Do I need to pay Child Maintenance if I have Equal Shared Care?

January 20, 2026

When parents separate, questions about child maintenance often sit alongside decisions about how a child’s time will be shared.

A common assumption is that where children spend equal time with each parent, no child maintenance is payable.

Recent judicial clarification suggests the position is more nuanced and will depend on “how” the care is shared. This requires as assessment of how the parents share the overall responsibility for their children’s daily routines, such as school runs, meals, homework, extra-curricular activities, medical appointments etc.

When does the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) step in?

Under the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will not usually carry out an assessment to determine the rate of child maintenance where parents have agreed, or the court has ordered, that care of the children is equally shared. This is because child maintenance is paid by the non-resident parent (NRP) to the resident parent and where care is shared equally, there is arguably no NRP.  Nevertheless, the CMS can technically still make a maintenance assessment and require one parent to pay maintenance to the other even where the child/children spend an equal number of nights with each. 

This raises an important question: when the Child Maintenance Servicecannot assess maintenance, can the power be shifted to the family court?

OS v DT: Clarifying the Court’s Jurisdiction

Whereas the CMS can make maintenance assessments in equal nights shared care cases, the CMS has no power to assess child maintenance in equal day‑to‑day care cases. This is where the court’s jurisdiction can come into play.

In OS v DT [2025] EWFC 156, His Honour Judge Hess confirmed that the court has the power to make child periodical payment orders in cases of equal shared care under s.23(1)(d) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, which empowers the court to make periodical payments for the benefit of a child in certain circumstances.

As such, in shared care cases, either parent may apply to the court for a child maintenance order. However, while the court can make such an order, it is not obliged to do so.

For a more detailed explanation of the CMS’s powers to order child maintenance payments, please see our Child Law page.

Key takeaway for parents

Equal shared care does not automatically rule out child maintenance payments. Where CMS lacks jurisdiction, the court can step in, though whether it makes a maintenance order will be fact-specific and will depend on all the circumstances.

Why legal advice matters in Equal Shared Care Maintenance Disputes

Parents navigating shared care arrangements should seek early legal advice to understand:

  • Whether their arrangement amounts to equal shared care
  • Whether the CMS has jurisdiction
  • Whether a court application for child maintenance is appropriate
  • How the court may exercise its discretion in deciding whether to order payments

The family team at Herrington Carmichael has considerable experience in guiding parents through the child arrangements and maintenance process and can assist with any support you may need.

If you would like to speak to one of our experts, please contact us.

Sarah Speed
Partner, Family
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This reflects the law and market position at the date of publication and is written as a general guide. It does not contain definitive legal advice, which should be sought in relation to a specific matter.

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