Child Support & Family

Practical guidance on making claims, calculating payments and managing maintenance arrangements. Topics include custody rights, payment problems and what happens when mistakes occur.

Can a Parent Give Up His or Her Parental Rights?

Parents can't simply give up parental rights, but legal responsibility transfers through adoption, surrogacy, and other formal processes.

Child Custody Rights

Understand how UK child custody laws work and what happens when parents can't agree on living arrangements.

Child Support vs Contact with the Child

You can pay child support without having regular contact, but courts generally expect separated parents to maintain a relationship with their child.

Dealing with Maintenance Arrears

What happens when child maintenance payments fall behind and how enforcement works to recover arrears.

Dealing with Payment Irregularities

When maintenance payments go wrong, here's what can cause delays and what you should do about it.

Does the CSA Have to Get Involved?

Parents can handle child support without the CSA, but informal agreements only work if both sides stay committed to the arrangement.

Domestic Violence and Contact

How domestic violence affects contact arrangements with children and what you need to prove in court.

How Much Will I Have to Pay?

Child maintenance payments depend on your income and how often your children stay with you, and a family arrangement or the CMS can help set the amount.

How to Make a Claim for Child Support

Step-by-step guide to claiming child support from a non-resident parent through the Department for Work and Pensions.

Maintenance: Separation and Divorce

When you separate or divorce with children, one parent typically pays child support to help cover living costs, schooling and care for the kids.

Moving Abroad, the Issues

When moving abroad with your child, you'll need court permission unless the other parent agrees, or risk breaking abduction laws.

Shared Care of a Child

When both parents share responsibility for a child living in separate homes, here's how child support works.

Understanding Children's Rights

Children have over 40 basic human rights under international law, covering safety, education, family life and protection from exploitation.

What Happens When the CSA/CMS Gets It Wrong?

The Child Support Agency and Child Maintenance Service sometimes make mistakes, and here's how to complain and get them to fix it.