent. Processing a claim and calculating payments can take time, which means the paying parent may end up owing a lump sum covering several weeks or months.
The CMS has powers to collect these arrears. They can deduct money directly from wages, take funds from bank accounts, or use enforcement action through the courts. The CMS does not usually write off what is owed, though older arrears from former Child Support Agency cases may be handled differently.
Arrears owed through the CMS remain payable even if the paying parent becomes bankrupt. Child maintenance debt is treated differently from most other debts and does not get cleared through insolvency.
If you suspect the paying parent is hiding income or understating their earnings, the CMS has a Financial Investigation Unit that can look into this.
If you believe arrears have built up on your case, contact the CMS directly to check the current balance and discuss collection options.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
If You Have a Court Order
Where child maintenance was ordered by a court, arrears are enforceable through the family courts. You can apply to the court for enforcement action, which may include:
- An attachment of earnings order
- A charging order against property
- Committal proceedings in serious cases
There is no formal statutory limit on how far back a court can enforce unpaid maintenance. However, courts may require solid justification for pursuing older debts, and any limitations in the original court order will apply.
If You Have No Formal Arrangement
Without an existing CMS case or court order, you cannot usually claim back payments for previous years. The CMS can only collect maintenance from the point they open a case and make contact with the paying parent.
Private arrangements are not legally enforceable. If your informal arrangement has broken down, you cannot recover past payments through the CMS or courts. You would need to apply to the CMS or, in certain circumstances, the court to put a formal arrangement in place going forward.
For current rates, how to apply, and what the CMS can do about unpaid maintenance, check the child maintenance section on GOV.UK.
In to connect with her biological father after 14 years. He never been willing to pay or accept she is his daughter. But now he comes in to her life and starts giving her money after money but still won’t accept he’s her father and been missing all her life. How is this far!! He doesn’t know his daughter and doesn’t even understand what he’s given her money towards!!!
I have a question…
Few years before I stopped child maintenance service because,we had agreement with my son Dad .. so he payed to me regularly every month.
But now again we have a problem with his payment. My question: Can I start again child maintenance services?
I also wish to claim compensation for the significant financial impact (such as having to declare myself bankrupt as I couldn't manage these payments at the CMS level as well as other debts) and psychological impact (of which there was a great deal for many reasons related to this scenario).
Do I have grounds for both reimbursement and compensation?
Is there anyway the CSA can check the old arrears claim from 2017.
I know it’s quite a while ago now but at the time of 2017 went the changed was happening I also had family illness and child bullying issues to attend too.
Stressful time having to deal with it all.
I never touched his pension and he has now left the Navy and does not work but i just wondered if there was a case for getting some money towards their upbringing.
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