Child Support Agreement Preparation (Philippines): A Complete, Practitioner-Level Guide (2025)

This article explains how to plan, draft, formalize, and enforce a child support agreement in the Philippines—whether the parents are married, separated, annulled, or never married. It summarizes black-letter rules from the Family Code, the Civil Code (as amended), and related statutes (e.g., R.A. 9262 on VAWC). This is general information, not legal advice.

1) Legal Foundations

Obligation to support. Under the Family Code (Arts. 194–208), “support” includes food, dwelling, clothing, medical and dental care, education and transportation, with education covering schooling and training appropriate to the child’s prospects (often honored even beyond age 18 if the child still needs it and the parent can afford it).
Who must support a child? Parents owe support to their legitimate and illegitimate children. Grandparents and other ascendants may be secondarily liable where parents can’t provide.
Measure of support. Amount depends on the needs of the child and the means of the parent(s). It may be increased or reduced as needs and means change.
No waiver of future support. You cannot validly waive future child support; only arrears may be settled or condoned.
Interim (pendente lite) support. During a pending case (custody, annulment, recognition, or a petition for support), the court may order provisional support to keep the child’s needs met while the case is ongoing.
Economic abuse / non-support. Withholding lawful support may constitute economic abuse under R.A. 9262 (for women/children), which can lead to protection orders requiring support and create criminal liability if violated.

2) Agreement Pathways (Choose What Fits)

Private, notarized child support agreement.
- Fastest; creates a binding contract between the parents.
- Best if cooperation is high.
- For stronger enforceability, include voluntary payroll deduction or post-dated standing instructions.
Court-approved compromise agreement (filed in a Family Court case for support/custody).
- The agreement, once approved and embodied in a judgment, becomes directly enforceable by execution (garnishment, levy, contempt for willful non-compliance).
Protection Order route (R.A. 9262) where there’s abuse or credible threat.
- Barangay/Court Protection Orders can mandate support immediately; violations carry criminal consequences.
Mediation/conciliation.
- Courts routinely refer support/custody issues to mediation.
- Barangay conciliation is common in practice; however, Family Courts have exclusive original jurisdiction over petitions for support—so barangay settlement is helpful but not required to litigate.

3) How Much Support? (Constructing a Defensible Number)

There’s no fixed Philippine table or percentage. Practitioners build a needs-and-means matrix and apportion pro-rata.

A. Build the Child’s Monthly Budget (Needs)

Typical line items:

Core: food/groceries (share), rent/home amortization (child’s share), utilities, internet/phone (child’s portion), clothing, hygiene.
Education: tuition, books, school fees, uniform, transportation/commute, allowance, extracurriculars/tutorials.
Health: HMO/PhilHealth top-ups, vaccinations, maintenance meds, therapy (PT/OT/ST/psych), dental/vision.
Caregiving: yaya/daycare, after-school care.
Other: device/learning apps, sports/music, modest leisure, contingency.

For shared household costs, allocate the child’s reasonable share (e.g., per-capita for rent/utilities).

B. Determine Parents’ Means

Cash compensation: base pay, 13th month, allowances, bonuses, commissions.
Non-cash but regular: employer-paid housing/transport (assign a fair equivalent).
Business/self-employment: average net monthly income (with proof).
New dependents: courts consider—but don’t let a later family entirely defeat an earlier child’s rights.

C. Apportionment Formula (practical)

Compute Total Child Budget (TCB).
Decide if custodial parent covers a baseline share in kind (housing, daily care).
Split the remainder pro-rata to each parent’s disposable income.

Quick example

TCB = ₱30,000. Custodial parent covers ₱10,000 (housing/food share). Remainder ₱20,000.
Parent A net: ₱120k; Parent B net: ₱40k → Income ratio 75% : 25%.
Support cash share → A: ₱15,000; B: ₱5,000 monthly.
Add extras: 50/50 for extraordinary expenses (see below).

D. Ordinary vs. Extraordinary Expenses

Ordinary = predictable monthly items (above).
Extraordinary = one-off or unusually high expenses: emergency surgery, braces, laptop replacement for school, out-of-town competition.
Agree in advance how to split these (e.g., 50/50 or pro-rata to income), plus a threshold (e.g., “items over ₱5,000 count as extraordinary”).

