ROUTE
Child maintenance after separation
How the amount is set, free help from the youth welfare office, adjusting for age and income β and why contact must not be linked to money.
β Checked: 01/08/2026
Child maintenance after a separation is simple in principle and demanding in detail: the parent the child does not live with contributes money, the other contributes care. The duty attaches to the family relationship rather than to marriage or nationality, so the same rules apply to unmarried couples.
βΊ More about this route
This four-step route covers all of it: how the amount is determined and why figures must come only from the current table, the free assistance of the youth welfare office, adjusting the amount as the child grows and incomes change, and finally contact β the question constantly conflated with the money.
The most useful part is also the least known: on application the youth welfare office takes over the maintenance case entirely β calculating, obtaining an enforceable title and pursuing the claim. Free of charge, without a lawyer, and without touching parental rights.
WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME
- Calculating from a table from earlier years. It is revised annually and the difference is noticeable β figures from old articles produce the wrong agreement.
- Settling for a verbal arrangement without an enforceable title. While relations are good it is unnecessary; when they sour there is nothing to enforce.
- Paying cash without proof. The burden falls on the payer, and three years later bank statements decide the dispute rather than recollection.
- Linking money to contact. Neither refusing contact over arrears nor stopping payment over refused contact works β both sides only worsen their position.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE
Does the duty to pay depend on whether the parents were married?βΎ
No, it attaches to the family relationship rather than to marital status. The same applies to unmarried couples; only the way paternity is established differs where it has not been acknowledged.
How do I find the correct amount?βΎ
The law sets a minimum graded by age bands, and practice uses a table mapping the payerβs net income to an amount. It is revised each year, so figures must come from the current version.
Is involving the youth welfare office risky for my parental rights?βΎ
No β this worry is common and unfounded. The assistance concerns maintenance and parentage only, parental responsibility is untouched, and the application can be withdrawn at any time.
Can contact be refused while payments are outstanding?βΎ
No. The childβs right to contact with both parents is not consideration for maintenance, and refusal on that ground is unlawful. It also weakens the refusing parentβs position in any later proceedings.