Archive Website of the UK government

If you're now responsible for the child

Let the Child Benefit Office know as soon as possible about the death of the child's parent or parents.

You need to tell them:

• the exact date of death
• where the child or children are living now
• who's looking after them

You can do this:

• online – follow the link below
• by calling the Child Benefit Helpline
• by writing to the Child Benefit Office

• Let the Child Benefit Office know online if a child's parent or parents have died Opens new window

• Contact details for Child Benefit Opens new window

You'll also need to make a Child Benefit claim in your own right for the child. It's worth knowing that your Child Benefit can only be backdated for up to three months from the date the Child Benefit Office gets your claim.

• How to claim Child Benefit

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 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.

• How to claim Child Benefit

You're already getting Child Benefit

If you're the person getting Child Benefit and your partner has died the Child Benefit Office will carry on making payments into your bank account. But it's important to let them 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 the Child Benefit Office have details of a different bank or building society account that they 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.

• Guardian's Allowance - find out more

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.

• Details of the Widowed Parent's Allowance

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 normally get Child Benefit payments for eight weeks from when the child died. You must have been living with your partner 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. You can request one online, or you can call the Child Benefit Helpline.

• Send in a request online for a form CH330A

• Contact details for the Child Benefit Helpline Opens new window

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.

• How to claim Child Benefit

Paying arrears of Child Benefit

The Child Benefit Office will 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 request one online, or you can call the Child Benefit Helpline.

• Send a request online for a form CH330 to apply for arrears of Child Benefit

• Contact details for the Child Benefit Helpline Opens new window

Useful contacts

• Money, tax and benefits contacts

• Contact details for the Child Benefit Helpline Opens new window