Child Benefit if a child or parent dies

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1. If a child dies

You’ll usually get Child Benefit for 8 weeks after the child dies. If they would have had their 20th birthday before the 8 weeks are up, Child Benefit will stop on the following Monday.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

If you’ve already claimed

You’ll need to tell the Child Benefit Office as soon as possible if a child you’re getting Child Benefit for dies. You can do this by phone or by post.

You must include the date of death.

If you have not claimed yet

If the child died before you sent a claim form, you can still send one (unless the child was stillborn).

How to claim

  1. Make a claim for Child Benefit by post.

  2. Include a note with the date of the child’s death.

  3. Put your contact details and National Insurance number on the note.

  4. Send the child’s birth registration number (shown on the child’s birth certificate) or adoption certificate with your claim form (you do not have to send their death certificate).

If you do not have the child’s birth or adoption certificate, you can order a new one and send in the birth registration number or adoption certificate later.

If your child died before the end of the week they were born in, the 8 weeks will start from the Monday following the death.

Child Benefit can only be backdated for up to 3 months. The longer you leave your claim, the less you’ll get.

If you opted out of receiving Child Benefit

You still need to tell the Child Benefit Office as soon as possible if a child eligible for Child Benefit dies. You can do this by phone or by post.

You must include the date of death.

You won’t have to pay the High Income Child Benefit tax charge on any Child Benefit received after the child dies.

2. If one or both parents die

You may be able to get Child Benefit if you become the main carer for the child or children of someone who has died.

Report the death

Tell the Child Benefit Office as soon as possible about the death.

You do not need to tell the Child Benefit Office if you’ve already used the Tell Us Once service.

You must include the exact date of death, where the child is living now and who’s looking after them.

You can do this either:

Once you tell them about the death, the Child Benefit Office will:

  • cancel payments
  • write to confirm this within 20 days

Make a claim

Child Benefit won’t be transferred to you automatically. You’ll need to make a new claim for Child Benefit if you’re not the person named as the claimant on the original claim form.

Once reported, Child Benefit stops from the Monday following the death. It can only be backdated for up to 3 months.

Bank accounts

You can confirm the bank account you want the money paid into on the claim form.

If you’re the person getting Child Benefit but the money was paid into the deceased’s account, you should choose a different account.

Extra help

You might be eligible for either Guardian’s Allowance or Widowed Parent’s Allowance on top of Child Benefit.

You or your partner may have to pay the High Income Child Benefit tax charge on any Child Benefit you receive.