Separated and separating parents can make a Private Agreement about child maintenance, without using the courts or the CSA. There are lots of benefits to having a Private Agreement:

• It’s quick and easy to set up.
• There’s little paperwork to do.
• There are no set rules so you can be more flexible. For example:

- You can agree between yourselves on how much payments should be, and when they should be made.
- If either parent’s circumstances change, your agreement can change straight away if you both agree to it.
- If you agree that you would rather pay for or receive things like clothing for your child instead of money, you can.

• It can help to keep things friendly between you and the other parent

However, a Private Agreement could fail if either parent won’t agree to the terms of the agreement, or if they aren’t honest about their situation. Also, a Private Agreement is not usually legally binding.

The Options service can talk you through all aspects of a Private Agreement and help you decide if this is best for you and your child.		The Options Maintenance Calculator gives you an indication of what your payments should be. You could use this amount as a starting point for your Private Agreement.		Options can also provide you with a Private Agreement form. You can use this to keep a record of what you have agreed with the other parent.
Call free on: 0800 988 0988		Try the maintenance calculator		Private Agreement form

 

The Child Support Agency (CSA) is the government’s statutory child maintenance service. If you feel you can’t make a Private Agreement work, you can ask the CSA to work out and collect child maintenance for you.  It will:

• Trace the other parent if their address is unknown.
• Collect and enforce payments.
• Allow the parents to avoid contact.

Either parent can make an application to the CSA. However, a CSA arrangement can sometimes be inflexible. For example, if your circumstances change, it can take a while to change your payments.

Maintenance Direct

The CSA also offer a service called Maintenance Direct, where child maintenance is calculated by the CSA but not collected. The non resident parent makes payments directly to the parent who has the main day-to-day care of the child. With Maintenance Direct, parents can agree between themselves how and when money is paid, and child maintenance amounts can be varied if circumstances change.

The CSA are still available to give advice and guidance if any changes of circumstances mean a new calculation needs to be made, or step in if the non resident parent doesn’t make the payments that are due. 

You can get an idea of how much child maintenance you might pay or receive through the CSA by using this link to access the Options Maintenance Calculator.

There are other options for arranging child maintenance and enforcing payment, depending on where you live.

Consent order (in England and Wales)

This is an official ruling made by a court. It is normally used when parents are deciding a divorce settlement or sharing assets. Both parents normally have to work with solicitors to agree the amount of child maintenance to be paid. They then apply to the court to turn the agreement into a consent order.

A consent order means the court can enforce payment if the parent without main day-to-day care of the child fails to pay. However, getting a consent order can be expensive. Legal aid won’t cover these costs if you are only going to court to get a consent order for child maintenance.

Also, you can’t ask the CSA to make a child maintenance arrangement during the first 12 months of a consent order.

Minute of agreement (in Scotland)

If you live in Scotland, a child maintenance arrangement can be made into a legally binding contract called a ‘minute of agreement’. The sheriff officer can collect and enforce payments if the parent without main day-to-day care of the child breaks the agreement.