Child maintenance

Parents are obliged to support their child and support shall be arranged with regard to the parents' circumstances and the needs of the child.

The parents cannot make an agreement that either of them will not fulfil their obligation to support a child.

Maintenance of a child which is not in a split residence:

If a child resides at the same address (legal domicile) with one of his or her parents, the other parent (access parent) is obliged to participate in the support of the child. Parents who have not agreed on a split of residence may agree that the access parent shall provide support for the child in two ways:

• With the payment of the cost of support - e.g. the payment of individual accounts for a child

• With payment of child maintenance – Basic child maintenance payment from 1 January 2024 is ISK 46,147.

Parents which have not agreed upon the split residence of a child are not obliged to request confirmation from the District Commissioner of their agreement on the support of the child. Parents may request confirmation from the District Commissioner of their agreement on child maintenance payments, but they may not request confirmation from the District Commissioner of their agreement on the division of the cost of child support.

If the access parent does not fulfil his/her obligation to support him/her, the legal domicile parent may request support from the access parent and, as appropriate, request a ruling from the District Commissioner regarding the child maintenance of the access parent.

Maintenance of a child which is in a split residence:

If the parents have agreed upon the split residence of the child, neither parent can request child maintenance payments from the other parent. An agreement on the split residence of a child must be made between the parents concerning the support of the child. Such agreements may, for example, include:

• Allocation of the cost of living

• Payment of a fixed periodic amount

Parents who have agreed on the split residence of a child cannot request confirmation from the District Commissioner of their agreement on the support of the child, nor can they demand a ruling from the District Commissioner on child support.

Cooperation after divorce

Please see the SES, after the children's divorce, for collaboration, website samvinnaeftirskilnad.is. The website includes courses for parents and children, as well as specialised advice from the local authorities, e.g. on account of custody and contact.