A family arrangement is quick and easy, so you can get payments flowing straight away.
It’s totally private. No one else needs to get involved in your affairs.
It’s flexible, because you can make special arrangements or changes at any time, quickly and easily. You can also be flexible about how, what and when payments should be made.
You can include things other than money – if you want to include sharing the care of a child or payments for things like school uniforms or bus fares you can.
If you can keep lawyers and the CSA out of it, it’s a lot easier to keep things friendly. It can be a good way to rebuild trust for the future.
If you can work together to sort out child maintenance, it could help you both stay involved in a child’s life.
People tend to respect their own promises. When both parents agree things together, payments are more likely to be made in full and on time.
You can make a family arrangement even if you ex-partner lives or moves abroad. You can’t always do this with other child maintenance arrangements.
It’s not legally binding. If it doesn’t work out you can change things. Or we can talk to you about your other options, including asking the CSA to set up an arrangement.
This table shows the main differences between a family arrangement and an arrangement using the Child Support Agency (CSA).
For more information about each option, read about family arrangements and arrangements using the CSA.
