Child maintenance is regular, reliable financial support paid towards a child’s everyday living costs. The parent without the main day-to-day care of the child (the non-resident parent) pays child maintenance to the parent with the main day-to-day care (the parent with care). In some cases, a grandparent or guardian can be paid child maintenance if they are the child’s main carer.
If you think you can sort out child support between yourselves, you don’t need to use the courts or the CSA. A private agreement is an arrangement between you and the other parent about how much maintenance will be paid.
The Child Support Agency (CSA) is the government’s child maintenance service. The CSA can calculate and collect child maintenance for you, and can act as a trusted third party if you don’t want any contact with the other parent of your child.
There are some cases where the courts can help with child maintenance, for example if the non-resident parent lives overseas, is a very high earner, or if there are school fees to pay.
Child Maintenance Options is a free service providing unbiased information and support for separating parents. To speak to someone today, call 0800 988 0988 or visit the Options website.
![Resolution. First for family law [Logo]](http://www.resolution.org.uk/site_images/logo.png){kind=logo}