Child Maintenance Solicitors

At Braddon & Snow, our specialist child maintenance solicitors provide expert legal advice to ensure fair financial provision is secured for your child's future.

Child maintenance is the financial support provided by a parent who does not live with their child to help cover their everyday living costs. In the UK, both biological and legal parents have a statutory obligation to provide this support until the child reaches age 16, or 20 if in full-time education. While most parents arrange payments through a Family-Based Arrangement or the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), complex cases involving high earners, school fees, or international residence require a Court Order.

We are friendly and approachable and will be happy to help you deal with child maintenance issues so that you can put the right financial support in place for your family.

Our services in respect of child maintenance payments include the following:

  • Discussing your situation and what you may be entitled to receive or required to pay
  • Advising you and negotiating on your behalf to reach a private agreement over child maintenance payments
  • Applications to the court for a consent order to make a private child maintenance agreement legally binding
  • Advice in respect of using the Child Maintenance Service to arrange and collect maintenance
  • Application to the court for child maintenance payments
  • Advice on dealing with non-payment of child maintenance

We offer an initial appointment for £75 plus VAT so that you can outline your case and ask us any questions you may have. We can also give you an estimate of the likely costs.

Get in Touch with our Child Maintenance Solicitors Today

We deal with all family issues during divorce and separation. For more information, see our services relating to children.

We have offices in Hoddesdon and Broxbourne and represent clients across Hertfordshire as well as further afield, including overseas. We can deal with communication in the way that best suits you, including via email and videoconferencing, where this is preferred.

To speak to expert child maintenance lawyers, please feel free to get in touch:

For more information about our family law services, see divorce, separation and finances.

What is Child Maintenance?

Child maintenance is a legal financial contribution toward a child’s everyday living costs. In the UK, if parents cannot agree on a private figure, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) calculates payments using a statutory formula based on the paying parent’s gross weekly income, the number of children involved, and the number of "shared care" nights.

Our family law principal is a member of Resolution, a family law group committed to the constructive resolution of family disputes. We always work to remove conflict and acrimony from the legal process, which is particularly important in cases involving children.

We will work with you to try and resolve issues in a constructive, non-confrontational way. As well as avoiding a relationship from deteriorating, this is also generally a quicker and more cost-effective way of dealing with matters.

If your case goes to court, we will ensure that a strong case is prepared on your behalf and that you have expert representation. We have wide experience in the area of child maintenance law and will provide the guidance and support that you need throughout.

Child maintenance FAQs

Who is entitled to receive child maintenance?

Any parent with the main day-to-day care of a child (the "receiving parent") can claim maintenance. This also applies to legal guardians or grandparents providing primary care. You can claim from a biological or adoptive parent who does not live with the child, regardless of whether you were ever married or in a civil partnership.

3 Ways to Arrange Child Maintenance in the UK

1. Family-Based Arrangements

The first method is a mutual agreement between the parents. The courts generally prefer that parents deal with issues relating to their children between themselves without the need for a hearing. Your solicitor will be able to suggest the level of payment that is reasonable and negotiate with your child’s other parent or their legal representative to reach a settlement.

2. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS)

The second way is through the government’s Child Maintenance Service (CMS). You can ask the service to work out how much child maintenance you should receive and then make arrangements with your child’s other parent for these to be paid to you. There is a fee for using this service. You can also ask the CMS to deal with payments through their ‘collect and pay’ service, for which there is a charge.

3. Court Order & Top-Up Orders

The final option is applying to the courts for an order for child maintenance. This option can be used where the other parent does not live in the UK or where their income exceeds £3,000 per week, and you wish to obtain more maintenance than you could through the CMS, which places a cap on the amount you can receive. You may also need to use the courts if you need extra money for your child, for example, because they have a disability or you need money for their education.

What can child maintenance cover?

Child maintenance is legally intended to cover a child’s essential daily living costs, including food, clothing, and housing. While standard CMS payments do not specifically cover "extras" like school trips, music lessons, or private tuition, these can be included in a private Family-Based Arrangement or a specific Court Order for "top-up" payments.

