Why make a child maintenance arrangement?
You would make an arrangement for reasons such as:
- child maintenance improves your child’s financial security, contributing to everyday costs such as food, clothing, housing, and school needs
- it does not reduce benefits such as Universal Credit. Child maintenance payments do not affect any benefits you receive and are not counted as taxable income.
- it helps share the cost of raising children fairly and recognises that both parents remain financially responsible even if they do not live with the child
- it reduces conflict and uncertainty when parents have a clear, agreed approach towards paying child maintenance