Open petition: Update child maintenance regulations to better recognise equal care arrangements

Created by Stuart Smith
Closes on 15 October 2026

Introduce a presumption of equal care where children live roughly equally with both parents. Update regulation 50 guidance to reduce reliance on Child Benefit to determine which parent is liable for child maintenance payments.

Parents who share care equally are often forced to pay child maintenance because CMS commonly assumes the Child Benefit recipient is the primary carer. This assumption can ignore clear evidence from schools, healthcare records, calendars, and communications. We believe updating Regulation 50 would help to recognise genuine 50/50 parenting, reduce unnecessary disputes and tribunal appeals, save public resources, and ensure fair maintenance calculations.

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