What are the different types of child maintenance arrangements for separated families?
Child maintenance arrangements can seen complex, but are important not to neglect as they can be lifelines to support children in separated family households.
In general, there are 2 main types of child maintenance arrangement:
1.) Statutory arrangements are those which have been arranged with the CMS or its predecessor, the CSA. CMS stands for ‘Child Maintenance Service.’ You may be familiar with the term ‘Child Support Agency,’ which it was known as until 2012.
2.) Non-statutory arrangements, which are voluntary financial arrangements between separated parents. They involve direct monetary payments between parents where the CMS or CSA have not been involved. These can also be voluntary non-financial arrangements involving payments in kind or other types of arrangements including shared care arrangements. These also include court orders requiring parents to make financial payments
It is also possible for separated families to have in place more than one type of arrangement.
You can find out more on the gov.uk website, a useful and reliable resource.