Who Can Apply for Child Support?

It isn’t just biological parents that have the right to apply for child maintenance payments. Any person who is ‘with care’ is entitled to apply to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) for maintenance; this is also the case with non-resident parents.

If more than one person has care of a child, and at least one of them has parental responsibility of that child, the person who has parental responsibility can apply to the CMS. For example, if a child lives partially with its father and partially with the father’s parents (the child’s grandparents) it is the father who has parental responsibility so it is he who is entitled to apply to the CMS.

Parental Responsibility

So what is parental responsibility? If the child’s parents were married at the time of the child’s birth, it follows (as it does in law) that they have parental responsibility for the child. Parental responsibility survives divorce. In terms of remarriage, a step-parent can obtain parental responsibility by being given it by the parent.

If the parents are not married, the mother can formally agree to give the father parental responsibility. It is also possible for a person to apply to the court (in England and Wales) for the purpose of obtaining parental responsibility. If the child is born on or after 1st December 2003, and the unmarried father’s name is on the birth certificate, he will automatically have parental responsibility. If the child is born before this date, there is no such automatic right. In these circumstances an unmarried father who is not named on the birth certificate must either apply through the court or make a formal arrangement with the mother.

Child Support Rights Checker

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Maintenance Agreements

If there is a maintenance agreement made before 5th April 1993 in place that is in writing, is an agreement (i.e. agreed between the parties) and has been made by the non-resident parent for periodic payments relating to maintenance for the benefit of a child or children, this prevents a voluntary application being made to the CMS for child maintenance. Bear in mind that an agreement in these circumstances does not have to have been in force before this date, and is allowed to have been varied since then.

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Maintenance Orders

If a court made a maintenance order before 3rd March 2003 relating to a child or children, this prevents a voluntary application being able to be made to the CMS. Similarly, if an order was made after 3rd March 2003 but has not been in force for at least a year then you will also be prevented from making an application. (‘In force’ means that there must have been some practical effect: e.g. there may now be no further liability to pay maintenance, or the liability to pay may not have started yet.)

In conclusion, if there is a maintenance agreement that was made prior to 5th April 1993, or a consent order then there can be no voluntary application to the CMS. However, if the ‘with care’ parent was claiming job seekers allowance or income support prior to 14th July the CMS will be able to deal with this application.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Child Support Rights Checker lets you answer a few questions about your situation and get a clear summary of your child maintenance rights and options. Try it now →