E. Indexation & Review

Add a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) clause (e.g., annual CPI reference or a fixed 5% annual step-up, whichever is lower/higher—be explicit).
Include a mandatory annual review (or sooner upon “material change” in needs/means).

4) Evidence Package (What to Gather Before You Negotiate)

Child’s PSA Birth Certificate; if illegitimate, proof of recognition/acknowledgment (e.g., signed birth cert, Affidavit of Acknowledgment/Admission of Paternity).
Proof of income of both parents: payslips, COE with compensation, ITRs/Audited FS, bank statements, remittance records.
Expense proofs: tuition assessment, ORs/receipts, medical records and quotations, lease, utility bills, yaya payroll.
Health coverage: HMO policy, PhilHealth, special-needs therapy plans.
Existing court orders/agreements (if any).

5) Drafting the Agreement (Model Structure)

Parties & child details
- Full names, civil status, addresses, IDs; child’s name, birth details, school, PhilHealth/HMO numbers.
Acknowledgments
- Filial relationship (legit/illegit), recognition/acknowledgment, and parental authority/custody status.
Custody & Parenting Time (even if brief)
- Primary physical custody; visitation schedule; hand-off logistics; holiday/summer rotations; relocation notice.
Support—Ordinary (Recurring)
- Monthly base amount; due date (e.g., every 1st of month).
- Mode: bank transfer to named account; or split-pay (tuition direct to school + cash allowance).
- What this covers (attach Annex A Budget).
- Automatic COLA and annual review clause.
Support—Extraordinary (Non-Recurring)
- Definition & threshold (e.g., “> ₱5,000 or not in Annex A”).
- Split (50/50 or pro-rata) and approval workflow (notice + receipts within X days).
- Emergencies: either parent may authorize medically necessary treatment; the other reimburses within X days upon proof.
Education & Health Decision-Making
- “Major decisions” need joint consent (school changes, surgeries, passports).
- Each parent’s rights to records and to be listed as emergency contact.
Security & Compliance
- Voluntary payroll deduction/allotment; standing bank instruction; security deposit (optional).
- Default interest on late payments (e.g., 1% per month on overdue sums) and grace period (5–10 days).
- Receipt protocol (acknowledgment within 3 working days).
Tax & Benefits
- Clarify that support is for the child (not taxable income to recipient); the payor cannot deduct it as an expense.
- HMO/insurance: who pays premiums; list the child as dependent/beneficiary.
Confidentiality & Data Privacy
- Limit sharing to advisers, schools, and healthcare providers; protect personal data in compliance with Data Privacy Act principles.
Modification Clause
- By written agreement, or by court upon material change (loss of job, serious illness, change in schooling).
Dispute Resolution
- Good-faith conference within 15 days → mediation → Family Court (venue specified).
Governing Law & Venue
- Laws of the Republic of the Philippines; choose a Family Court with proper venue (child’s residence).
Effectivity & Court Approval (optional but recommended)
- “This agreement shall take effect upon notarization. The parties shall submit it to the Family Court for approval and incorporation into a judgment.”
Signatures & Acknowledgment
- Date/place; notarization with competent evidence of identity.
- If the child is of discernment age (commonly 10+), add a page recording the child’s views and preferences (non-binding but persuasive).

Annexes: A – Child’s Budget; B – Payment details; C – School/health contacts; D – Proof of income; E – Visitation calendar.

6) Procedural Playbooks

A) Cooperative Parents (No Case Filed)

Exchange budgets and proofs → negotiate base + extras split.
Draft agreement; notarize.
Optionally file a Joint Manifestation/Motion in Family Court to approve and adopt as judgment (recommended for easier enforcement).
Implement payroll/bank standing instructions; keep payment log.

B) Non-Cooperative Payor

Send a written demand enclosing proposed budget; give a deadline.
File Petition for Support (and Support Pendente Lite) in the Family Court of the child’s residence.
Court may order interim support quickly; later, a decision or court-approved compromise.

C) Abuse or Economic Violence Present

Seek Protection Orders (Barangay/Court) under R.A. 9262, which can instantly require support, preserve custody/visitation boundaries, and penalize non-compliance.

