What are my options for arranging child maintenance?

Every family is different. What works for one family won’t necessarily suit another. This information will help you work out which option is best for you and your child and put the arrangement in place.

Options for child maintenance

As a parent looking to arrange child maintenance for your child you have three options:

family-based arrangement
a Consent Order
an arrangement using the Northern Ireland Child Maintenance Service

Family-based arrangement

If you and the other parent can agree on how to provide child maintenance for your child without getting the courts or the statutory maintenance service involved, this is called a family-based arrangement.

If you are able to work with the other parent, then this could be the best option for you. Whether this is the best option for you will depend on your circumstances.

A Consent Order

A Consent Order is an official ruling made by a court. To put in place a Consent Order both parents need to agree how much child maintenance is going to be paid and how often. You can do this either privately between yourselves or through a solicitor.

You then ask the court to turn this agreement into a Consent Order. This usually happens when people are going to court for other reasons, such as divorce or dividing assets.

An arrangement using the Northern Ireland Child Maintenance Service’s statutory maintenance service

In some situations it just isn’t possible for both parents to come to a family-based arrangement. There may still be bad feelings between you, or there may be a good reason for one of you not to trust the other. Or it may be that you simply prefer to have the security of a Child Maintenance Service arrangement; the Government’s Statutory Child Maintenance Service.

If you have chosen the statutory maintenance service

Choosing the right option

Talk to the Child Maintenance Choices team and they will:

explain your options
provide an approximate child maintenance figure

Consider your options

The choice you make may be:

family-based arrangement
part of a court settlement as part of the relationship breakdown (Consent Order)
involvement of the Child Maintenance Service

Both parents may be able to work together to make an amicable child maintenance agreement and the arrangement you come to:

does not have to follow a strict formula to work out child maintenance
could agree on a weekly figure, based on the paying parent’s income, or include payments ‘in kind’. Payments ‘in kind’ could include payment towards household bills.

A family-based arrangement can be flexible.

child maintenance could be paid weekly, every two weeks, once a month, whatever suits both parents and the child best
payment can be made in lots of different ways such as standing order, cheque or cash – it’s up to both parents to agree what’s best but you should keep records of all payments
circumstances and income may change and the agreement and arrangements should be flexible

If you wish to put a family-based arrangement in place:

come to an agreement with the other parent
talk to Child Maintenance Choices if you need further information - the freephone* telephone number is below

If you wish to put a consent order arrangement in place:

talk to your solicitor
talk to Child Maintenance Choices if you need further information - the freephone* telephone number is below

If you wish to put a statutory maintenance arrangement in place:

complete a Maintenance Application Form (if you are the parent with main care)
complete an Application to Pay Form (if you are the parent without main care)
to request these forms, contact the Child Maintenance Service
talk to Child Maintenance Choices if you need further information - the freephone* telephone number is below

Put the arrangement in place

If you want to discuss these options in more detail, you can contact Child Maintenance Choices freephone* information line at the number below and discuss your choices.

0800 028 7439*

*Some service providers may charge for the call. If so, Child Maintenance Choices would be happy to call you back once you have given your contact details.