In this section:
Child Benefit if one or both parents die
If you become the main carer for the child or children of someone who's died you may be able to get Child Benefit for them if you don't already. You may also be able to get an extra payment called Guardian's Allowance if you're not the child's parent.
Keeping the Child Benefit Office up to date
Let the Child Benefit Office know as soon as possible about the death of the child's parent or parents. You need to tell us:
- the exact date of death
- where the child or children are living now
- who's looking after them
Let us know online if a child's parent or parents have died
If you're now responsible for the child
If you're looking after a child because one or both of the child's parents have died you can claim Child Benefit if you're not getting it already.
Try to do this as soon as you can. We can only backdate Child Benefit payments for three months from the date we get your claim form, so if you wait to claim you could miss out on what's due to you.
If your partner has died and the Child Benefit was paid to them
If your partner has died and they were the one getting Child Benefit the payments won't carry on or be transferred to you automatically. They'll stop from the Monday after the date your partner died.
If you're the person who's now looking after the child or children you should fill in a Child Benefit claim form. You'll need to claim even if you were already an 'alternative payee' - someone who can get Child Benefit paid to them instead of to the person who claimed it in the first place.
You're already getting Child Benefit
If you're the person getting Child Benefit and your partner has died we'll carry on making payments into your bank account.
But it's important to let us know if the payments were going into a bank account that was just in your partner's name. If they were, you'll need to let us have details of a different bank or building society account that we can start paying into instead. This will make sure you can continue to withdraw your benefit.
How to change your bank account details for Child Benefit payments
Other benefits you may qualify for
If you're getting Child Benefit you might be able to get some other benefits too.
Guardian's Allowance
Guardian's Allowance is paid to people who are bringing up a child because one or both of the child's parents have died.
You don't have to be the child's legal guardian to get the allowance but you do need to be getting Child Benefit for them.
Find out about Guardian's Allowance
Widowed Parent's Allowance
If you're a parent whose husband, wife or civil partner has died and you've got a dependent child you may be able to get Widowed Parent's Allowance. You must be getting Child Benefit for the child to be able to get the allowance.
Get details of the Widowed Parent's Allowance from the Directgov website
Both the person getting Child Benefit and the child die
If you're the partner of someone who's died and their child has died too you can get Child Benefit payments for eight weeks from when the child died. You must have been living with them both at the time they died.
You'll need to make a claim for Child Benefit for these weeks. You do this on form CH330A which you can get from the Child Benefit Office.
If you've got other children that you want to claim Child Benefit for you'll need to fill in a new Child Benefit claim form for them.
Where to get the Child Benefit claim form
You can get the Child Benefit claim form in a number of ways:
- You can fill in a Child Benefit claim form on screen and print it out - you'll still need to send it to the Child Benefit Office. Although the form currently shows April 2007 in a number of places you can still use this form to make your claim. The date does not affect how you complete the form or whether you qualify for Child Benefit.
- Print out a blank Child Benefit claim form and fill it in by hand.
If you have problems getting the claim form you can contact the Child Benefit Office.
Get a Child Benefit claim form to fill in on screen and print out
Get a blank Child Benefit claim form to print out (PDF 116K)
Get a Welsh Child Benefit claim form to fill in on screen and print out
Help with filling in a Child Benefit claim form
Paying arrears of Child Benefit
We'll pay any outstanding Child Benefit that was due to the person who died - these are called 'arrears'. The person who applies for the arrears must be 16 years old or older and could be one of the following:
- the deceased person's executor
- the person who paid for the funeral
- the deceased person's next of kin
- someone who'll spend the money on the children
If you're the person applying for the unpaid arrears of Child Benefit you'll need to do so within 12 months of the date the person died. You apply on form CH330 which you can get from the Child Benefit Office. You can also send in an online request for the form to be sent to you.
Send in a request online for a form CH330 to apply for arrears of Child Benefit
Contacting the Child Benefit Office
If you need to contact the Child Benefit Office you do so online by following the link below. Or you can call the Child Benefit Office Helpline on Tel 0845 302 1444 or textphone Tel 0845 302 1474. The helpline is open between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm, seven days a week, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
If your preferred language is Welsh you can call on Tel 0845 302 1489, and if you are telephoning from outside the UK you can call on Tel + 44 161 210 3086.
If you prefer you can write to us at:
Child Benefit Office
PO Box 1
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE88 1AA
Send us an online query for further help if a parent or both parents die