7) Enforcement Toolkit

If Notarized Only (no court): Sue for specific performance and damages; or file/convert into a court-approved compromise.
If Court-Approved:
- Writ of Execution → garnish wages/bank accounts, levy non-exempt property.
- Indirect Contempt for willful non-payment.
- Payroll deduction orders served on employer.
Cross-border payors: Enforce on Philippine assets/earnings; if payor works abroad, coordinate with employer/home-country rules. (The Philippines has limited treaty mechanisms; practical enforcement focuses on assets/contacts within PH or cooperation via counsel abroad.)

8) Religion, Illegitimacy & Surnames (Frequently Misunderstood)

Marital status does not erase the support duty; illegitimate children have the same right to support.
Surname/custody issues are separate from support; a father who contests surname or custody still owes support once filiation is established.
If filiation is disputed, the court may entertain DNA testing or evaluate written acknowledgments and conduct.

9) When Does Support End?

Baseline: at age 18, the duty may continue if the child cannot support themself for valid reasons (e.g., ongoing education/training, disability), subject to the parent’s means.
It suspends or reduces when the child becomes self-supporting or the parent suffers substantial, good-faith loss of means—always by agreement or court order, not unilaterally.

10) Practical Drafting Tips That Avoid Litigation

Be specific: peso amounts, due dates, bank account numbers, and who pays what directly.
Define “proof”: scans of ORs/receipts acceptable; deadline for reimbursement.
Plan school years: enrollments spike in May–June; schedule lump-sum school support (e.g., 60-40 split).
Separate support from access: missed visitation ≠ right to withhold support.
Don’t over-engineer: include a simple escalation and annual review to adapt without re-suing.
Keep a ledger: cloud spreadsheet with dates, amounts, receipt links; this wins motions.

11) Ethics & Crimes to Avoid

No coercion or quid pro quo for custody/visitation in exchange for support—agreements procured that way are vulnerable.
Willful non-payment despite means may evidence economic abuse (R.A. 9262) or child abuse (depending on facts).
False claims/receipts can expose a parent to perjury/estafa.

12) Minimalist Template (Outline)

CHILD SUPPORT AGREEMENT Parties, Recitals (filiation, best interests), Definitions. Section 1 – Custody & Parenting Time (summary). Section 2 – Monthly Support (amount, due date, pay channel, COLA). Section 3 – Extraordinary Expenses (definition, split, process). Section 4 – Education & Health Decisions; access to records. Section 5 – Security (payroll deduction/standing order); Default & Interest. Section 6 – Evidence & Audit (receipts; quarterly statements). Section 7 – Modification; Annual Review; Material Change. Section 8 – Confidentiality & Data Privacy. Section 9 – Dispute Resolution; Venue (Family Court of child’s residence). Section 10 – Court Approval (submission as compromise/judgment). Signatures; Notarial Acknowledgment. Annex A – Child’s Budget; Annex B – Bank/Payment Details; Annex C – School/Health Contacts.

13) Quick Checklists

Negotiation Pack (bring these):

PSA birth certificate; recognition documents (if any)
Latest 3–6 months payslips/ITR and bank statements
Tuition assessments, school fee schedules
Medical/HMO documents, therapy plans
Lease/home amortization & utilities (for proportioning)
Proposed Annex A Budget spreadsheet

Agreement Quality Controls:

Clear pesos/percentages & due dates
Defined “extraordinary” + threshold
COLA + annual review
Enforcement hooks (payroll/bank instructions)
Court-approval clause
Notarization with IDs

14) FAQs

Can we agree on “tuition direct to school + small cash allowance”? Yes. Courts like direct-to-provider payments for transparency. Keep proof.

What if the payor is paid irregularly (commissions/freelance)? Use a floor + percentage of net income over the floor, remitted monthly/quarterly with income statements attached.

Is the child’s own income relevant (e.g., part-time)? It can justify modest reductions, but rarely eliminates the duty while the child is still dependent.

Can grandparents be asked to pay? Only secondarily, if parents truly cannot support; this is fact-sensitive and often litigated.

Final Note

A well-prepared child support agreement is specific, realistic, and adaptable. Anchor it to documented needs and verifiable means, give it execution teeth (payroll/bank hooks), and—whenever possible—turn it into a court order for seamless enforcement.

If you’d like, I can draft a filled-out template (with Annex A budget sheet and a one-page “how to enforce” guide) tailored to your city and facts.