There are changes to the rules about how child maintenance is worked out by the Child Support Agency.
Some changes are about what the Child Support Agency can take into account. These mean that if you don't live with your children, and you make an extra payment, the Child Support Agency can take this into account. They can take the amount you paid off any money you owe them, or payments that are coming up.
An extra payment might be paying an urgent gas or electricity bill, or paying for important house repairs for the parent who lives with the children.
Other changes are about what happens if the parent who doesn't live with the children dies. If this happens, the Child Support Agency can take any maintenance they still owe from their estate. Their estate is everything owned by the person who has died.
In England and Wales, for more information about child maintenance and child support, see Child support and maintenance arrears
and in Scotland, see Child support and maintenance arrears.
You can find about more about the changes to the child support rules, and what these might mean for you, from the Child Support Agency. You can find their contact details online at: www.csa.gov.uk.
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