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Can I Get Back Pay for Child Maintenance?

By: Lorna Elliott LLB (hons), Barrister - Updated: 30 Oct 2024 |
 
Maintenance Child Support Arrears

Q.

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?

(S.F, 18 February 2009)

A.

This will depend on whether or not you have already contacted the Child Support Agency or Child Maintenance Service. Although you have mentioned 'maintenance' in your question, this can be by agreement or by court order so I will answer as though firstly you have put in a claim with the CSA/CMS and secondly as though you haven’t already put in a claim.

If You Have Made a Claim Through The CSA/CMS

You mention that for a long time you received nothing, but this then changed to £9 a week. If this payment of £9 per week was facilitated through the Child Support Agency, i.e. you have already put in a claim for maintenance, you will be entitled to claim arrears back to the date on which the CSA/CMS first contacted your ex-husband.

The CSA/CMS can take a long time to process claims and to calculate how much money a non-resident parent should pay, and this could mean that your ex-husband suddenly receives a large bill. If he thought that it was unfair he would be able to challenge it. However, once the CSA/CMS are involved in a child support case, they almost never write off the arrears. Your husband could go bankrupt and would still owe his child support arrears.

If You Have Not Made a Claim

If your husband has been very lax about paying voluntary child support, my advice to you would be to contact the CMS (which has now taken over from the CSA) as soon as possible. Unfortunately, CMS cannot recoup payments that your ex husband promised to pay you in the past under a voluntary or informal arrangement.

However, you may be able to take civil legal action against your ex husband to try to recover the missed payments through the courts.

If your ex husband was ordered to pay maintenance as part of your divorce settlement and he has now stopped paying under this agreement, this can have very serious consequences for him (as he’s flouting a court order.) If this is the case you should consult your family law solicitor as you may need to go back to court.

