Myself and my wife are in the process of separating. I am just wondering what is the treatment of child benefit ("children s allowance") in these circumstances? As it is paid to the mother, is it considered as part of her income and therefore offset against maintenance for children? Or is it considered the income of the family and therefore split between the parties? The other difficulty with it is that it is something that could get taxed or means tested in the future. As we have 4 children it is a substantial (tax free) part of the family income and is a significant factor.