You can be ordered to pay maintenance either by the court, as part of the separation or divorce process, by the Child Support Agency or the Child Maintenance Service.
If you are behind with maintenance payments, it is very important to make an arrangement to pay back what you owe.
Maintenance arrears are a priority debt.
You can find out how to deal with maintenance arrears at Step 3 of our Four simple steps to dealing with your debt.
Dealing with your priority debts and Child maintenance for advice and information about dealing with maintenance arrears.