When does child maintenance end?

Child maintenance payments usually stop when a child reaches 16, or 20 if they are in full-time "approved" non-advanced education (such as A-levels). Specifically, the CMS obligation ends on the 31st August following the child’s 16th birthday if they leave education, or sooner if the child starts a job of 24+ hours a week or marries.

Can child maintenance be increased or decreased?

If using the CMS, you must report a change in circumstances if the paying parent’s gross income changes by 25% or more. Other triggers for a review include a change in the number of nights of "shared care" or the birth of a new child in the paying parent's household. Private agreements can be renegotiated at any time by mutual consent.

What can you do if a parent does not pay child maintenance?

If you have made private arrangements with your child’s other parent, you should try to discuss the situation with them and establish the reason for non-payment. If they continue to refuse to pay, you will need to ask the CMS to arrange child maintenance payments for you. They will not collect arrears, but if you advise them that your private agreement has failed, they will be able to deal with future payments.

If you dealt with maintenance payments through the CMS, you should advise them of the arrears. Your child’s other parent will be asked to pay all the money that is owed. If payment is still not made, the CMS can deal with payment by way of the Collect and Pay service.

You should make sure you keep the CMS up to date with what is happening and chase them regularly to ensure your case is dealt with.

Can a Court Order override the CMS?

Generally, no. While you can have a Court Consent Order, either parent can apply to the CMS after 12 months, which effectively "discharges" the maintenance part of the Court Order. This is known as the "12-month rule.

Can I claim more if my ex-partner is a high earner?

Yes. The CMS caps its calculation at a gross weekly income of £3,000 (£156,000 per year). If your ex-partner earns more than this, you can apply to the Family Court for a "Top-Up Order" to secure additional maintenance. This can also cover specific costs like private school fees or support for a child with a disability.

What happens if the paying parent lives or works abroad?

The CMS only has jurisdiction if the paying parent is a UK tax resident or works for a UK-based organisation (e.g., the Armed Forces or the NHS). If they live abroad and work for a foreign company, you cannot use the CMS. Instead, you must seek a REMO (Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders) through the court to enforce payments internationally.

Our child maintenance pricing

Fixed fee child maintenance

We may be able to take on certain aspects of your case on a fixed fee basis, for example, applying to the court for a consent order to make an agreement legally binding. This will give you some certainty as to the costs involved.

Hourly rates for child maintenance advice and representation

For other work, our solicitors who deal in child maintenance will charge an agreed hourly rate, providing you with an estimate of the likely costs. We will keep you updated as to expenditure so that you stay in control.

Speak with our child maintenance solicitors in Hoddesdon & Broxbourne

For a friendly, informal discussion and child maintenance advice, please get in touch:

What our clients say

  • "No improvement to service needed. Alison was the epitome of professional calm in going over options and maintaining patience, and indeed advised against a path that certainly would have achieved higher fees for her, but the correct call in retrospect. So I feel her advice was professional and unbiased. She was attentive in keeping me appraised of news, and maintained a polite and stress free approach which kept me calm and optimistic a final result in my favour would occur. Would recommend her, and the firm, to others." Anon
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  • "We found dealing with Braddon & Snow very pleasant and relaxed.  We had a few problems dealing with the seller's leaseholder solicitors which needed a lot of patience and Teresa and Laya were very helpful at all times and very easy to communicate with." R & J Keith
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  • The best thing throughout this process was the professionalism shown by the Conveyancing Team at Braddon and Snow Solicitors, our case was handled by Melanie and her very able assistant Roksana.  Although we were frustrated and sometimes very ratty, they kept very calm and dealt with all of our enquiries and problems as they came along, most of all they kept us advised and up to date.  We in all honesty could not have asked for or been supported any better by these two Ladies. Towards the end, we were calling Roksana on a regular daily basis, and were delighted to hear her positive and cheerful friendly voice.  I would highly recommend these Ladies to anyone, unlike the Firm that they were dealing with, who would not even respond to their calls.