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Edwin12 - 30-Oct-24 @ 1:14 PM
Can i claim back dated child maintenance payments from my wife /so to be ex wife as she left the marital home as of 1st October 2022. And she has never helped to support our youngest child who was 16 when my wife walked out. She still does not offer directly or indirectly to support our daughter
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Claiming back maintance about a father that declares he is now her father but never admitted before. Never paid a penny but is now supplying my daughter with the money and the means to lean a unsavoury life that Iv sheltered her from
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My daughter has recently come 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!!!
Leanne - 25-Oct-23 @ 7:14 PM
How do I get child support arrears when the child maintenance service refuses to go after him. Can I, or my children (now adults), take him to court?
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Hi 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?
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oliviastephen02 - 8-Jun-23 @ 3:38 AM
After 4.5 years of paying Child Maintenance, I raised a complaint that in fact I should never have paid any maintenance (except voluntarily) because my 'son' is not my birth child, adopted child or surrogate child. CMS has agreed with this and are now deliberating reimbursement. Are there any precedents for this that I can refer to. 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?
SMc - 5-Jun-23 @ 8:09 AM
Hi I've been getting csa for daughter a made up number since 2018 I've called child maintenance about this several times since 2018 and they will only backdate 1 year but I have told them about this since 2018 he owes 3000 now from missing part payments where he has never amended his annual review amounts but there saying that this is an amaout I need to contact him to collect and he just says I want money from him and I'm lying about it please can somone tell me how I get this amount paid to me I have all the evidence to prove this he was an abusive partner who went to prison for abuse towards me so I don't want anymore contact from him as he just gets nasty
Paige Goddard - 2-May-23 @ 9:41 PM
hi i am paying for two child maintenance , since 2015 , we had court case while we having divorce , we agree to pay £150 month , my ex keep demand more money , so i keep top up £ 50 each year , now i am paying £400 month , still she want more , it is more then my income , i am very regularly give extra money to my children plus £400 month , now she therating me , give me more money otherwise , i call CSA and file u case for , if u pay last years lessof your income i claim , i have court letter when we settle i pay only £150 .
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cindybyrd - 29-Nov-22 @ 10:06 AM
Why do you keep saying Ex husband?? My Ex wife has never paid a penny because everyone always sides with the woman. I think you should change the wording in this article as it's totally disrespectful to dads like me who step up and look after their kids when the Ex wife is a complete fraud.
Rob - 25-Nov-22 @ 6:48 PM
Ok, long story... I have a 16 year old son who has until 6 months ago never had any contact with his biological father,I never claimed maintenance as he was violent and I just wanted to move on with my life, he wasn't in the child's life. 16 years later, my son decided to pursue a relationship w9th his birth father, although i advised against this I support my son is old enough to make his own decionesions.... after 6 months of knowing him and poisoning my son against me, my son got secluded from school and because I grounded him, he chose to go and live with his birth father,, where there are no boundaries in place... that was 3 weeks ago, and last week I received a letter from csa and he had made a claim against me....help!
Hayley - 22-Nov-22 @ 12:28 PM
I didn’t get all the arrears what was due to me when they changed over in 2017 from CSA to child maintenance. I’ve be on to child maintenance and they said it’s right.I didn’t receive a final letter from CSA to say to get in contact about the money changing over.when I saw the amount on a child maintenance letter which I received I thought that not the full arrears. My partner has been ducking and diving between jobs trying to dodge paying his arrears for many years now.it’s 2022 and he’s on benefits I have been told by child maintenance .only paying around £6 something for his child but at weekends he drives coaches I can’t see him doing it for the goodness of his heart which means he must be getting some sort of other money coming in but I’ve even asked them to please check this out the child maintenance service but haven’t really got far. 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 2017went the changed was happening I also hadfamily illness and child bullying issues to attend too. Stressful time having to deal with it all.
Jan - 21-Nov-22 @ 12:31 PM
I didn’t get all the arrears what was due to me when they changed over in 2017 from CSA to child maintenance. I’ve be on to child maintenance and they said it’s right.I didn’t receive a final letter from CSA to say to get in contact about the money changing over.when I saw the amount on a child maintenance letter which I received I thought that not the full arrears. My partner has been ducking and diving between jobs trying to dodge paying his arrears for many years now.it’s 2022 and he’s on benefits I have been told by child maintenance .only paying around £6 something for his child but at weekends he drives coaches I can’t see him doing it for the goodness of his heart which means he must be getting some sort of other money coming in but I’ve even asked them to please check this out the child maintenance service but haven’t really got far. 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 2017went the changed was happening I also hadfamily illness and child bullying issues to attend too. Stressful time having to deal with it all.
Jan - 21-Nov-22 @ 10:52 AM
csa will only backdate EXISTING claims nothing else. After 18 years old you can not make a claim unless the child is in higher education (university) and only up till the age of 21.
t - 12-Nov-22 @ 8:59 AM
When I finally split from my ex husband and tried to claim maintance for our 5 sons he used every trick to not pay even though he was working 2 jobs. We never got a penny from him and I'm just wondering how far back could I claim ? The youngest is now 18 and he is laughing saying its to late. He bought a house and set up his own business since we separated .
Mammy - 5-Nov-22 @ 2:30 PM
I’m 19 years old, my real dad walked out on me as a baby? Can I claim child maintenance for the years he hasn’t provided
Molllllll - 6-May-22 @ 4:18 PM
Just a quick question I know all my kids are grown up now but is there anyway I can claim all the maintenance back that CSA got from my ex they wouldn't pay it out due to my ex was paying off alot of arrears I was on benefits at the time and they said I would only be entitled to it when I went back to work so I contacted them once I started my job and they basically said cause he was still paying the arrears Im not entitled to any of it which I think is unfair is there anyway I can claim all my money back
Cath - 30-Mar-22 @ 9:02 PM
Hi, my wife walked out on our marriage of 5yrs 6months ago, Im a single parent from previous relationship to 2 kids unfortunately there mam past away.. now ive had to go part time to care for them, should my wife be paying anything towards them such as maintenance/bills? Many thanks
Seany - 12-Mar-22 @ 10:58 AM
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