Child maintenance is regular, reliable financial support that helps towards a child's everyday living costs. The parent who doesn't have the main day-to-day care of the child pays child maintenance to the parent with the main day-to-day care.
In some cases the person receiving the child maintenance can be a grandparent or guardian.
As a guide to the procedure of claiming maintenance, you should read this section completely before starting an application. There is also information for defendants. In order to make the information you need more easily accessible, it has been divided up into the sections below. Just click on the section you need to go directly to the information you require.
Please remember that this section of the website can only provide you with a general idea of what is likely to happen. The website cannot explain everything about court rules, costs and procedures which may affect different claims in different ways. Court staff can provide you with information, tell you about court forms and procedures, but they cannot give you legal advice or answer questions like "Will I win my case?" or "What evidence do I need?" You should seek legal advice from an advocate.